International Scientist Appeal on Electromagnetic Fields & Wireless Technology
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| International EMF Scientist Appeal |
July
20, 2015
As of July 18, 2015, 207
experts signed the Appeal. Links
to more than 50 news stories can be found on on the Appeal web
site under media coverage.
June 25, 2015
WHO: It's time for a change
The World Health
Organization promotes the radio frequency radiation guidelines adopted by
the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation
Protection (ICNIRP). Many countries have adopted these guidelines to
serve as their regulatory standards for wireless radiation exposure from cell
phones, Wi-Fi, and other wireless devices.
ICNIRP has 14 members on the
commission. ICNIRP recently announced that is calling for
nominations to serve on the Commission from 2016 to 2020. To be
eligible for membership, one must be nominated by the Executive Council of
the International Radiation Protection
Association (IRPA) or an IRPA Associate Society.
IRPA, the international
professional society for radiological protection, was created
by health physicists with expertise in ionizing radiation. The Executive
Council consists of 12 members including seven physicists, two engineers,
a nuclear technologist, a biochemist, and an M.D. biologist. Their expertise
and the primary focus of their association has been on protection from ionizing
radiation. So it is reasonable to question why the eligibility criteria for
ICNIRP membership requires that ICNIRP members be nominated by IRPA or its
affiliates since ICNIRP’s domain is non-ionizing radiation protection.
Do the selection criteria
for ICNIRP membership explain why ICNIRP has not adopted biologically-based
guidelines to protect people from non-ionizing radiation?
ICNIRP should be composed of
members who possess a comprehensive and deep understanding of the scientific
literature regarding chronic, low intensity exposure to non-ionizing radiation
and biology or health. In addition, these experts should be unbiased and
should not have even the appearance of a conflict of interest.
Recently, 206 scientists
signed the International
EMF Scientist Appeal, a petition which claims that "the ICNIRP
guidelines do not cover long-term exposure and low-intensity effects" and
"they are insufficient to protect public health." All of these
scientists have published peer-reviewed research on non-ionizing radiation
protection.
"The International
Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) established in 1998
the “Guidelines For Limiting Exposure To Time-Varying Electric, Magnetic, and
Electromagnetic Fields (up to 300 GHz)”[1]." These guidelines are accepted
by the WHO and numerous countries around the world. The WHO is calling for all
nations to adopt the ICNIRP guidelines to encourage international harmonization
of standards. In 2009, the ICNIRP released a statement saying that it was
reaffirming its 1998 guidelines, as in their opinion, the scientific literature
published since that time “has provided no evidence of any adverse effects
below the basic restrictions and does not necessitate an immediate revision of
its guidance on limiting exposure to high frequency electromagnetic
fields."http://emfscientist.org/index.php/emf-scientist-appeal
Perhaps, it is time for
the WHO to replace ICNIRP with an expert committee that has greater
expertise regarding non-ionizing radiation protection and use this committee to
establish the WHO guidelines for wireless radiation.
--
June
8, 2015
Joel M. Moskowitz, Ph.D.
submitted the International
EMF Scientist Appeal along with the Press Release and a
description of the Appeal to the Federal Communications Commission in
response to an FCC request for input regarding its radio frequency
radiation regulations which were adopted in 1996 (Proceeding Number 13-84).
These three documents can be
downloaded from FCC web site at http://bit.ly/FCCappeal.
A summary of key documents
submitted to the FCC under Proceeding Number 13-84 is available at http://bit.ly/FCCkeydocs.
June
4, 2015 Update
The "International EMF Scientist Appeal" has
generated more than 48 news stories
in 26 nations written in 21 different languages attesting to
the global reach of this petition.
May
16, 2015 Update
On Monday, May 11th, 190
scientists from 39 nations submitted an appeal to the United Nations, the UN
member states, and the World Health Organization (WHO) requesting they adopt
more protective exposure guidelines for electromagnetic fields (EMF) and
wireless technology* in the face of increasing evidence of risk.These exposures
are a rapidly growing form of environmental pollution worldwide.
*(e.g., cell phones,
cordless phones, Wi-Fi, wireless devices, cell towers, wireless utility
meters).
The “International EMF Scientist Appeal” asks
the Secretary General, UN affiliated bodies and all member nations to encourage
precautionary measures, to limit EMF exposures, and to educate the public about
health risks, particularly to children and pregnant women.
To date, the petition has
been signed by 200 EMF scientists from 40 countries -- each
has published peer-reviewed research on non-ionizing EMF and biology or health
-- about 2,000 scientific papers in all.
The EMFscientist.org web site
launched last Monday has been visited by people in 119 countries attesting to
the global reach of this emerging public health crisis. The site contains
information about this "wake up call" from the scientific community
including a 3-minute video announcing the Appeal by Dr.
Martin Blank, a past president of the International Bioelectromagnetics Society
who has had over 30 years of experience conducting EMF research at Columbia
University.
The International EMF Alliance has
begun to collect endorsements of the Appeal from
non-governnmental (i.e., non-profit) organizations around the world.]
May
11, 2015
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PRESS RELEASE
International Scientists
Appeal to U.N. to Protect Humans and Wildlife from Electromagnetic Fields and
Wireless Technology
WHO’s conflicting stance on risk needs strengthening, says 190
scientists
New York, NY, May 11, 2015.
Today 190 scientists from 39 nations submitted an appeal to the United Nations,
UN member states and the World Health Organization (WHO) requesting they adopt
more protective exposure guidelines for electromagnetic fields (EMF) and
wireless technology in the face of increasing evidence of risk. These exposures
are a rapidly growing form of environmental pollution worldwide.
The “International
EMF Scientist Appeal” asks the Secretary General and UN affiliated
bodies to encourage precautionary measures, to limit EMF exposures, and to educate
the public about health risks, particularly to children and pregnant women.
The Appeal highlights
WHO’s conflicting positions about EMF risk. WHO’s International Agency for
Research on Cancer classified Radiofrequency radiation as a Group 2B “Possible
Carcinogen” in 2011, and Extremely Low Frequency fields in 2001.
Nonetheless, WHO continues to ignore its own agency’s recommendations and
favors guidelines recommended by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing
Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). These guidelines, developed by a self-selected
group of industry insiders, have long been criticized as non-protective.
The Appeal calls
on the UN to strengthen its advisories on EMF risk for humans and to assess the
potential impact on wildlife and other living organisms under the auspices of
the UN Environmental Programme, in line with the science demonstrating risk,
thereby resolving this inconsistency.
Martin Blank, PhD, of
Columbia University, says,
"International exposure
guidelines for electromagnetic fields must be strengthened to reflect the
reality of their impact on our bodies, especially on our DNA. The time to deal
with the harmful biological and health effects is long overdue. We must reduce exposure
by establishing more protective guidelines.”
Joel Moskowitz, PhD, of
University of California, Berkeley, says,
“ICNIRP guidelines set
exposure standards for high-intensity, short-term, tissue-heating thresholds.
These do not protect us from the low-intensity, chronic exposures common today.
Scientists signing the Appeal request that the UN and member nations protect
the global human population and wildlife from EMF exposures.”
International EMF Scientist
Appeal, Description of the Appeal and Spokesperson Quotes: EMFscientist.org
Video Statement (3 min.) by
Spokesperson Martin Blank, PhD: EMFscientist.org
(An
HD version of the video statement is available on request.)
Contacts:
Elizabeth Kelley, MA,
Director Joel Moskowitz, PhD
EMFscientist.org
School of Public Health, UC Berkeley
info@EMFscientist.org
jmm@berkeley.edu
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