Wednesday, November 06, 2013

Toronto Public Health Prudent Avoidance


Toronto Public Health Prudent Avoidance

toronto-public-health

Monday November 4th, 2013 there will be a City council meeting where Toronto Public Health will vote on the recommendation from the Medical Officer of Health to remove Toronto Public Health’s prudent avoidance policy for wireless/RF radiation arising from cell tower emissions. Let the Board of Health know that you want the Prudent Avoidance Policy to remain in place because you do not want the fate of all Torontonians to rely on Health Canada’s antiquated Safety Code 6.

What is Safety Code 6?
Health Canada’s Safety Code 6 is the exposure guidelines for the cumulative limit of wireless/RF radiation exposure to the human body. It governs the emissions from cell phones, cell towers and antenna, WiFi, smart meters, as well as consumer goods such as cordless phones and baby monitors. It was put in place in the 1980’s, based on tests done to a 220lb mannequin on 6 minutes of exposure, does not take into account children, or biological effects at all and is embroiled in a national conflicted controversy unfolding in Ottawa at the moment. It is one of the worst in world today leaving Torontonians and Canadians at the mercy of industry. Learn more HERE.

What is prudent avoidance?
Prudent avoidance is a precautionary principle in risk management, stating that reasonable efforts to minimise potential risks should be taken when the actual magnitude of the risks is unknown. In this case it takes the form of wireless radiation (EMR/RF) dictated in a document called Safety Code 6.

Toronto Public Health Prudent Avoidance
Toronto Board of Health is voting on the irresponsible recommendation to remove prudent avoidance [PA] for human exposure to Microwave/EMF radiation emissions from wireless antennas. Prudent Avoidance in Toronto is currently 100 times lower emissions than the federal standard, Safety Code 6 (SC6) in line with China and Russia, and even tighter restrictions on emissions in Switzerland, Italy, Belgium, Bulgaria, and Luxemburg. Removing Toronto’s prudent avoidance would not be a good thing.

Monday November 4th, 2013
Toronto Board of Health is hearing from the public on the Medical Officer of Health's recommendations. They need to hear from Torontonians to keep PA!

Please come out and support:
Toronto City Hall
West Wing
100 Queen Street West
Toronto, ON, M5H 2N2
Meeting Room 1, 2nd Floor between 2pm-4pm on Monday 4th November.
You can also contact the Toronto Public Health Complaints Officer
Call: 416-338-7600
Email: tphfeedback@toronto.ca
Fax: 416-338-8061, Attention Toronto Public Health Complaints Officer
Mail: Toronto Public Health Complaints Officer, 277 Victoria St, 4th Floor, Toronto, ON, M5B 1W2


Toronto's Medical Officer of Health Wants to Hide Behind Safety Code 6. He is...
City Council discontinue the prudent avoidance policy wherein the City requests that radiofrequencies from cellular phone base stations are kept 100 times below Safety Code 6 in areas where the public normally spends time;
The Board of Health encourage Industry Canada to:
Conduct regular monitoring for radiofrequencies arising from telecommunications structures in Toronto, and to make this information publicly available and accessible.
Ensure that information regarding the locations and estimated emissions of all cellular phone antennas is publicly available and accessible.
The Board of Health encourage Health Canada to continue to review health evidence pertaining to human exposure to RFs and to revise Safety Code 6 whenever appropriate to protect human health.
Summary
This report responds to a motion by the Board of Health (BOH) to review the City of Toronto's Prudent Avoidance (PA) policy related to radiofrequencies (RFs) emitted from cell phone towers and to provide an update on evidence regarding public health impacts from exposure to cell tower RFs. Under the policy, adopted by City Council in 2008 as recommended by the BOH, Toronto Public Health (TPH) reviews the predicted RF values provided by companies applying to install new cell phone base stations (cell towers) in Toronto and requests that providers keep RF emission levels 100 times below Safety Code 6, Health Canada's public exposure guideline. Compliance with the PA policy is voluntary as the authority to regulate cell phone towers (including siting and the development of appropriate RF exposure levels) rests with the federal government.

Since 2008, 33 applications for towers have been assessed by TPH and compliance with the PA policy has been high. With few exceptions, RF emissions estimates typically have met the PA policy level and all have been well below Safety Code 6. The application of the policy is however restricted to a relatively small subset of cell towers in the City that are subject to municipal consultation and enforceability is constrained by a lack of municipal jurisdiction.

From its review of recent health evidence, TPH notes that the majority scientific opinion indicates that the health risk to the public from cell towers and other telecommunications sources of RFs is low.

Toronto Public Health responds regularly to resident concerns and councillor inquiries about cell phone towers and antennas. Response strategies have involved site visits, requesting information on emissions from the provider and/or Industry Canada and most recently, taking field measurements of RFs from specific antennas. The information reviewed by TPH has indicated that the RF levels from these antenna systems have consistently been well below Safety Code 6 and have met the PA policy level. Based on a review of evidence and TPH's experience implementing the policy, continued application of the PA policy in the form of a stricter exposure guideline is no longer necessary as it does not confer a health benefit to the residents of Toronto. The Medical Officer of Health therefore recommends that the Board support discontinuation of the PA policy. Toronto Public Health will continue to monitor the health evidence related to RFs from cell towers and will continue to respond to and address public concerns as they arise.

Click HERE to read the Full Recommendation to Toronto Council to Remove PA

Click HERE to read the Toronto Public Health Full Report

TPH claims these points as justification for removing PA:
TPH claims: Radiation levels in Toronto have not increased since 2002/3. TPH sites only one reference, which is a non-public letter between Toronto’s Medical Health Officer, David McKeown, and a Director within Industry Canada. If a proper survey had been conducted [eg. 2002 survey] it would be made public and available. Therefore, it is clear that TPH is making this assertion against global trends and without any real science.
TPH claims: There is no scientific basis to be prudent. The risk from cell towers is low. The science is mounting. Also it is common sense: if we continue to irradiate Torontonians with increasing levels of microwave radiation, how can they remain healthy? TPH’s review methodology is flawed as it only considers older studies [by considering only reviews of primary science rather than the primary science itself]. Some of the most important science has been published in the last 12 months. These studies are ignored by TPH.
TPH claims: Electro-hypersensitivity [EHS] unlikely to exist given current scientific evidence. Odd that TPH takes this approach when the science of EHS has been so flawed and both Ontario Disability Act and Canadian Human Rights Commission recognize this disability. Perhaps it would have helped TPH to consult with leaders in the field [Scientists Dr. Olle Johannson in Sweden and Dr. Belpomme] and environmental doctors across Canada who are treating this disability daily with long waiting lists.
TPH claims: Toronto has no real jurisdiction over Cell towers. While Toronto has little legal jurisdiction, it has worked to contain the RF emitted from cell towers over last 10 years. We would like TPH to continue this work in protection of Torontonians.
As a concerned Torontonian, it is of critical importance that you write an email (on the right hand side of this page) and/or call your Councillor COPYING all Councillors across Toronto to explain why you are concerned about this, and to make it clear that you do not support removal of Toronto’s Prudent Avoidance Policy, and that you want your Councillor to also not support removal.

Government Officials Contact Information
Toronto Public Health Executive
Toronto Board of Health
Loren Vanderlinden
Manager, Healthy Public Policy
Email: lvander@toronto.ca
Monica Campbell
Director, Healthy Public Policy
Email: mcampbe2@toronto.ca
Reg Ayre
Manager, Healthy Environments
Email: rayre@toronto.ca
Melanie Azeff
Public Health Inspector
Email: mazeff@toronto.ca
Dr. David McKeown
The Medical Officer of Health for the City of Toronto

Email: dmckeown@toronto.ca

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