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Press Release 16th September 2009 HPA Wi-fi 'Research' is Pure Spin

Details: Parent Category: Media

Nearly 2 Years ago Mast Sanity welcomed the announcement from the UK's Health Protection Agency (HPA) that more research was to be done into Wi-Fi^[1]after Sir William Stewart requested an enquiry into Wi-Fi in schools.^[5]

However we believed at the time that this ‘Research' was merely a smokescreen, to appear to be doing something without actually doing anything new.

And so it has proved to be.

Mast Sanity asked in 2007^[12]:

1) What is this 'research' going to be about?

Are the HPA only taking measurements of Wi-fi signal levels (as they state in their press release)? Or are they going to look to see if there are any health effects on children [already being exposed to Wi-fi] in schools [across the UK] by taking blood samples, measuring heart rates and brain response (EEG's) and doing health surveys?

We already know what the [microwave radiation] levels emitted from the Wi-fi laptops and routers are. OFCOM (one of the HPA's 'partner' Agencies) has already taken measurements in schools [in Birmingham].^[11]

Powerwatch have already done this [on the Panorama investigation into Wi-fi in schools in 2007] ^[8] as have various campaign groups. It is no mystery.

What the HPA did^[2]:

Scientists at the Health Protection Agency began a research project on wireless local area networks (WLAN) [Wi-Fi] in late 2007. One aspect of public concern over Wi-Fi is its use by children in schools. So as part of its study into the technology scientists set up 15 laptop computers commonly used in UK schools and investigated the strength of the radiowaves [microwave radiation] around them. ... Computer modelling is also being carried out to learn more about how the radio waves are absorbed in the body. [The HPA results concur with those taken by Powerwatch and measured by the other agencies above and yet it took them 2 years and cost the taxpayer £300,000!]

NO real tests carried out on already exposed children for health effects

NO blood samples

NO heart rate measuring

NO EEG measurements taken

IGNORED the constant emissions from the Wi-fi routers also present

IGNORED a request in 2007 to do a proper study from 8 members of the HPA EMF Discussion Group ^[14]

Mast Sanity noted and asked in 2007:

2) The HPA are still going to compare the levels with the outdated ICNIRP guidelines.

We know that the ICNIRP guidelines only protect against short term heating effects and are not appropriate to protect against cancer and genetic [i.e. biological, non-heating] damage over the long-term. This was highlighted in the recent Bioinitiative Report^[3].

Sir William Stewart also said the World Health Organisation (WHO) are wrong in their evaluation of the science behind the guidelines^[5] and the Stewart report^[4] said that relying solely on the guidelines will not protect people from biological (non-heating) effects that may become apparent.

Mast Sanity spokesperson Yasmin Skelt says "Independent Scientific studies have consistently shown health effects from microwave emissions well below currently allowed levels^[3,6,7] - so what is the point of comparing emissions against these outdated ICNIRP guidelines?"

What the HPA did:

The tests were carried out in a specially adapted laboratory at the HPA's Centre for Radiation, Chemicals and Environmental Hazards in Oxfordshire. The effective powers in the direction of maximum emission were in the range 17 to 57 milliwatts (mW) and well within the 100 mW limit set for Europe [ICNIRP]. Dr Simon Mann ... said: "Our findings are consistent with the HPA position that exposures to the radio waves from Wi-Fi equipment are expected to be well within internationally-accepted exposure guidelines [ICNIRP] and less than levels from mobile phones."

So - This has been a pointless exercise in spin by the HPA at the Tax Payers' expense. All it shows is that the levels of Wi-fi microwave radiation will not greatly heat-up children in their class rooms. We already knew that. We said so 2 years ago.

It does not prove that Wi-Fi is safe.

The following points (and many more) have still not been addressed:-

^·The Department of Education guidelines state that a school should not be in the main beam of a Mobile Phone Mast.^[4] The microwave radiation intensity in a classroom with Wi-fi is the same order of magnitude as if the schools were in the main beam of a mobile phone mast.^[2]

^·Philip Parkin, General Secretary of VOICE, said ^[15]: "I have concerns about the health of both pupils and staff...I am concerned that so many wireless networks are being installed in schools and colleges without any understanding of the possible long-term consequences."

The German government is already advising its citizens to use wired internet connections instead of Wi-Fi, and landlines instead of mobile phones^[9]. Why isn't the HPA doing the same?
The Public Health Dept of the Salzburg Government has issued advice not to use WLAN in schools and nurseries ^[16]
The Frankfurt Local Education Authority have banned wireless networks in schools as they ‘did not wish to conduct a "large scale human experiment"
The Bavarian Parliament recommend to all schools in the land to refrain from installing wireless LAN networks.^[17]
The Executive Director of the EU's European Environment Agency said that, "it would be prudent for health authorities to recommend actions to reduce exposures, especially to vulnerable groups, such as children." The Agency called for immediate action to reduce exposure to radiation from Wi-Fi, mobile phones and their masts. It suggests that delay could lead to a health crisis similar to those caused by asbestos and smoking^[10]. Our government is increasing our exposure to microwave radiation, not decreasing it.

Mast Sanity trustee Yasmin Skelt said back in 2007 "Why is the HPA happy to increase Wi-fi use in schools when it says it knows little about its health effects - in effect our children are guinea pigs for its own research." This is still the case.

Mast Sanity call for the UK Government to remove Wi-Fi from all UK schools^[13]-

Our children should not be made to be guinea pigs.

Some Facts about Cell Phone Radiation by Dr. Andrew Goldsworthy July 2009

Details: Parent Category: Health

I was an amateur radio enthusiast before becoming a professional biologist, but kept my interest in radio throughout a long career as a lecturer at Imperial College London. No one appreciates more than I the wonders of engineering that have gone into even the cheapest cell phone, but equally I know the very real dangers that cell phone signals present to both the user and people living near cell towers.

Unmodulated radio waves are relatively safe

It has been known since the work of Suzanne Bawin and her co-workers in the mid 1970s that pure low power radio waves, of strengths similar to those used by cell phones, are relatively harmless. Pretty much the only damage that can be done by an unmodulated signal is due to the heating effect of the radiation as it passes through the body, and the ICNIRP safety guidelines adopted by many governments are more than adequate to protect you against that.

Modulated radio waves are not safe

Bawin et al. also showed that the situation changes drastically when the signal is "amplitude modulated" so that its strength rises and falls in time with a lower frequency. In particular, they found that signals that were far too weak to generate significant heat, could now drive structurally important calcium from the surfaces of brain cells. Other work showed that pulses with very sharp rise and fall times were even more effective. The loss of this calcium weakens the membrane and makes it more likely to leak and gives unwanted biological effects.

Cell phone signals are modulated

Cell phone signals have to be "modulated" if they are to carry information such as speech and the various control signals needed to make the system work. Most digital modulation systems involve sharp changes in signal strength. These occur over a wide range of frequencies, some of which are biologically active. Furthermore, they occur at radiation levels many orders of magnitude lower than those specified by the ICNIRP guidelines. These guidelines are therefore set far too high to protect us from modulated radiation.

Nature Abhors a Vacuum

Details: Parent Category: Health

Or: A Very Dangerous Assumption

Dr. Grahame Blackwell, June 2009

It's a well-known truism that nature will exploit every ecological niche, however small and unlikely. Life is to be found in the deepest darkest trenches of the oceans, the coldest Arctic wastes, the smallest crevices in rocks deep underground. Even in the most abundant and densely-populated environments, if there is a potential food source or habitat unclaimed then some species will arise or adapt to make the fullest possible use of it.

..............................

So what of radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation?

We Are Featured in The Ecologist Magazine Take Action 101 Ways Forward

Details: Parent Category: Home

See Mast Sanity featured in "The Ecologist" magazine's "Take Action - 101 Ways Forward:Resources For A Better World" section under Health.

See here .

Mobile Phones and Brain Tumours – A Public Health Concern

Details: Parent Category: Health

By Dr. Vini Gautam Khurana PhD, FRACS

The completion of this paper on February 7, 2008 follows 14 months of objective
research by the author, involving the critical review of over 100 sources in the recent
medical and scientific literature, in addition to Press reports and Internet content. This
paper represents a systematic and concise yet comprehensive review of this area to date
and its findings highlight an emerging global public health concern.

KEY MESSAGES OF THIS WORK:

• Mobile phones are convenient and frequently invaluable, yet exposure to their
electromagnetic radiation is invisible. Therefore, any danger this exposure poses
may be easily dismissed.
• Exposure is long-term and its effects on the body, particularly its electrical
organ, the brain, are compounded by numerous other simultaneous long-term
exposures including continuous waves from radio and TV transmitter towers,
cordless phone base stations, power lines, and wireless/WiFi computing devices.
• A malignant brain tumour represents a life-ending diagnosis in the vast
majority of those diagnosed. There is a significant and increasing body of
evidence, to date at least 8 comprehensive clinical studies internationally and
one long-term meta-analysis, for a link between mobile phone usage and certain
brain tumours.
• Taken together, the data presented below compellingly suggest that the link
between mobile phones and brain tumours should no longer be regarded as a
myth. Individual and class action lawsuits have been filed in the USA, and at
least one has already been successfully prosecuted, regarding the cell phone-brain
tumour link.
• The "incubation time" or "latency" (i.e., the time from commencement of regular
mobile phone usage to the diagnosis of a malignant solid brain tumour in a
susceptible individual) may be in the order of 10-20 years. In the years 2008-
2012, we will have reached the appropriate length of follow-up time to begin to
definitively observe the impact of this global technology on brain tumour
incidence rates.
• There is currently enough evidence and technology available to warrant Industry
and Governments alike in taking immediate steps to reduce exposure of
consumers to mobile phone-related electromagnetic radiation and to make
Mobile Phones and Brain Tumours © 2008, G. Khurana – All Rights Reserved.
www.brain-surgery.us 4
consumers clearly aware of potential dangers and how to use this technology
sensibly and safely.
• It is anticipated that this danger has far broader public health ramifications than
asbestos and smoking, and directly concerns all of us, particularly the younger
generation, including very young children.

Read the full text of this Scientific, Peer-Reviewed Paper at http://www.brain-surgery.us/mobilephone.html

Wake Up Call - Australian Eminent Physician Speaks Out, Friday, April 3, 2009

Details: Parent Category: TV Shows & Documentaries

For full transcript - click >here

The London Resolution

Details: Parent Category: Health

At a scientific conference on 27th November 2007 entitled-"Are Present ICNIRP EMF Exposure Recommendations Adequate?", hosted by Roger Coghill and Robert Verkerk, at the Royal Society, London, scientists endorsed the BioInitiative Report, extended the 2006 Benevento Resolution and resolved that:

"We, the undersigned, do call on theUKHealth Protection Agency (HPA), UK Government and all the health protection agencies and governments world-wide, to take note of the findings and recommendations in the Bioinitiative Report (2007) [1] and its predecessors the Benevento Resolution (2006) [2], the Catania Resolution (2002) [3] and the Salzburg Resolution (2000) [4] to immediately reduce the guidelines for exposure to radiofrequency radiation (RF) and extremely low-frequency electromagnetic1 fields (ELF-EMF) for the following reasons:

• The overwhelming evidence of adverse non-thermal health effects at exposures many times below the current guide lines.

• The near 100% penetration of the market in Europe, the USA and many other markets by mobile phones and increasing penetration elsewhere.

• The vast proliferation of wireless networks and devices beyond those envisaged at the time the current guidelines were set.

We call for the ICNIRP to reconvene as a matter of urgency to reassess the exposure guidelines and to develop and implement biologically based public safety limits reflecting the overall scientific evidence that existing ICNIRP guidelines are not sufficiently protective against health effects from chronic exposures to the rapidly increasing environmental-level ELF-EMF and RF.

Failing that

We call for the setting up of an independent body to define new biologically based public exposure limits and/or preventative actions, for ELF-EMF and RF, that address reported biological effects, which, with prolonged exposure, can reasonably be presumed to result in adverse health consequences.
In the absence of such recommendations we suggest as an intermediate step that the HPA and UK Government immediately implement the ELF-EMF and RF recommendations of the BioInitiative Report 2007 and strive for the recommendations of the Public Health Department of the Government of Salzburg (2002) of 0.06 V/m for outdoor and 0.02 V/m for indoor RF exposure. Based on the precautionary principle, children and vulnerable groups (such as people with epilepsy and heart conditions) should not be exposed to a risk of harm, thus we propose that

Children under 16 should use mobile phones and cordless phones for emergency calls only.
No Wi-fi, WiMax or other forms of wireless networking are placed in homes, schools or public areas or promoted for use thereof.
That regular and frequent independent audits are undertaken of emissions to ensure that base stations ("masts") do not exceed the new biologically based guidelines at any locality either singly or by accumulation. Such audits should be widely publicised and made available for public scrutiny. The precautionary principle needs to be implemented."

Signed:

Dr. Christopher Busby, Subcontractor, Policy Interpretation Network on Children's Health and Environment (PINCHE), Liverpool/Aberystwyth, UK

Mr. Roger Coghill,MA(Cantab) C Biol Mi BiolMA(Environ Mgt), Coghill Research Laboratories, Pontypool,Wales, UK

Dr. AndrewGoldsworthy, Honorary Lecturer, Imperial College, London, UK

Dr. Lennart Hardell, University Hospital, Orebro University,Orebro, Sweden

Prof. Olle Johansson, Experimental Dermatology Unit, Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute, Sweden, and The Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden

Dr. Gerd Oberfeld, Public Health Department, Salzburg Government, Salzburg, Austria

Mr. Alasdair Philips, B.Sc. (Eng), Director, Powerwatch, Sutton in the Isle, UK

Mr. Graham Philips, MBCS, Technical Manager, Powerwatch, Ely, UK

Ms Cindy Sage, Co-Editor, BioInitiative Report, Santa Barbara CA, USA

Dr. JohnWalker, Chartered Physicist, Sutton Coldfield, UK

References

[1] BioInitiative Report, http://www.bioinitiative.org/report/docs/report.pdf

[2] Benevento Resolution, Electromagnetic Biology and Medicine, 25, 2006, pp. 197-200, http://www.icems.eu/docs/BeneventoResolution.pdf

[3] Catania Resolution, http://www.plattform-mobilfunk-initiativen.at/englisch/CATANIA eng.pdf

[4] Salzburg Resolution, http://www.salzburg.gv.at/salzburg resolution.pdf

The London Resolution has now been published here and here .

The Following Scientists and Individuals were speakers at the Conference held at the Royal Society from which the London Resolution has come.

Prof Olle Johansson

Prof Olle Johansson has published over 300 peer reviewed papers, many in the field of EMF bioeffects. He lectures frequently on this issue, and conducts experimental research on weak field effects on surface tissues. Sweden is the only country in the World that recognise EHS as a disability.

Dr Lennart Hardell

Dr Lennart Hardellis professor in oncology and cancer epidemiology at the University Hospital in Orebro, Sweden. Most of his research has been on risk factors for cancer such as exposure to pesticides and persistent organic pollutants. During recent years he and his co-workers have studied use of cellular and cordless telephones and the risk for brain tumours. This research is independently funded unlike the Interphone studies.

Roger Coghill

Roger Coghill has for over twenty years directed an independent bioelectromagnetics laboratory in South Wales, specialising on the interactions between the physical energies of electricity and magnetism and organic life.

Eileen O'Connor, a breast cancer victim, campaigns extensively for regulatory recognition of the adverse effects of cellphone masts.

Read her story here (pdf).

Dr Gerd Oberfeld

Dr. Gerd Oberfeldis responsible for environmental medicine and since 1994 has been adviser for environmental medicine of the Austrian Medical Association being responsible for the postgraduate course in Environmental Medicine. His Government warn that WiFi should not be used in schools. It also has the lowest exposure guidelines in the World.

Dr John Walker

Dr. John Walker is a Chartered Physicist who lives in Sutton Coldfield

Dr Christopher Busby, Subcontractor, Policy Interpretation Network on Children's Health and Environment (PINCHE) - The PINCHE-project is a Policy Interpretation Network on Children's Health and Environment that is funded by the European Union for three years. The PINCHE project is designed to provide decision makers, environmental health professionals, and other stakeholders with information relevant for policy development. This will help making decisions about issues in the area of children's health and environment.

Dr Robert Verkerk is from The Alliance for Natural Health (ANH) was founded in 2002 and is a UK-based, internationally-active, non-governmental organization, working to help positively shape the regulatory and scientific framework affecting natural health.

Cindy Sage is a first author of the Bioinitiative review of scientific literature on EMF bioeffects, a review which concluded that the ICNIRP guidelines are inadequate to protect public health.

The Birds, the Bees and Electromagnetic Pollution, by Dr. Andrew Goldsworthy, May 2009

Details: Parent Category: Health

How electromagnetic fields can disrupt both solar and magnetic bee navigation and reduce immunity to disease all in one go

Many of our birds are disappearing mysteriously from the urban environment and our bees are now under serious threat. There is increasing evidence that at least some of this is due to electromagnetic pollution such as that from cell towers, cell phones, DECT cordless phones and Wifi. It appears capable of interfering with their navigation systems and also their circadian rhythms, which in turn reduces their resistance to disease. The most probable reason is that these animals use a group of magnetically-sensitive substances called cryptochromes for magnetic and solar navigation and also to control the activity of their immune systems.

Birds are very sensitive to electromagnetic fields and some may find the electromagnetically polluted urban environment no longer tolerable. Migratory birds may also lose their sense of direction and never reach their intended destination, perhaps just falling into the sea on the way. Bees are even more under threat and are extremely important to us. Without bee pollination, there would be very few brightly colored or scented flowers in the countryside or in our gardens and many of our crops would be devastated. We would be left just with crops that are wind pollinated (mostly cereals) that do not on their own provide a healthy balanced diet, nor do they act as host to the friendly nitrogen fixing bacteria that are essential to the sustainable fertility of our soil. This may be a very heavy price to pay for our unrestricted use of cell phones and other forms of wireless communication.

Factsheet: the three main health risks associated with energy saving lamps (CFLs)

Details: Parent Category: Health

(Note we have been sent the following Fact Sheet on "Energy Saving Lamps" which are certainly a concern for many people and especially those who can no longer tolerate radiofrequency outputs from such sources due to sensitivity brought on by Mobile Phone Masts and other microwave sources. For more information click here .)

There is a trend in the European Union of promoting the widespread use of energy-saving light bulbs. Moreover, the EU and several other countries across the world have recently decided to ban conventional, incandescent lamps in the near future.

Despite this trend, concerns have been raised on the safety and health effects of energy saving light bulbs, more specifically of Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFLs), the main type of energy-saving light bulb currently on the market.

Below is a summary of the three principal health risks associated with energy saving lamps, namely electromagnetic fields, mercury and UV radiation.

Dongle Putting Up a Mast Near Us!

Details: Parent Category: Home

You may have noticed a recent rash of Mobile Phone Mast planning applications for "fill-in" masts in towns across the UK - mainly from Vodafone, but also from T-Mobile and O2.

The reason for this large number of planning applications to extend the mostly pointless 3G network is to cash in on the current gimmick for "Mobile Internet" using a USB "dongle" that plugs into laptops and PCs.

dongle This latest marketing hype is the Mobile Phone Operators' last gasp strategy to re-invent the 3G network (originally designed for video calls) for web access. This has become possible by adding "HSPA" support for data packets on top of the 3G network.

As with all 3G uses so far the hype far outstrips the usefulness of the "Mobile Internet" and its "dongle". It is just another gadget aimed at office executives whose own access to websites such as FaceBook (and worse!) is blocked by their employers.

To try and exploit and expand on this lucrative niche market the Mobile Phone Operators are marketing the "dongles" and "Mobile Internet" as a rival to BT's fixed-line and Virgin Media's cable-based broadband. By persuading office workers to use their "dongles" in their home PCs and laptops the aim is to replace cable and ADSL broadband with the "Mobile Internet" instead. At a theoretical maximum speed of 14.4Mbs and a real-world maximum speed of 7.2Mbs "Mobile Internet" is actually slower than fixed-line or cable internet - even where 3G coverage is at its best (i.e. where there are more masts). It's like "WAP" all over again.