'Electro-oversensitive' man in mobile phone blackout threat

Published: 25 Nov 11 16:28 CET | Double click on a word to get a translation 

A Swedish man who sometimes wears a silver-coloured suit to protect himself from mobile phone mast radiation had demanded that local officials in Dalarna in central Sweden create a “radiation-free zone” to protect his health that may leave half the county without mobile phone coverage.

Despite a lack of scientific research into the health effects of the radiation emitted by mobile phone masts, Mora municipality in Dalarna County is about to create an area free of radiation following complaints filed by local resident Dan Bengtsson, 62.

”There may be a biological effect that we are unaware of. If we can play it safe it may open up for other authorities to do the same,” said municipal environment inspector Niklas Sjödin to daily Dagens Nyheter (DN). 

Bengtsson, who lives outside of Mora, has long complained of headaches, back problems, and painful prickles in his heart. 

He describes himself as "electro-oversensitive" and claims that his health has deteriorated since the mobile mast network was expanded in the area. 

The silver suit he sometimes wears dampens the effect somewhat, but not completely, according to Bengtsson. 

”It looks a little bit like a space suit,” Bengtsson told daily Aftonbladet. 

According to Bengtsson, his condition is making his wife suffer as well, as she is forced to be there for him all the time.

”If I have to do a bank errand or similar she has to go into the bank and fetch me all the things I need,” he told the paper. 

Bengtsson's problems began in 1992 when he lived on the west coast and worked as an electrical engineer for a power company.

“I see this as a work related injury,” he told the paper.

In 2005 he moved with his wife to the little village Venjan in Mora municipality in Dalarna, to escape the electricity and radiation.

“But I still have not managed to find a decent home. Mobile phone radiation is unavoidable. It is everywhere in Sweden,” he said.

The matter has already cost tax payers hundreds of thousands of kronor, according to DN, and there are 140 separate documents pertaining to the affair in the case file. 

The municipality environment office is hoping to meet Bengtsson half way, despite the possibility that creating a mobile phone “dead zone” could leave other residents without any reception for their mobile phones and television sets.

The authority is hoping to make an official demand that mobile phone operators, as well as the state run TV and Radio distributor Terracotta, must aim their masts a different direction. 

The local authorities argue their right to make such a demand is supported by Swedish environment law. 

Experts have criticized the move, however, saying that there are no scientific proof that the radiation is harmful to humans.

”The decision which the municipality is about to take is not based on any scientific evidence. There is no known biological mechanism for how a low level of exposure emitted by mobile base stations could have any detrimental health effects,” Maria Feychting, epidemiology professor at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, told DN. 

The Mora environment office want the companies to implement measures to ensure that the electric field strength around the man's property can't exceed 50 nano watts per square metre. 

According to DN, this is an extremely low number, the normal radiation level is about 500,000 nano watts per square metres.

”My guess is that this will constitute a problem for many trying to use their mobile phones. That is such a low limit that I'm afraid half of the county will be without TV,” said Yngve Hamnerius, professor of electromagnetics at Chalmers University of Technology. 

The limit set on electric field strength is based on what the man estimates to be a tolerable level for his everyday life. 

Local authorities did attempt to measure levels around the man's property, but surveying the area was never completed. However, they nevertheless feel that the level is adequate for mobile phone use in the area.

”We have looked through text books and come to that conclusion. W have Googled it and read some comments,” Sjödin told DN.

Rebecca Martin (news@thelocal.se)

http://www.thelocal.se/37576/20111125/#

Concerned parents protest Wi-Fi in schools

Concerned parents protest Wi-Fi in schools

WRITTEN BY PHILLIP MACIEL

THURSDAY, 24 NOVEMBER 2011 13:15

Nearly 50 parents and children protested in front of the York Region District School Boardoffice Wednesday in hopes of having Wi-Fi banned in their schools.

“We parents are very concerned. We don’t want our children in a learning environment where they’re being radiated everyday,” Christine Marrin, a parent, activist and former teacher with the board, told thedailyplanet.com.

Close to 40 parents protested in Aurora, Ont. and almost 10 children were pulled out of classes to protest alongside them. The protest happened from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.

“A Wi-Fi router emits the same radio-frequency as a microwave … and there have been no studies on children to tell us this is safe,” said Marrin.

Parents in the York Region area fear Wi-Fi's effects on their children, but Health Canada says the threats are simply not real.

Health Canada, however, ensures that Wi-Fi in schools poses no risk to anyone exposed.

Health Canada's website explains that, “there is no convincing scientific evidence that emissions from [Wi-Fi] are dangerous to schoolchildren or to Canadians in general.”

Yet Marrin remains unconvinced by Health Canada’s position.

“There hasn’t been a generation of students who have been in this kind of learning environment, and so it’s just a mystery to us how Health Canada ensures us that it’s safe,” Marrin said.

The York Region District School Board issued a release after testing in a “sample of areas” for radio frequencies and microwave electromagnetic field levels associated with Wi-Fi.

“All the observed levels are far below exposure limits currently established or proposed by major international or national agencies,” said the release.

Marrin said that her ultimate goal is to have Wi-Fi removed from the schools, and to have the computers hard-wired instead.

“I understand that technology strengthens classroom instruction. I am very much pro-technology,” she said. “I’m just taking issue with the way the board is choosing to deliver Internet access.”

http://www.thedailyplanet.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7313:concerned-parents-protest-wi-fi-in-schools&catid=14:local&Itemid=262

MEDIA ADVISORY: Orange County NY Urges Federal and State Action on Microwave Transmitters

MEDIA ADVISORY: Orange County NY Urges Federal and State Action on Microwave Transmitters

24.10.2011 by emily Category Electromagnetic Health Blog

Released by Deborah Kopald, Environmental Health and Public Policy Advocate, October 21, 2011.

Media Advisory: County Government Urges Federal and State Action on Microwave Transmitters

On October 6^th, 2011, the Orange County (NY) Legislature passed the Wireless Right-to-Know Resolution, making it the third jurisdiction in the United States to weigh in on the failure of the federal government to properly account for the effects of radiation from microwave-emitting transmitters and/or devices.

In the resolution, Orange County urged “THE U.S. PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA, PERTINENT FEDERAL AGENCIES, MEMBERS OF THE U. S. CONGRESS, NEW YORK GOVERNOR ANDREW M. CUOMO, PERTINENT STATE AGENCIES AS WELL AS MEMBERS OF THE NEW YORK STATE LEGISLATURE TO FUND AND CAUSE STUDIES TO BE PERFORMED ON THE PUBLIC HEALTH IMPACTS OF THE USE OF CELL TRANSMISSIONS, WI-FI, WIRELESS SMART METERS AND OTHER SOURCES OF CONTINUOUS MICROWAVE AND RADIO FREQUENCY RADIATION.”

The Orange County action follows the resolution adopted by the New Mexico House of Representative in March which commissioned its state health and environment departments to compile the literature on microwave radiation and recommend ways to alleviate “ any dangerous effects that cell phone radiation has on human health” for a report to be issued in November and the San Francisco cell phone ordinance which went into effect in September mandating point of sale disclosure that cell phones emit radiofrequency radiation and provision of information on how to reduce exposure.

Wi-Fi transmitters have now become ubiquitous in indoor human environments, smart meters have been rolled out by utilities in many states, and both can expose human populations to more radiation than cell transmitters which have been identified by scientific studies and international bodies as being epidemiologically significant.  In addition, the cumulative exposure many people receive from transmitters exceed their exposure to cell phone use, which the National Institute of Health demonstrated is responsible for changes in brain chemistry and which many studies including the World Health Organization’s INTERPHONE study showed are linked to brain tumors, brain damage, cognitive dysfunction and other cancers.

Microwave radiation from devices and transmitters was identified in 2011 as possibly carcinogenic by the World Health Organization, and in 2010 the Presidential Cancer Panel identified the question of children’s and adolescents’ risk from using wireless devices as the most urgent issue to be addressed.

A press conference to discuss the implications of the resolution and the political and scientific issues surrounding the problem of ever-increasing exposures to wireless radiation from increased placement of transmitters and use of wireless devices will be held at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, November 1^st, 2011 at the Orange County Citizens Foundation at 23 White Oak Drive, Sugar Loaf, NY.  http://www.occf-ny.org/webpages/home/

Participants will include Orange County legislators, other lawmakers working on related legislative initiatives, advocate Deborah Kopald and members of the scientific community.

Contact:

Jeff Berkman, Democratic Minority Leader, Orange County Legislature jeff@jeffberkman.com

Deborah Kopald, Environmental Health and Public Policy advocate Deborah_Kopald@ymail.com

http://electromagnetichealth.org/electromagnetic-health-blog/oc-ny/

Cell tower situation demands the attention of every citizen in Huntsville

Re: proposed cell tower on Lynx Lake Road

World renowned scientists in the field of microwaves, Barrie Trower of Britain, has stated that property owners hosting cellphone towers are unaware that telecommunication companies have absolved themselves of responsibility for damages, thereby leaving property owners exposed to liability lawsuits. He cited an example of a court case in which a plot owner was happy to receive the equivalent of $100,000 pounds a year for hosting a cellphone tower on his farm but was sued for $4 million by his neighbours after the tower became a health hazard that resulted in the value of properties falling.

The facts are that radiation emanating from cellphone towers will cook living tissue within a 2.6 mile radius. All life exposed to this type of radiation even at low levels at greater distances are vulnerable to chronic and terminal health issues including cancer, fibromyalgia, heart disease and abnormalities – plant leaves lose their cells and die.
Equally frightening is that citizens and communities have had their rights to self-determination of safe, healthy communities co-opted by absentee and unelected decision makers.

Dividing citizenry is a strategy long employed to create distraction from important issues. This is a serious community issue that demands the attention of every citizen. If Rogers and our governments allow this seemingly benign but fatally violent structure in our wetland neighbourhood, they will (be) put in your apartment building, nearby flagpoles and church steeples too. 

As Canadians, we all value our communities, health and economic freedom. I urge every citizen to learn the facts, develop an informed opinion and be heard. Everyone is invited to visit the online petition www.ipetitions.com (to) read what your neighbours are saying and show your support. 

Let’s continue to educate ourselves, work together as a community and follow the lead of Oakville and Peterborough to relocate towers away from residential areas. In addition, let’s create a telecommunications facilities protocol to provide a formal framework for community-based decision-making. This type of policy is more consistent with our Unity Plan goals and aspirations for sustainable, healthy and economically progressive communities.

Jennifer Vasey
Lynx Lake Road
Huntsville

http://www.cottagecountrynow.ca/opinion/letters/article/1249258--cell-tower-situation-demands-the-attention-of-every-citizen-in-huntsville

Most Britons oppose children having mobile phones, poll finds

By Li-mei Hoang

Thu Nov 24, 2011 7:22pm IST

A woman uses her mobile telephone in central London January 23, 2011.

Credit: Reuters/Luke MacGregor

(Reuters) - Nearly three-quarters of Britons think it is inappropriate for children under 12 to own a mobile phone, despite the fact that most kids already have them, according to a poll on Thursday.

The survey of 2,000 people found that expensive bills, unmonitored internet use and lack of parental control were some of the reasons adults felt uncomfortable about kids owning mobiles.

However, more than one in 10 would buy a child a mobile phone as a treat to encourage good behavior, or for doing well at school.

The vast majority of parents (90 percent) also liked the idea of a child having a phone in case of an emergency.

Mobile phone information and price comparison website Recombu.com, which carried out the survey, noted that 79 percent of 7 to 11-year-olds already own a mobile.

Hannah Bouckley, editor of Recombu, said: "It is reassuring for parents to be in constant contact with their children, but there are clearly concerns about just how careful a young child will be with their own mobile phone.

"It is important for parents to sit down with their kids to discuss the responsibilities that come with the phone and set clear limits for its usage from the outset."

(Reporting by Li-mei Hoang, editing by Paul Casciato)

http://in.reuters.com/article/2011/11/24/us-phone-children-mobile-idINTRE7AN0Y420111124

Your baby monitor may not be protecting your child

Your baby monitor may not be protecting your child





Thursday, November 24, 2011 by: Lenette Nakauchi


Learn more:http://www.naturalnews.com/034230_baby_monitor_children.html#ixzz1eifY0O60

(NaturalNews) As a parent, you certainly only want what is best for your child. Unfortunately, today's highly technological society may be providing you with ways to safeguard your children that can actually harm them. When shopping for products to help keep your baby safe, it may be difficult to differentiate between products that truly protect your child and those that do not. Baby monitors, especially, are known to expose children to radiation that can be very harmful to their development.

The Dangers of Baby Monitors

Being able to listen for your baby while getting other activities accomplished is a wonderful thing, and baby monitors have freed new parents to utilize the little time they have to complete chores, prepare meals, and relax. But many parents are unaware of the damage that baby monitors can do to their developing children.

All electronic devices create electromagnetic fields, or EMFs. These EMFs carry radiation which, over time, can be harmful. Overexposure to EMFs is a large concern in today's society, as the culture seems to continually embrace technological advancement without questioning its consequences. For your baby, this could create serious health risks.

You see, the skulls of small children are not completely formed, leaving their brains more vulnerable to radiation exposure. Because baby monitors are often wireless devices, they emit a great deal of EMFs, as they have to cover an entire area of space and not just the length from one end of a cord to another. To make matters worse, these monitors are often placed next to a baby's crib or bed, making the intensity of the EMF for them even greater.

Is This a Legitimate Concern?

While it is true that the exact health risks have yet to be pinpointed and confirmed by researchers, it is also true that radiation can be highly dangerous. Adults, who suffer from overexposure to EMFs, have complained of several different health problems, ranging in severity from fatigue to cancer. Furthermore, the developing tissues of a baby make young children much more susceptible to the damage that radiation can cause. Though they may be invisible, EMFs are certainly threats that parents should consider before using a baby monitor.

What Can You Do to Keep Your Children Safe?

The best way to protect your kids from EMFs is to use as few electronic devices in your home as possible. This means unplugging, and not just turning off, any electronics that are not in use, such as the television. Furthermore, you should only use baby monitors if it is an absolute necessity.

If you find yourself needing to rely upon a baby monitor, make sure that you do not put it right next to your child's bed or crib. In fact, it is recommended that you place it at least 10 feet from where your baby will be sleeping. It would also be wise to invest in an "on demand" baby monitor, which is activated by sound and only transmits information when there is noise. Though this does not completely avoid exposure to radiation, it will significantly cut down on the EMF levels to which your baby is exposed.

Sources for this article include
http://www.lifeenergysolutions.com/...
http://www.bag.admin.ch/themen/stra...
http://timleitch.net.nz/bioenergy/c...


About the author:
Lenette Nakauchi is a vibration exercise and detox expert who is passionate about demonstrating to others how to get lean and fit in a fun, healthy, sustainable way. Learn more about vibration exercise and how it's used for fitness, therapy, and weight loss athttp://www.thenoblerexk1.com. Learn more about her detox and cleansing product athttp://www.3daycleanse.com.

Learn more:http://www.naturalnews.com/034230_baby_monitor_children.html#ixzz1eifMLQF5

Smart meters: Coleman has no opposition from celebrities

Smart meters: Coleman has no opposition 

from celebrities

 

 

LANGLEY ADVANCE NOVEMBER 22, 2011

 

 

Dear Editor,

Isn't it amazing that Energy Minister Rich Coleman, MLA for Fort Langley/Aldergrove, is forcing us to accept the replacement of our old electric meters with so-called smart meters that will poison our homes with high doses of electromagnetic radiation?

And isn't it strange that not one "celebrity" has come to champion the cause against smart meters?

Not one celebrity from government, business, entertainment or even any of the so-called guardians of the planet like the Suzuki Foundation, Green Peace, Ducks Unlimited or any other "tree hugging" organization.

Yet, harm one baby seal, cut one-old growth tree, spill one drop of oil or endanger the life of one creature in a bog some where in the world and they come out of the woodwork looking for photo opportunities and money to support their cause!

It's sad that you haven't taken an interest in protecting your families and that you are leaving it up to a small group of citizens, right here in your home town, who are standing up for you and your families, fighting our government and corporations trying to prevent them from spying on us or poisoning us in our homes and work places with dangerous levels of "Electromagnetic Radiation"?

People, this isn't about effective delivery or conservation of electrical energy or protecting the environment or jobs it's all about profit and control.

Many of our grandfathers and fathers gave their lives to ensure that we had democracy and freedom. Can you imagine what they would say if they could see what our government, both provincial and federal is doing in the name of profit to stifle the freedom they so valiantly died for?

What's next? Smart meters are only the tip of the ice berg. Big business and government have other more sinister ideas to generate more profit and greater control over the worlds population and our resources like water, gas and oil.

So what are you going to do about it? Let others carry the fight for you? Just sit there and watch TV, play your video games and surf the internet while your rights and freedoms are being stripped away from you and your children?

You need to get involved. Seek out those organizations that are fighting for you and me to stop this travesty.

Brian Turner, Mission

© Copyright (c) Langley Advance

more:http://www.langleyadvance.com/Smart+meters+Coleman+opposition+from+celebrities/5750339/story.html#ixzz1eievu9VY

UCSF's Stan Glantz on Cell Phone Safety Parts 1 & 2

Another Piece of the Puzzle: EMFs and Candida

Electromagn Biol Med. 2006;25(2):79-85.

Suppression of natural killer cell activity on Candida stellatoidea by a 50 Hz magnetic field.

Canseven AG, Seyhan N, Mirshahidi S, Imir T.

Source

Department of Biophysics, Gazi University Medical Faculty, Ankara, Turkey. canseven@gazi.edu.tr

Abstract

Exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF) is ubiquitous for almost all individuals living in industrialized countries. Epidemiological and laboratory studies suggest that exposure to Extremely Low Frequency (ELF) EMF increase cancer risk. The immune system functions as one of the body's main protective mechanisms, and Natural Killer (NK) cells are a subset of lymphocytes that can destroy several types of tumor cells. In this study, we investigated, NK cell activity after exposure to a 50 Hertz (Hz), 2 mT magnetic field generated by a Helmholtz Coil. Nineteen male, 10-12 week old guinea pigs were used, and NK cytotoxic activity of splenocytes was measured in vitro by natural anticandidial colorimetric index. The Mann-Whitney U test was applied for statistical analysis. NK cell cytotoxic activity was decreased in exposed compared to controls. Our data suggests that part of the immune system, the NK cell, can be suppressed by a 50 Hz magnetic field.

PMID:

 

16771296

 

[PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16771296

Smart meters = tip of the iceberg

RF foes claim electro-smog is killing us

Phil Carson | Nov 21, 2011

   

In the high desert in northwestern Colorado, bentonite clay abounds. A soaking rain means trouble. When you walk on wet bentonite, it builds up on the sole of your shoe until it's nearly impossible to walk. And roads become "impassable."

I mention this factoid to illustrate what it's like these days when you write about interval or "smart" meters. It's akin, in so many words, to "stepping in it." First, it's assumed that most interval meters are sending and receiving data wirelessly. (A fair assumption.) Second, for what appears to be an increasing number of people and "organizations" (quotation marks here because it's impossible to tell the difference between an individual and an "organization" on the Web), that means that the nation's power utilities have become merchants of death.

I'm not sure whether that line is likely to elicit a wry smile or a rueful smile. In either case, keep smiling, as you may need to scrape some, uh, bentonite clay off your shoes.

Yesterday I wrote about the digital meter opt-out option in Vermont, in "Vermont and the Opt-Out Provision."

We received numerous posts to the article forum, from advice to utilities on articulating the meter value proposition to extolling the wisdom of Vermont's opt-out option to objections to the cost of meters and their perceived low value to the consumer. Several folks wrote privately; one to offer a paper entitled "No Health Threat from Smart Meters" and two to offer explanations for why interval meters indeed threaten us all.

In "No Health Threat from Smart Meters," which appeared in the Fourth Quarter 2010 issue of UTC Journal (Utilities Telecom Council), author Klaus Bender, director of standards and engineering at UTC, succinctly describes the following topics in 8 pages:

• Why interval meters on modern grids
• The federal role in evaluating the safety of RF devices
• Federal Communication Commission mandates on RF exposure and its impact on humans
• The impact of RF energy on humans
• Meter reading system configurations

Bender told me yesterday that a specific utility member of UTC asked for guidance in addressing the backlash on interval meters and their alleged impacts on human health. The paper was generalized to be useful to all utilities.

In the paper, Bender concluded: "So when confronted with complaints that say smart meters cause a variety of health effects, ask the complainant to produce the science to support the claim. The conversation should end shortly thereafter."

Ah, an engineer's solution—so logical. If only that were true! Actually, that's the beginning of the conversation. First, the objectors will say that the science on this topic is just beginning to escape the clutches of industry influence and that fledgling, peer-reviewed science now documents that low-level, non-ionizing RF energy can mix-and-match your DNA, is slowly baking all of us to premature deaths and that electrosensitivity is real and that forcing "smart meters" on us all is an unconscionable act that causes barbaric suffering.

The more rational folks in the anti-meter movement—and make no mistake, this is a movement to be taken seriously—are also campaigning for cell phone warnings. But for the most part, the movement is focused only on interval meters.

I'll just say that if those opposed to interval meters limit their focus to those devices alone, that undercuts their argument. (At first I wrote that that argument is "conveniently dishonest and morally bankrupt," but I'll let you decide whether gentle or not-so-gentle is appropriate here.) If the opponents of low-level, non-ionizing, low-frequency RF emitted by interval meters really believe that that's harmful, then they should be opposed to the use of radios in any setting. The argument that "cell phones are voluntary" and meters are involuntary doesn't wash. Radio frequencies are everywhere. Even if you rid yourself of cell phones, microwave ovens, Wi-Fi routers and the like, your neighborhood and every public place including the backcountry is awash in what opponents like to call "electrosmog."

It's disingenuous to argue that meters are hazardous and not take the fight all the way. So, if wireless meters go, so do radios, TVs, cell phones, laptops, airplanes and, by extension, national defense and modern commerce. It's that simple. And we haven't begun to discuss data privacy and interval meters.  

When one opponent of wireless interval meters said that hundreds of complainants can't be wrong, that there must be something about interval meters causing symptoms due to the mere numbers of complaints, I could only cite the history of popular folly, Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, by Charles Mackay, published in 1841. And I tried to keep smiling.

Here's a smattering of websites dedicated to stopping smart meters for a variety of reasons. I'll say this: these folks are way better organized than the power industry, they are creating converts every day and they're not going to stop with a puny opt-out option.

The People's Initiative

American Association for Smart Meter Safety

Stop Smart Meters

Ban Smart Meters

Smart Meters

Center for Electrosmog Prevention

Phil Carson
Editor-in-chief
Intelligent Utility Dailypcarson@energycentral.com
303-228-4757

http://www.intelligentutility.com/article/11/11/smart-meters-tip-iceberg

Warning: Electrosmog Bigger Threat Than Global Warming

Radiation emission guidelines set for mobile phones, telecom towers

Joji Thomas Philip, ET Bureau Nov 19, 2011, 02.35am IST

Tags:

• Samsung Galaxy S2|
• Radiation emission guidelines

NEW DELHI: New radiation emission guidelines for mobile phones and telecom towers finalised by the government this week will, for the first time, stipulate emission levels for handsets sold in India and make it compulsory for these levels to be displayed on phones and retail outlets.

It will also become mandatory for handsfree devices to be sold with handsets as the government feels the use of these devices will significantly reduce the risk of exposure from electromagnetic waves. At present, about 645 models of low-end handsets don't comply with the new emission standards and will have to be redesigned, said the industry body that represents handset makers in the country.

In a presentation to the government in July this year, the Indian Cellular Association had said the industry will take 6-9 months to redesign these handsets, and their prices would increase by 5-30%. The sale of ultra-low cost handsets will have to be completely stopped, it warned. The new guidelines are expected to be formally announced by Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal shortly.

The minister has instructed his officials to prepare an implementation road map. The telecom department has finalised these norms in response to growing concerns about impact on consumer health from excessive mobile usage. An inter-ministerial group consisting of representatives from the communications, health, and environment ministries had earlier this year concluded that radiation from mobile phones and towers poses serious health risks.

"People chronically exposed to such radiation have reported unspecific symptoms, ranging from burning and tingling sensation in the scalp, fatigue, sleep disturbances, dizziness, ringing in the ears, headache and palpitation," the report said. It suggested that children, adolescents and pregnant women should avoid excessive use of cellphones while people with medical implants should keep their cellphone at least 30 cm away while talking.

The final norms prepared by the telecom department are largely in line with the recommendations of the inter-ministerial group. Radiation emitted by cellphones varies from instrument to instrument, and is measured in terms of specific absorption rate (SAR) — the amount of radio waves absorbed by the body tissue when aphone is in use. The new rules state that cellphones can be imported and sold in India only if the SAR level is below 1.6 watts per kg (W/kg). So far, India had unofficially followed European norms.

Guidelines Closer to US Norms

These norms state the maximum SAR level must not exceed 2 W/kg but the new standard is closer to the US norms. The guidelines state that SAR value, or the radiation emitted by the handset, must be specified on the device, its manual, the box as well as the websites of both the company and the DoT. The radiation figure of each handset model must also be displayed prominently at all retail outlets that sell mobile phones.

Leading handset makers did not comment, as the rules were not public yet. But an executive with a telco said that with the exception of low-cost phones, most handsets were already adhering to the US specified radiation limits. For instance, the Apple iPhone 4 has a SAR value of 1.17, the Samsung Galaxy S2 has a SAR of 0.338, while for the BlackBerry Curve 8310, the corresponding value is at 0.72. Radiation limits for towers have also been tightened to a tenth of the existing exposure level.

But a key recommendation of the inter-ministerial group, regarding restrictions on installation of towers close to schools and hospitals, has been kept out of the guidelines for the time being. Sibal has asked the DoT to prepare a comprehensive list of places where towers would not be allowed. The minister has also suggested towers should be installed in cities and metros after taking safety clearance from the urban development ministry.

http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2011-11-19/news/30419525_1_sar-level-mobile-phones-handsets

At Safra Center event, cell phone radiation and institutional corruption addressed (video)

At Safra Center event, cell phone radiation and institutional corruption addressed (video)

Dr. Franz Adlkofer, former Executive Director of the VERUM Foundation for Behavior and Environment

November 18, 2011

On Nov. 3, Dr. Franz Adlkofer, former executive director of the VERUM Foundation for Behavior and Environment, spoke to a Harvard Law School audience as part of the lectures and events series hosted by the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics. 

In his lecture, “Protection Against Radiation is in Conflict with Science,” Adlkofer discussed the difficulties he and other scientists face when presenting research on the carcinogenic effects of electromagnetic fields emanating from cell phones. He also discussed the institutional corruption which he says obstructs their research.

Adlkofer described his experience with the EU-funded study REFLEX, which aimed to explore the effects of cell-phone radiation on the brain. The study’s conclusions demonstrated that low frequency as well as radiofrequency electromagnetic fields below the allowed exposure limits displayed gene-damaging potential.

In 2004, shortly after releasing those findings, Adlkofer was the target of allegations questioning the validity of the findings and even accusing him of fraud. While an ethics panel eventually dismissed the accusations, his struggle against slander continues, he said.

In May 2011, the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified high frequency electromagnetic fields including cell phone radiation as merely “possibly carcinogenic” for humans, Adlkofer said, but he pointed out that studies such as REFLEX were not taken into account in reaching that determination. Had they been, he said, the classification likely would have changed from “possibly” carcinogenic to “probably.”

“The practices of institutional corruption in the area of wireless communication are of enormous concern,” said Adlkofer, “if one considers the still uncertain outcome of the ongoing field study with five billion participants. Based on the unjustified trivializing reports distributed by the mass media by order and on account of the wireless communication industry, the general public cannot understand that its future wellbeing and health may be at stake. The people even distrust those scientists who warn. In democracies, it is a basic principle that above power and their owners are laws, rules, and regulations. Since in the area of wireless communication this principle has been severely violated it is in the interest of a democratic society to insist on its compliance.”

View Dr. Adlkofer’s full lecture:

Click to Play

—Sophy Bishop

http://www.law.harvard.edu/news/2011/11/18_safra-center-cellphone-radiation-corruption.html