Tag: EMF health impacts

Reduce EMF’s in public transit says federal disability advisory group

The National Council on Disability Transportation Report addresses chemical and electrical sensitivities and recommends changes in policies and practices to improve access: http://www.ncd.gov/publications/2015/05042015/

This is news you can use!  You can take this to bus, train and airplane companies and ask for accommodation.

“People disabled by environmental barriers experience debilitating reactions from very low-level exposures to chemicals or electromagnetic fields.” p. 207

(Department of Justice) “DOJ should develop standards and guidance on the access requirements for people with chemical and electrical sensitivities.” p. 351

“Transit agencies should eliminate environmental barriers to the greatest extent possible by using nontoxic, fragrance-free products and practices, and by avoiding all nonessential chemical and electromagnetic exposures to enhance access for people with chemical or electrical sensitivities.” p. 351

The National Council on Disability is a federal agency who advises the President, Congress and federal agencies regarding policies, programs, practices, and procedures that affect people with disabilities. This video explains more about their work.

Smart meter health problems compared

SMARTeffects-v2-100Thanks to Ronald Powell Ph,D for placing two reviews of smart meter health impacts side by side.  He compares the EMF Safety Network Survey results (USA 2011 ) to an Australian peer reviewed study by Dr. Frederica Lamech (AUS 2014).  The results are astoundingly similar, especially when you account for the different methods for gathering the raw data. Network’s survey was distributed online with boxes of symptoms to check off, and Dr. Lamech’s study tallied written responses.

Symptoms after Exposure to Smart Meter Radiation

Time magazine on EMF Injured: “Searching for a Golden Cage”

Time magazine writes, “In our increasingly interconnected world, technology feels inescapable. But what if the same devices that are supposed to make our lives easier were actually threatening our health?”

Watch the TIME’s video here:  http://time.com/golden-cage/

Daphna Tachover writes, “When I got sick, about 4.5 years ago, I contacted  Nadav who is an accomplished international Photo-Journalist and also a childhood friend. I called him on the phone and told him what happened to me and we had a long conversation. I was sad & disappointed as it sounded as if he does not believe me. I could not understand how a person who knows me so well for so many years is doubting me…. A year later he called me and said he wants to make a movie about it.”

Read more from EHS Fight Back

Kim Goldberg’s book project: REFUGIUM

Author Kim Goldberg
Author Kim Goldberg

In Nanaimo, British Colombia, Canada, award-winning journalist and author Kim Goldberg is writing a book about people living with electrosensitivity, and about the consequences of a society that is poisoning itself with wireless technology.

Although Kim is not electrosensitive herself, she has lived her entire life without ever owning any wireless devices or having them anywhere on her property.  She embarked on this book project as a result of her own involvement in fighting smart meters in BC.

“Through the fight against smart meters here in British Columbia, I became increasingly aware of how many people are disastrously affected by wireless radiation in general and by smart meters in particular,” Kim says.  “I was hearing stories of a person confined to a wheelchair after 24 smart meters were installed on her wall in an apartment building, or the school teacher who now has to sleep in her car in the driveway each night because she can no longer sleep in her bedroom, or the musician who became so sick after smart meter installation that she had BC Hydro disconnect all the power to her home.”

Kim says she wants to “put a human face on electrosensitivity” with her book project.  “In many ways we are drowning in data about the very real health risks and consequences of our increasing exposure to wireless radiation,” she says. “There really is no shortage of evidence. I think what’s needed now is to humanize the problem.  And that’s what I hope to do with my book—show the public how lives are devastated by daily exposure to this radiation coming from cell phones, wi-fi, cordless phones, smart meters, etc., and how we are all at risk.  I also want to show the world the ingenious and courageous strategies electro-sick people are using to find or create safe havens for themselves and their families—for this is a future we may all be facing, and sooner rather than later.”

You can visit her growing list of Sanctuaries here: http://electroplague.com/sanctuaries/ Kim says she is always looking for more electro-safe sanctuaries to add to her list—official sanctuaries as well as unofficial places around the world that happen to have low signal.

Kim’s book Refugium: Wi-Fi Exiles and the Coming Electroplague will be published in 2015.  For updates on her progress, you can sign up to follow her Refugium blog, and you will be notified by email of new postings: http://electroplague.com/blog/

Will it soon be too late? Cancer expected to increase by 70% in the next 20 years according to WHO

Commentary by Dr. Olle Johansson, translated from Swedish:

DEBATE. The World Health Organization [WHO] has released a bleak future forecast. The number of new cancer cases is expected to increase from 14 million to 25 million per year over the next 20 years – an increase of 70 percent.

“Despite encouraging progress, the report shows that we can not treat ourselves out of the cancer problem,” said Christopher Wild, co- author of the report. But one question lingers for me:  Why does WHO themselves not consider another possible cause of this avalanche, a cause that they themselves have warned about and predicted? Let me explain.

Today, various wireless devices flood our homes, schools and other workplaces. The issues around all of these sources of radiation are numerous. Adults are not at all certain that all this radiation is harmless, they are not at all sure that wireless technology is without risk. To this one can add numerous studies and investigations, expert reports and commentaries arise which in summary say that “there is a strong suspicion of damage.”

These texts also emphasize the need for the use of the Precautionary Principle and this even stronger after the WHO has classified radiofrequency electromagnetic fields – from mobile phones, tablets , etc. – as possibly carcinogenic (Class 2B). Thus, the idea that these techniques would be safe, we can immediately cross out – not even the WHO believes it – and they still have a category into which such proven safe exposures would fall (Class 4 – proven non-human carcinogen).

The question now is instead what we accept the risk to cost in terms of health care, disability and premature death.

It should be noted that this is an addition to the earlier (2001) WHO 2B cancer classification of power-frequency electromagnetic fields (thus including common household current ) – which are also emitted at high levels from handheld gadgets such as tablet devices (iPad etc.) and mobile phones – as a risk factor specifically for childhood leukemia. Given that in 2001 the WHO was already very close, voting 9 to 11, to move it to 2A (thus the higher cancer class ) and considering all the new knowledge that has accumulated since 2001, I maintain that today one should definitely classify the relationship between childhood leukemia and power-frequency electromagnetic fields in the much more serious 2A (“probably carcinogenic”) category.

Why not debate this?

There was a time when people did not understand that radioactivity from radium, uranium and plutonium, medical x-rays and ultraviolet light actually hurts us and can even kill us. You could see shoe-fitting x-ray machines in childrens’ shoe shops in Sweden as late as the end of the 1940s and elderly people will remember the glowing radioactive wristwatches that were popular in the 1950s. About the same time we began to understand that even the sun’s beautiful and warm rays can damage our cells and their genetic material with the development of skin cancer as a result. Today we warn everyone, even for the weakest of ultraviolet light, which we call UVA, especially if you’re a child with fair skin and light hair.

Against this background one might wonder: Can our cells and molecules that are now suddenly exposed to an environmental exposure from power-frequent magnetic fields, microwaves, radio and TV signals, etc. which have never before existed, or if it has, with an immediate increase of one million million million times stand it at all? The radiation goes right through us, and our – and other organisms’ – cells and molecules have no protection at all against it.

I’m afraid, very afraid, that we will soon have to write a new report titled “Too Late Lessons from Early Warnings” …

Olle Johansson is Associate Professor and Assistant Professor in Neuroscience at the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm. From the original in Swedish published 12 Feb. 2014 by Newsvoice.

Santa Clara County MD warns: Internet and Wi-Fi in schools can affect learning

Cindy Lee Russell, M.D., Vice President of Community Health, Santa Clara County Medical Association wrote an article warning about the health risks of technology in schools:  Shallow Minds: How the Internet and Wi–Fi in Schools Can Affect Learning

Dr. Russell writes: “There are a host of concerns with classroom technology, and the virtual world it creates, that have not been explored in the rush to “modernize” education and prevent our kids from becoming “computer illiterate,” despite the fact that computers are designed for ease of use.  These issues range from distraction in the classroom, impairment of cognitive development and long-term memory, deficiency in learning social skills, Internet addiction, cyber bullying, access to inappropriate content, eye fatigue,and security risks to online learning networks. In addition, the sheer cost of computers and continuous upgrades is likely to break many school budgets. We have not mentioned the issue of toxic e-waste, another growing public health problem.”

“We will not get rid of the Internet or computers. We should not ignore, however, the enlarging body of science that points to real threats to public health and, especially, our children’s safety and well-being. The best approach is precautionary. Reduce the risk by reducing the microwave emissions. It is our obligation as physicians and parents to protect our children. They are the future and our legacy.”

Dr. Russell recommends:

  1. Remove wireless devices (white boards and routers) in schools in favor of wired connections and fiberoptic.
  2. If there is Wi-Fi, then give teachers the authority to turn it off when not in use or if they feel it is not necessary.
  3. Ban cell towers near or on schools.
  4. Limit screen time on computers.
  5. Limit or ban cell phone use in the class
  6. Limit or ban cell phone use at home
  7. Do not allow laptops to be placed on laps
  8. Undertake independent scientific studies on Wi-Fi and computer use that look at acute and long-term health effects.
  9. Train teachers how to recognize symptoms of EMF reactions.
  10. Conduct meetings with parents and teachers to address this issue in each school.

Dr. Russel cites the science, international actions, and provides a reference list. This is an excellent paper to give to school principals and administrators.