Scientists Urge Halt of Wireless Rollout and Call for New Safety Standards

Scientists Urge Halt of Wireless Rollout and Call for New Safety Standards

Warning Issued on Risks to Children and Pregnant Women

 
 

"Scientists who study radiofrequency radiation from wireless technologies have issued a scientific statement warning that exposures may be harming the development of children at levels now commonly found in the environment. Pregnant women are cautioned to avoid using wireless devices themselves and distance themselves from other users..."

"Current US (Canada) and ICNIRP standards for radiofrequency and microwave radiation from wireless technologies are entirely inadequate. They never were intended to address the kind of
exposures from wireless devices that now affect over 4 billion people."

"The combined effect of cell phones, cordless phones, cell towers, WI-FI and wireless internet place billions of people around the world at risk for cancer, neurological disease and reproductive and developmental impairments."

"We are already seeing increases in health problems such as cancer and neurobehavioural impairments, even though these wireless technologies are fairly new in the last decades or so for the general public. This finding suggests that the exposures are already too high to protect people from health harm." 

"Safety standards also ignore the developing fetus, and young children who are more affected."

"The Scientific Panel urges a halt to the rollout of new wireless technologies, especially those that cause exposures for pregnant women and for children."

The Seletun Scientific Statement

1) Low-intensity (non-thermal) bioeffects and adverse health effects are demonstrated at levels significantly below existing exposure standards for telecommunications and power utility technologies in developed and developing countries.

2) ICNIRP and IEEE/FCC (Health Canada) public safety limits are inadequate and obsolete with respect to prolonged, low-intensity exposures common today.

3) New, biologically-based public exposure standards are urgently needed to protect public health world-wide.

4) It is not in the public interest to wait. Instead, governments should take decisive action now to protect biological function as well as the health of future generations.

A rapidly accumulating body of scientific evidence of harm to health and well-being constitute warnings that adverse health effects can occur with short-term and prolonged exposures to very low-intensity
EMF at biologically active frequencies or frequency combinations.

1. The Global Population Is At Risk.

2. Sensitive Populations Are Currently Vulnerable. Sensitive populations (for example, the elderly, the ill, the genetically and/or immunologically challenged) and children and fetuses may be
additionally vulnerable to health risks; their exposures are largely involuntary and they are less protected by existing public safety standards; and they may amount to 40-50% of the population;

3. Government Actions Are Warranted Now Based on Evidence of Serious Disruption to Biological Systems... the consequence of doing nothing in the short term may cause irreparable public health and economic harm, where the populations potentially at risk are very large, where there are alternatives without similar risks, or where the exposures are largely involuntary;

4. The Burden of Proof for the Safety of Radiation-Emitting Technologies Should Fall on Producers and Providers Not Consumers.
 

5. EMF Exposures Should Be Reduced in Advance of Complete Understanding of Mechanisms of Action.
 

6. The Current Accepted Measure of Radiation Risk—the Specific Absorption Rate (‘SAR’)—Is Inadequate, and Misguides on Safety and Risk.

New Recommended Exposure Standards

Based on power density measurements, the Seletun Scientific Panel finds sufficient evidence for a whole-body scientific benchmark for adverse health effect exists down to 0.17 mW/m2 (also 0.000017 mW/cm2 = 0.017 μW/cm2). It is approx. 50,000 – 60,000 times lower than the current ICNIRP/FCC standards.This may need to be lowered in the future.

Editor: Current exposure standard upheld by Health Canada is at 1,000μW/cm2(microwatts/cm2). The above recommendation is at 0.017 μW/cm2. The standards set by governments for most of the other countries are currently at 10 μW/cm2 or less (down to 0.02μW). Yes, our ridiculously lenient exposure limit is 58,824 times higher than this  recommendation based on the latest scientific research. Our government is NOT taking the "Precautionary Principle" to protect Canadians. Please see "The Essential Message" for more on the comparison.

Karolinska Institute is Europe's highest-ranked university in Clinical Medicine and Pharmacy. Karolinska is world-renowned for its achievements in medical and biomedical research in all disease areas.  Particular strengths are in neuroscience, cancer biology, immunology, and metabolic diseases. The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institute appoints the laureates for the "Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine".

The "Precautionary Principle" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Precautionary_principle
"The Essential Message" http://www.safeinschool.org/2011/01/health-canadas-safety-standard-on.html  
Full Transcript of The Seletun Scientific Statement http://electromagnetichealth.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Seletun-Transcript.pdf
Full Text of the Press Release http://electromagnetichealth.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Karolinska_Institute_press_release1.pdf  

Video of Professor Olle Johansson's Announcing Seletun Scientific Statement:

http://vimeo.com/18018440

A Significant Error or Omission in Health Canada's Safety Code 6

- Three Letters by Curtis Bennett

Mr. Bennett is president of Thermographix Consulting Corporation. His company investigates temperature at molecular levels for many professions. He is an educator at medical academia across North America where doctors and nurses receive education credits for licensing. Mr. Bennett testified as expert witness at the Canadian Parliament's Standing Committee on Health in "An Examination Of The Potential Health Impacts Of Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Radiation" in 2010. He was also a first response consultant on vulnerability after 9/11.

A letter to U.S. President Barack Obama regarding the Danger of Health Canada's Safety Code on Electromagnetic Radiation:
(Please click image to enlarge for reading)

A letter to the Victoria School District on a Significant Error in Health Canada's Safety Code 6: 

(Please click image to enlarge for reading)

Dear Minister Aglukkaq;

Safety Code 6 is the scientific standard used around the world for human exposure to radio-frequency emfs. Provinces refer to Health Canada for safety standards.

A significant error or omission in Safety Code 6 was reported to your office and by witness for Canadian Parliament's Standing Committee on Health in October 2010. The Recommendations of The Standing Committee in December, 2010 included Health Canada investigating the oversight reported in Safety Code 6.

Health Canada and provinces can qualify the error and omission through their existing provincial electrical standards. Electromagnetic induction on a bare conductor (human) running at their own frequency brings on a host of electrical problems for the unprotected including the heat effect. Safety Code 6 says the electromagnetic induction is to be avoided because experimental studies have shown nerve and muscle depolarization. Depolarization is part of the natural process but you don't want it initiated because of emf induction.

As an example Wi Fi in schools violates Health Canada's Safety Code 6 because the very fast frequency interaction with the unprotected children is causing electromagnetic induction associated with nerve and muscle depolarization or a heat effect.

Wi Fi is only installed for cost convenience or profit because radiating an entire area is cheaper than construction/electrical costs to install it safely. Wired computer stations deliver data faster, safer and sustainable while providing real economy while advancing technology in education.

Has Health Canada followed the recommendations of the committee and forwarded the oversight to recognized testing agencies or electrical certification? Why isn't Health Canada sharing the significant oversight with provinces? Every day of radiation is producing adverse health effects as reported by Health Canada with unrealized costs with the domino effect.

The dangers of radio frequency interaction with humans including the oversight in Safety Code 6 were just lectured in U.S. Medical Education where doctors and other health professionals get education credits they need for licensing. That makes the dangers and the oversight medical education, not just an opinion. As a professional with national and provincial credentials provided by government, I am again reporting this as a national emergency.

Sincerely

Curtis Bennett

President 

Thermografix Consulting Corporation

http://thermoguy.com/blog/index.php?itemid=49

Analyzing the Health Impacts of Modern Telecommunications Microwaves
A peer reviewed and published scientific article January 2011 from University of Athens, Department of Cell Biology and Biophysics:  

"In the present study we showed that microwave radiations used in modern mobile telecommunications can damage DNA and induce cell death or heritable mutations which may in turn result in reproduction decreases, degenerative deceases, or cancer. We analyzed the biophysical and biochemical mechanism underlying this biological impact, and discussed dosimetry and protection issues...

The mission of technology is putatively to improve the living conditions of the human race. Technological evolution is accomplished by use of the natural powers, such as electromagnetism. But the use of these powers and the improvement of the living conditions must always be carried out without violating the natural environment, the powers of which we are actually using, and without undermining human health. Knowing the dangers of each new technological achievement and finding ways to use technology safely, might be even more important than technology itself." 


Full text http://www.citizensforsafetechnology.org/Analysing-the-Health-Impacts-of-modern-telecommunications-microwaves,2,376

For more studies on the biological effects of Wi-Fi (Microwave) and  Radiofrequency, please see http://www.safeinschool.org/2011/01/danger-of-wi-fi-backed-by-science.html

International Warnings on Wi-Fi and Microwave Radiation

Appeals and Warnings by groups of International Scientists and Doctors on Wireless Radiation:

 
2011 Doctors W.A.R.N.
Doctors Wireless Radiation Network: Santa Fe, New Mexico
http://www.citizensforsafetechnology.org/Doctors-WARN,2,689 

2009 Porto Alegre Resolution - signed by over 100 scientists, organizations and advocates:
"We are concerned about the body of evidence that indicates that exposure to electromagnetic fields interferes with basic human biology and may increase the risk of cancer and other chronicdiseases. The exposure levels at which these effects have been observed are many times lower than the standards promulgated by  the International Commission for Non-Ionizing radiation Protection (ICNIRP) and the IEEE's International Committee on  Electromagnetic Safety (ICES). These standards are obsolete and were derived from biological effects of short-term high intensity exposures that cause health effects by temperature elevation and nerve excitation discovered decades ago. Recent research indicates that electromagnetic fields could cause detrimental health effects even at very low levels of exposure. The ICNIRP and IEEE/ICES standards are being supported and promoted by interested parties to avoid precautionary technical planning, precautionary laws, and precautionary advice to the public. We are deeply concerned that current uses of non-ionizing radiation for mobile phones, wireless computers and other technologies place at risk the health of children and teens, pregnant women, seniors and others who are most vulnerable due to age or inability, including a health condition known as electromagnetic hypersensitivity.
http://www.icems.eu/docs/resolutions/Porto_Alegre_Resolution.pdf

2008 Venice Italy Resolution 2008 - signed by 57 scientists:

"The non-ionizing radiation protection standards recommended by international standards organizations, and supported by the World Health Organization, are inadequate. Existing guidelines are based on results from acute exposure studies and only thermal effects are considered. A world wide application of the Precautionary Principle is required. In addition, new standards should be developed to take various physiological conditions into consideration, e.g., pregnancy, newborns, children, and elderly people. We take exception to the claim of the wireless communication industry that there is no credible scientific evidence to conclude there a risk.

Recent epidemiological evidence is stronger than before, which is a further reason to justify precautions be taken to lower exposure standards in accordance with the Precautionary Principle. We recognize the growing public health problem known as electrohypersensitivity; that this adverse health condition can be quite disabling; and, that this condition requires further urgent investigation and recognition." http://www.icems.eu/resolution.htm

London Resolution 2007: http://www.icems.eu/docs/resolutions/London_res.pdf
Benevento Italy Resolution 2006: http://www.icems.eu/benevento_resolution.htm
2002 Freiburger Appeal - signed by over 6000 doctors to date:
http://www.starweave.com/freiburger/



2002 Catania Italy: http://www.emrpolicy.org/faq/catania.pdf
2000 Salzburg Austria Resolution: http://www.salzburg.gv.at/salzburg_resolution_e.pdf
Vienna resolution 1998: http://www.icems.eu/docs/resolutions/Vienna_Resolution_1998.pdf 

2002 Freiburger Appeal signed by over 6000 doctors to date:
"Out of great concern for the health of our fellow human beings do we - as established physicians of all fields, especially that of environmental medicine - turn to the medical establishment and those in public health and political domains, as well as to the public.
We have observed, in recent years, a dramatic rise in severe and chronic diseases among our patients, especially:
    * Learning, concentration, and behavioural disorders (e.g. attention deficit disorder, ADD)
    * Extreme fluctuations in blood pressure, ever harder to influence with medications
    * Heart rhythm disorders
    * Heart attacks and strokes among an increasingly younger population
    * Brain-degenerative diseases (e.g. Alzheimer's) and epilepsy
    * Cancerous afflictions: leukemia, brain tumors
Moreover, we have observed an ever-increasing occurrence of various disorders, often misdiagnosed in patients as psychosomatic:
    * Headaches, migraines
    * Chronic exhaustion
    * Inner agitation
    * Sleeplessness, daytime sleepiness
    * Tinnitus
    * Susceptibility to infection
    * Nervous and connective tissue pains, for which the usual causes do not explain even the most conspicuous symptoms.
Since the living environment and lifestyles of our patients are familiar to us, we can see, especially after carefully-directed inquiry, a clear temporal and spatial correlation between the appearance of disease and exposure to pulsed high -frequency microwave radiation (HFMR), such as:
    * Installation of a mobile telephone sending station in the near vicinity
    * Intensive mobile telephone use
    * Installation of a digital cordless (DECT) telephone at home or in the neighbourhood
We can no longer believe this to be purely coincidence.."
http://www.laleva.cc/environment/freiburger_appeal.html

2011 Vatican Radio Frequency and Childhood Leukemia
http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/health-headlines/2011/3/18/dr-mercola-vatican-radio-is-told-to-pay-out-over-transmitter.html
http://www.julienews.it/notizia/cronaca/roma-radio-vaticana-risarcira-gli-abitanti-di-cesano/67526_cronaca_2_1.html

http://www.icems.eu/papers/ramazzini_library5_part1.pdf

2011 Boeing says Wi-Fi affecting Cockpit Display http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2011/03/10/Boeing-says-WiFi-affecting-cockpit-display/UPI-18081299795712/#ixzz1Gp8GKub1

2011 International Association of Fire Fighters' Position on the Health Effects from Radio Frequency/Microwave (RF/MW) Radiation in Fire Department Facilities
http://www.iaff.org/hs/Facts/CellTowerFinal.asp#ref23

2011 Warning from Karolinska Institute in Sweden:

Scientists Urge Halt of Wireless Rollout and Call for New Safety Standards: Warning Issued on Risks to Children and Pregnant Women http://electromagnetichealth.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Karolinska_Institute_press_release1.pdf   

2011 The Seletun Scientific Statement http://electromagnetichealth.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Seletun-Transcript.pdf

2010 Speech by Barrie Trower (former Military Scientist for British Secret Service) on the Health Consequences of Microwave and Electromagnetic Wave
http://www.magdahavas.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Barrie_Trower_SA.pdf

2009 Will Thomas - Radical Reflections on the Wireless Revolution

Vancouver Island University, November 29, 2009

Will Thomas is an award-winning investigative reporter with more than 35 years experience. Named by Time magazine as Art Bell's most popular talk-show guest, Thomas offers cogent, documented facts and insights into some of the biggest "under-reported" stories of our times. Thomas's writing and photography have appeared in more than 50 publications in 8 countries. Winner of four Canadian feature-writing awards, he is the author of All Fall Down: The Politics of Terror and Mass Persuasion, Scorched Earth, Bringing The War Home, Alt Health, Days Of Deception: Ground Zero and Beyond and Chemtrails Confirmed.
Will Thomas' talk begins at 1' 42" 

 
http://www.citizensforsafetechnology.org/Will-Thomas--Cell-Phones-Out-of-the-Box-Radical-Reflections-on-the-Wireless-Revolution,55,742 

2008 Decision of Russian National Committee on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection"CHILDREN AND MOBILE PHONES:
THE HEALTH OF THE FOLLOWING GENERATIONS IS IN DANGER"

http://www.who.int/peh-emf/project/mapnatreps/RUSSIA%20report%202008.pdf

2008 An open letter to Mayor Young and the Langford Council, Langford, B.C.
Re: Health effects of cell tower radiation:

“As I mentioned above, many potentially harmful effects, such as the stress response and DNA strand breaks, occur at nonthermal levels (field strengths that do not cause a temperature increase) and are therefore considered safe. It is obvious that the safety standards must be revised down to take into account the nonthermal as well as thermal biological responses that occur at much lower intensities. Since we cannot rely on the current standards, it is best to act according to the precautionary principle, the approach advocated by the European Union and used by the scientists involved in the Bioinitiative report. In light of the current evidence, the precautionary approach appears to be the most reasonable for those who must protect the health and welfare of the public.”

http://next-up.org/pdf/BlankMartinOpenLetterMayorYoungLangfordCouncil11092008.pdf

2007 Danger on the airwaves: Is the Wi-Fi revolution a health time bomb? http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/danger-on-the-airwaves-is-the-wifi-revolution-a-health-time-bomb-445732.html

Wingspread Conference on the Precautionary principle: http://www.sehn.org/wing.html

German Government advises against WiFi:
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/green-living/germany-warns-citizens-to-avoid-using-wifi-401845.html
http://www.icems.eu/docs/deutscher_bundestag.pdf

In 2010 the Hesse minister of education and cultural affairs (Germany) replies to a request regarding Wi-Fi in schools with the recommendation to prefer wired network solutions whenever possible.
http://download.bildung.hessen.de/medien/einrichtungen_medien/support/Drucksache_18_1924_Laptop_WLAN_Gesundheitsgefaehrdung_an_Schulen.pdf (in German but can be translated)

In 2007 the Bavarian parliament (Germany) recommended the use of wired networks in all Bavarian schools due to health concerns and had each single school informed about this recommendation by the state secretary himself. http://download.bildung.hessen.de/medien/einrichtungen_medien/support/Bayer-StaMi-Empfehlung-20070823.pdf

The parliament of the Canton Thurgau clearly recommends since 2006 that schools use wired networks. http://wwwgrgeko.tg.ch/docs/00000064_00000E85_WEB.pdf (in German but can be translated with Google)

European Environmental Agency advises the precautionary principle for WiFi:
http://www.eea.europa.eu/highlights/radiation-risk-from-everyday-devices-assessed
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/green-living/eu-watchdog-calls-for-urgent-action-on-wifiradiation-402539.html


German Teachers' Union (Gewerkschaft Erziehung und Wissenschaft) warned against Wi-Fi in schools
http://www.gew-hessen.de/index.php?id=296&tx_ttnews[pointer]=1&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=2602&tx_ttnews[backPid]=453&cHash=7b2cf28f0c0222241e3cb16ba8339b4f

Austria medical association pressing for a ban on WiFi in schools:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1549944/Warning-on-wi-fi-health-risk-to-children.html

Herouville St Claire Normandy removes WiFi from schools: http://freepage.twoday.net/stories/5670096/

(USA) Progressive Librarians Guild urges the precautionary principle for WiFi in libraries June 2008:
http://libr.org/plg/wifiresolution.php

France: Paris City Council launched a study on WiFi June 2008 (in french):
http://www.lemonde.fr/technologies/article/2008/06/16/wi-fi-le-conseil-de-paris-lance-une-etude-surles-risques-sanitaires_1058950_651865.html#ens_id=1053227

UK: The Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) with 160,000 members has called for a government investigation into the biological and thermal effects of "WiFi" networks:
http://news.scotsman.com/education/39Wifi-in-schools-may-give.5156371.jp

Penang Malaysia to study health effects of WiFi. October 2008: http://freepage.twoday.net/stories/5250937/ 

England: Health Protection Agency launches study on health effects of WiFi Oct 2007:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/oct/13/internet.internetphonesbroadband

USA: Sebastopol CA. City Council chooses the precautionary principle and terminates contract for free city wide WiFi:
http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/article/20080324/NEWS/803240314/1033/NEWS

Sebastopol Area WiFi petition:
http://www.petitiononline.com/mufifree/petition.html

European Parliament Sept 2008 voted 522 to 16 to adopt text: "is greatly concerned at the Bio-Initiative international report concerning EMFs, which summarizes over 1500 studies on that topic and which points in its conclusions to the health risks posed by emissions from mobile-telephony devices such as mobile telephones, UMTS, WiFi, WiMax and Bluetooth, and also DECT landline ". "The limits on exposure to electromagnetic fields [EMFs] which have been set for the general public are obsolete." http://new.marketwire.com/2.0/release.do?id=901580

England schools dismantle wireless networks: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education/article642575.ece

England: Teachers union call to suspend WiFi in schools:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1039235/Suspend-wi-fi-schools-says-union-chief-followingreports-causes-ill-health.html

Bavarian state parliament advises schools against WiFi: (in German): http://www.buergerwelle-schweiz.org/fileadmin/user_upload/buergerwelle-schweiz/Mobilfunk/MF_03.07_Kein_WLAN_in_bayer._Schulen.pdf

Glastonbury residents "Why WiFi" Campaign: http://www.glastonburynaturalhealth.co.uk/WhyWi-Fi.html

Ireland: Jan 2008 The City of Dublin Ireland did not install WiFi due to a EU law:
http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/0109/wifi.html

WiFi code for Welch Schools:
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/green-living/child-safetyfears-prompt-wifi-code-for-welsh-schools-403255.html

Frankfurt, Germany: Bans WiFi in public schools (in German):
http://www.buergerwelle-schweiz.org/fileadmin/user_upload/buergerwelle-schweiz/Mobilfunk/Frankf_Rund_keinWLAN.pdf

Hospital Techies urge limits on 'white space' WiFi:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-9930441-7.html

Spain: Ecologists in Action statement on WiFi:
http://www.ecologistasenaccion.org/spip.php?article11598
http://www.es-uk.info/news/20080319_belmonte_en.pdf

GreenWarriors of Norway oppose WiFi in schools:
http://www.miljovernforbundet.no/render.asp?rticleno=1471&segment=1&session=

Dr. Magda Havas open letter to schools and teachers on WiFi health risks:
http://www.magdahavas.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/09_Havas_WiFi_schools.pdf

Austrian health director Dr. Gerd Oberfeld advising against WiFi: http://www.antennafreeunion.org/salzburg.pdf

Sweden Prof. Olle Johansson scientist WiFi letter: http://www.powerwatch.org.uk/pdfs/20070723_wifi_olle.pdf

Dr. George Carlo WiFi video:
http://www.mcs-international.org/red_alert_1_wifi_schoolchildren.html

Green party MEP/ concern with WiFi in schools:
http://www.carolinelucasmep.org.uk/2007/10/12/green-meps-demand-investigation-into-wifi-inschools-after-study-links-electro-magnetic-fields-and-cancers/
 

(Canada) Dr. Magda Havas Report opposing WiFi in San Francisco:
http://www.magdahavas.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/07_Havas_WiFi-SNAFU.pdf

The Gathering Brainstorm: http://www.theecologist.org/pages/archive_detail.asp?content_id=1179

Dr. Jeff Fawcett: WiFi Blues:
http://ezinearticles.com/?The-WiFi-Blues&id=169261

WiFi in Schools UK:
http://wifiinschools.org.uk/index.html

Santa Fe Librarians letter supporting WiFi free Public libraries:
http://www.santafenewmexican.com/Opinion/Their-View-Librarians--Keep-public-library-Wi-Fi-free

"Wireless Networks (WiFi) Consumer Health and Safety Advice" EMFacts handout:
http://www.emfacts.com/wifi

For more International Warnings against Wi-Fi, please see:
http://sites.google.com/site/wifiinschools/

Xtra Images – http://www.sl-webs.com/deesillustration/artwork.asp?item=454&cat=politics

 http://www.cbc.ca/news/pointofview/wi-fi-schools.jpg

http://www.redicecreations.com/ul_img/912wifi.jpg

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A Cancer Muckraker Takes on Cell Phones

A Cancer Muckraker Takes on Cell Phones

If anyone would be receptive to the idea that cell phone radiation might play a role in cancer, it would be Dr. Devra Davis. The epidemiologist and toxicologist is an expert in environmental health, and she's made a career out of the idea that cancer often has more to do with what's happening to us than what's going on inside our genes.
Her 2007 book The Secret History of the War on Cancer showed that some of the best medical minds in the U.S. played down the environmental factors behind cancer—from cigarette smoke to chemical exposure—far too long, in part because of deception and delay from industry.
But when a colleague raised the possibility that cell phones could be connected to brain cancer, Davis wasn't receptive. "I couldn't believe it and I didn't want to," says Davis. "These were attractive devices. Cell phones were like cars—you couldn't imagine life without them." But as she began to look seriously into the field, Davis began to have doubts that cell phones were harmless.
She found evidence of studies, some decades old, showing that the radio-frequency radiation used by cell phones could indeed have biological effects–enough to damage DNA and potentially contribute to brain tumors. She found that other countries—like France and Israel—had already acted, discouraging the use of cell phones by children and even putting warning signs on handsets.
She found evidence of  increases in certain kinds of brain tumors among unusually young patients who were heavy users of cell phones. And, just as she saw with tobacco and lung cancer, Davis discovered that the wireless industry—often with the help of governments—had fought independent scientists who studied cell phones, and helped produced questionable science that effectively clouded the issue. "This is about the most important and unrecognized public health issues of our time," says Davis."We could avert a global catastrophe if we act."
Her new book Disconnect is the result of those investigations, and it's convincing enough to give you pause before you fire up that iPhone. I've already covered the possible connections between cell phones and cancer—you can see my February story in TIME for a backgrounder on the scientific debate, and another piece I did recently on the Interphone study, a collection of international studies on mobiles and cancer that was meant to clarify the issue, but only ended up further confusing it. It's a complex subject—mixing electrical engineering, biology and epidemiology—but Davis makes a strong case in her book that we've underplayed the possible threat from cell phones for too long.

 

We're disconnected—even as worrying studies have begun to pile up, however quietly, the message has been slow to reach those in public health and even slower to reach the government. "The fact that we don't know everything about the subject doesn't mean that everything is fine," she says. "I can't tell you that cell phones are dangerous, but I can tell you that I'm not sure they're safe."
The wireless industry has an easy answer for this: in the thousands of studies that have been done on cell phones and health, few of them have shown any effect—and public agencies like the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the World Health Organization have found no clear health risks. As CTIA, the wireless industry group, says in a statement on its website: "To date, no adverse health effects have been established for mobile phone use."
The magic word there is "established," because as Davis argues in some of the best passages of Disconnect, it could be that we haven't established the dangers of cell phone use because we haven't asked the right questions—and that might be on purpose. "If you don't want to know the answer," Davis says, "don't ask the question."
Much of the research into the biological effects of cell phone radiation has been underwritten by the... cell phone industry, and you don't have to be a raging paranoiac to wonder whether that money might have an impact on the conclusions of those thousands of studies. After all, in this case—just as it was with tobacco and lung cancer—doubt is the friend of industry. To hold off the possibility of legislation or regulation—not to mention lawsuits—wireless companies and their advocates don't have to prove that cell phones are safe beyond any doubt. They just have to play defense.
However, as Davis shows in Disconnect, that argument is going to get tougher and tougher to make. In one of the finest passages of her book, Davis details the tale of Dr. Franz Adlkofer, a German scientist who had long been involved in tobacco research. Like many scientists—more than medical science might like to admit—Adlkofer was willing to take money from the tobacco industry to fund his research, without really thinking about how that might constrain his work. He was, in a sense, a company man. But when Adlkofer began working with the wireless industry and produced research showing that cell phone radiation unravels DNA, he suddenly found his work under attack by the industry that had funded it. He was accused of fraud in highly suspicious circumstances (he fought the charges, and they were eventually withdrawn), and says the industry paid other scientists to produce studies that would discredit his own work, as he told Davis in Disconnect:
“I can't prove this, but here's what I think they did. The industry never liked this work. From the first they heard about it, they set out to discredit it. I had seen this happen with tobacco science so often, especially at the hands of the American companies. Yet suddenly it was happening to me.”
Davis is justifiably suspicious of Adlkofer—he was a tobacco scientist, after all—but ultimately his story seems to check out. He's also far from the only researcher Davis meets whose career suffered after challenging the conventional wisdom on cell phones and cancer. Davis shows that independent studies on cell phone radiation found dangers at more than twice the rate of industry-funded studies—though because the cell phone industry is the source of much of the funding of cell phone studies, there are far more of the latter. And ultimately that is what is truly disturbing about Davis's book.
Time and again, she shows the way that industry has been able to twist science just enough to stave off the possibility of any regulation—and finds that researchers are afraid of challenging the status quo, lest they find themselves suddenly out of a job, denied the lifeblood of research money. Most of the few brave researchers who challenge the prevailing wisdom on cell phone radiation — like the electrical engineer Om Gandhi or the bioengineer Henry Lai — are senior scientists, secure in their positions and their tenure. But a young researcher just starting out is far more vulnerable to industry pressure. Science isn't as pristine as we imagine it. "There has not been truly independent research in this field," says Davis. "That has to change."
Davis wants to see the government fund new studies on cell phones and health, independent of government interference—and fortunately the National Toxicology Program will be running its own tests, though not until 2014. The good news in the meantime is that you don't have to throw away your cell phone to minimize any potential risks.
Simply using a wired headset should significantly cut down on radiation exposure to the brain, although Davis recommends that children—whose thinner skulls can absorb higher levels of radiation—avoid using phones altogether. "We do so much to protect our children from all manner of threats," she says. "We need to protect them from this as well." Read Disconnect, and you'll be on guard as well.
Posted by Bryan Walsh @ http://ecocentric.blogs.time.com/2010/09/27/health-a-cancer-muckraker-takes-on-cell-phones/
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