It is a sorry state of affairs when the HPA - who are supposed to be protecting us - the Public - from harm is instead protecting vested interests and in doing so putting the Public in harms way.

The latest round of this is as follows.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-17843953 
"Mobile phones: 'Still no evidence of harm to health'
By Jane Hughes Health correspondent, BBC News
There is still no evidence mobile phones harm human health, says a major safety review for the UK's Health Protection Agency (HPA).

Scientists looked at hundreds of studies of mobile exposure and found no conclusive links to cancer risk, brain function or infertility.

However, they said monitoring should continue because little was known about long-term effects.

The HPA said children should still avoid excessive use of mobiles."

Headlines like this may be down to the fact that this area of science can be quite complex or because no one wants to believe that mobiles can be harmful as they are perceived as being so useful and many businesses now run on them.

However this does not make a difference to the truth on adverse health effects.

There are 1000's of scientific studies but the official reports simply ignore them in their analyses as has been seen today by the HPA's sudden release of its report.

It is important to realise what is going on behind the scenes and the timing of this HPA report release is also significant.

Last year the WHO (IARC committee) convened a meeting of 31 scientists to review the evidence on mobiles and brain tumours. They concluded that there is enough evidence to categorise the microwave radiation emitted by mobile phones as a class 2B carcinogen http://www.iarc.fr/en/media-centre/pr/2011/pdfs/pr208_E.pdf

This decision was based on the industry's own studies and independent studies show an even higher increased risk for heavy users (those who use a mobile/cordless phone for more than 1/2hr per day for 10 years).

A few months after this the industry re-released reviewed a analysis on a Danish study showing 'no risk'. This was splashed across all the papers.
However this Danish study was a cohort study (not case controlled) and therefore included a huge number of people so it was billed as being the 'largest study ever' It looked at mobile users pre 1995. It omitted the heavy users (some 30%). It included people who use a cordless landline as non users; we could continue...
The study was basically fundamentally flawed but the media reported it verbatim, as was the intent. This re-release was purely to downplay the WHO decision.

Last weekend was World EMF Action Day.

This week there is a conference on Childhood cancer in London.
http://www.childhoodcancer2012.org.uk/programme.asp

At this meeting they are hearing from the head of IARC on the class 2B classification  and also how brain tumours are now the number one cancer killer of people under 35. They are increasing at the rate of 2% a year.

The timing of today's report release from the HPA is sad but typical of how they are downplaying the risks.

The EU have taken quite a different stand
http://assembly.coe.int/main.asp?Link=/documents/workingdocs/doc11/edoc12608.htm

As has the French Government who have banned mobile phone use for under 15's in French schools.
http://www.independent.ie/world-news/europe/mobile-phones-banned-in-french-schools-over-radiation-fears-1751697.html

Industry and government scientists tow the 'no risk' line as if their careers depend upon it.

Worldwide EMR Action Day aligns with Earth Day 2012 to protect the biological integrity of the natural world and all its inhabitants against unnatural Electromagnetic Radiation (EMR).  With this endeavour, people from around the planet join together to reduce harm from EMR and create a healthier life for all.

Man-made EMR is the only hazard that reaches every square centimetre of Earth’s surface at every moment, harming people, animals, insects and plant life. Electromagnetic pollution has been imposed upon us by military and industrial interests, with devastating health, environmental and social consequences.  From microwave (MW) and radio-frequency (RF) radiation to extremely low frequency (ELF) fields, sources include:

so-called ‘smart’ utility grids, meters and applianceswireless internet (wi-fi), wi-max and their infrastructuresmobile phones and their antenna infrastructure on masts, rooftops and in disguised structurescordless phones and their basesmicrowave oven leakagebaby monitors and children’s RF-related toysRF medical devicesRFID-embedded chips in people, animals, consumer products, and identity and credit cardsdirect-energy and other EM weaponryTV, radio and satellite broadcastsradar and sonarthe electrical power grid, appliances and broadband over power lines (BPL)fluorescent lights, including compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs).

While some man-made EMR sources are falsely marketed as ‘green’, they all independently produce adverse biological and health effects. The effects markedly worsen with prolonged exposure or when combined with additional EMR sources, chemical toxicants or metals. MW radiation intensities in urban areas can be over a trillion times higher than natural background levels.

All life is electromagnetic in function. From the symbiotic balance of wildlife ecosystems to the health of our internal cells and organs – especially the brain and heart – living systems depend on undisturbed electrical signaling processes. All creatures derive a sense of wellbeing from the Earth’s own Schumann Resonances and other natural fields, which have now been overwhelmed by man-made EMR. 

Scientists and experts in policy and law, examining thousands of research studies, warn of immediate and long-term hazards and call for minimised exposures.  EMR Action Day provides support and information on sources, effects and solutions to communities and individuals in need.
Harmful EMR also includes ionising radiation from nuclear power plants and nuclear weapons. We urge reduced exposures to all such sources including medical tests, treatments and wastes.

EMR Action Day proposes new choices for safer and lower energy consumption: hard-wiring and fibre-optics in homes, schools and workplaces; shielding materials; and safe White Zones and other EMR-free solutions. We engage people in minimising EMR exposures and reconnecting with their own natural biorhythms. By our judicial, legislative, media, artistic and other creative endeavours, we act to free humankind, defend public safety and restore electromagnetic harmony to the Earth.
Our focus is on solutions that benefit us all.

I managed to have smart meter installation delayed at my house, but suddenly became sick overnight with palpitations, chest pain, insomnia, dizziness, inability to concentrate and memory loss and fainting spells. AFTER becoming sick I found out that the day I became suddenly sick was the day the smart meter roll-out was completed in my area and the smart meters were remotely turned on from base.

I can no longer drive, I can't work (I'm a doctor), I have to go and sleep at my mother in law's place (there are no smart meters there yet).

My life is completely ruined and the energy companies and members of Victorian Parliament completely ignore me. Two doctors have confirmed my disability is entirely due to my sensitivity to smart meters' radio transmission and I am 100% sure of that as I can always tell accurately if I am in a smart metered area or not.

We are now planning to move to South Australia to survive. What is happening in Victoria is a complete breakdown of democracy and an affront to social justice of enormous proportions and implications.

What if this is happening to an old lady living alone? Where can she go? We are all morally obliged to speak up and do something about it, if not for ourselves, for the vulnerable amongst us that, if affected, could not do anything about it.

By an Australian Doctor.

Most of the damage done by digital telecommunications is not due to heating  but by the electrical effect their pulsating signals have on living tissues, which occurs at much lower energy levels.

The human body can act as an antenna and the signals make electric currents flow through it in time with the pulsations. It is this that does the bulk of the damage by destabilising the delicate membranes that surround each cell and also divide it into internal compartment such as mitochondria (the energy factories of the cell) and the lysosomes (the cell’s recycling factories).

All of these membranes are just two molecules thick and have a similar basic structure. They are liquid crystals, made largely of negatively charged molecules  (which repel one another) stabilised by divalent positive ions (mostly calcium) that sit in between them by mutual attraction and hold them together like mortar holds together the bricks in a wall.

It was first shown by Bawin et. al. in the 1970s that weak amplitude modulated radio waves, where the strength of the signal rises and falls at low frequencies, could remove some of this calcium from brain cell membranes. This destabilises them and make them more likely to leak. The low frequency pulsations of Wi-Fi and mobile phone signals can be expected to behave in much the same way.-

This is important in the brain because the normal function of brain cells depends on the controlled passage of specific ions through their membranes. When these membranes leak, ions flow through them in a relatively uncontrolled way, which results in brain hyperactivity and may cause attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in some people. When this occurs in the brain of a foetus or very young child it prevents normal brain development, which may result in autism (see http://mcs-america.org/june2011pg2345.pdf ) .  Wi-Fi should therefore be considered as an impediment rather than an aid to learning and may be particularly hazardous for pregnant teachers.

Effects on the peripheral nervous system are equally damaging since hyperactivity here causes false sensations such as pain, heat, cold, and pins and needles in some people (i.e. symptoms of electromagnetic hypersensitivity).  Hyperactivity in the cells of the inner ear can cause tinnitus and affect the sense of balance causing dizziness and symptoms of motion sickness, including nausea. Pupils showing any of these symptoms should be treated with sympathy and the Wi-Fi switched off.

Many other effects on health can be attributed to membrane leakage, including damage to DNA due to the release of reactive oxygen species (ROS) from mitochondria, and digestive enzymes from lysosomes. Such DNA damage can cause a loss of fertility and an increased risk of getting cancer.

Membrane leakage can also open the blood-brain barrier, leading to Alzheimer’s disease and early dementia. There are similar barriers protecting all of our body surfaces from foreign chemicals. Damage to these can cause or exacerbate a variety of illnesses, including asthma, multiple allergies and autoimmune disorders such as multiple sclerosis. More on these, including references, can be found at  http://www.hese-project.org/hese-uk/en/papers/cell_phone_and_cell.pdf

Fortunately, because of genetic variability, not everyone will suffer the same symptoms and many may suffer none at all but, for the sake of those that do suffer, Wi-Fi is not a good idea in schools or anywhere else for that matter.