Wireless-Protection.org

Steve please read this?

2011-09-24T10:30:00.001+01:00

I am a long-time Apple user. My first Apple computer was the Apple 512k that I used as a “portable” computer for several years. You opened the world of technology to so many people who could intuitively use a Mac with no need for instructions. I use it for my teaching (as a university professor) and my research (on electrosmog and electrosensitivity). For that I thank you. Your products, since those early computers, are marvellous but I have some serious concerns about the wireless components.I work with people who have become electrically sensitive and become ill when exposed to radio frequency radiation. The US government is unwilling to acknowledge how dangerous this technology is so it is up to industry leaders and innovators, like yourself and your company, to lead the way.Have your scientists been honest with you about the dangers of RF radiation or have they tried to shield you from this information? This is what the science is showing and it is likely to get a lot worse so please consider innovations that allow users to connect as safely as possible.The pulsed radio frequencies have been associated with various types of cancers including–but not limited to–gliomas (brain), acoustic neuromas (ear), uveal melanomas (eyes), and parotid (salivary gland) tumors that appear, often on the same side of the head exposed to a cell phone, after 10 years of moderate to heavy use. Kids are at a greater risk because they don’t have a developed immune system and their cells are dividing rapidly. Exposure to the radiation generated by cell phones and wireless computers are linked to deformed sperm that swim slowly and die quickly. This–in turn–is contributing to problems with declining fertility for couples wanting to get pregnant. Cell phone users complain of headaches, skin problems, brain fog, depression, anxiety, ringing in the ear. Those who live near cell phone antennas have similar complaints including difficulty sleeping, body pain, nausea, and dizziness. The risk of cancers, for those living near these antennas, is increasing.Radiation affects the immune system and can lead to secondary ailments. It places stress on the body as shown by heat shock protein research. It increases the permeability of the blood brain barrier allowing potentially toxic substances to enter the brain. I could go on but I think you get the point. By allowing apps on smart phones that enable people to measure their exposure to radiation, you will help raise their awareness and allow them to make more informed choices about when and how they use their smart phones, wireless computers, ipads, etc. We are not going to give up our smart phones, just like we are not going to give up our cars, but learning how to drive safely and having seat belts and other innovations that protect the occupant and those on the road are as vital for the car driver as they are for the billions of mobile phone users.The two most important aspects of a quality life are having loving friends and good health. With your many innovations you enable friends to keep in touch . . . now enable them to do so safely without sacrificing their health.Very sorry to hear about your recent resignation and your on-going health problems. May your health improve and may you take this message seriously and instruct the many brilliant staff working for Apple who can make a difference to do so . . . for the good of humanity.-magda

Cell Phone Hazards: The End of an Era

2011-09-24T10:27:00.000+01:00

The era when cell phones safety was taken for granted is as done as a hotdog on an unwatched backyard grill. The science confirming that pulsed digital microwave radiation from cell phones can be harmful has become stronger and clearer. In San Francisco where officials have passed a law giving people the basic right to know about cellphone risks, the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA) claims that people will become confused by referring to cell phones as two-way microwave radiating devices and insists that the more benign phrase be used to depict this radiation—radiofrequency energy. In their suit to block this new law, the CTIA claims that all phones are equally safe. The effort to spin the science on cell phones has a long industry. In 1994, long before cellphones were ubiquitous, University of Washington scientists Henry Lai and N. J. Singh showed that pulsed microwave radiation unraveled DNA in the brain of lab rats. The industry response to this inconvenient finding was straightforward. Some industry representatives sought to keep this research from seeing the light of day and asked the journal that had accepted their research paper to rescind publication. When this failed, Motorola adopted what it described as a “war-gamed” set of public relations initiatives against the results—mobilizing professional public relations experts to cast doubt on the work. In fact, many studies since then have found that cell phone radiation, whether from older or newer phones, significantly alters brain chemistry and blood flow, weakens the blood brain barrier, releases unusual proteins and causes a host of biological responses. Thus, in 2006, Finnish researchers produced evidence of altered brain energy after cell phone use and in 2002 researchers in Austria presented parallel evidence of other significant changes. Fast forward to 2011. Accusations of scientific fraud were widely publicized and leveled against a 12-laboratory European collaboration after it found further evidence that cell phone radiation induced biological damage. Yet proof that no fraud occurred has not received similar publicity. Exonerated by several internal university reviews, recently that work was further strengthened when yet another investigation found no evidence of fraud. Today, hypotheses linking pulsed microwave radiation from cell phones to various types of biological damage are moving from the rarified world of little known research to the foundation for landmark shifts in public perception and, ultimately, life-saving policies in Israel, France, Finland, and many other nations. In fact, the World Health Organization expert review of the topic in May 2011 advised that cellphone and other forms of wireless radiation should be regarded as a possible human carcinogen. Based on its own review of the matter, the President’s Cancer Panel in 2010, drawing on what it heard from experts in the field about growing rates of rare tumors that could be tied with cell phones, called for both serious research and precautionary actions on cell phones and other wireless devices. Yet the rest of the government has not received that memo. In advising that cellphones should be used cautiously with headsets and speakerphones and that children should limit use altogether, WHO experts are in accord with the authors of the Fifteen Reasons for Concern about Cell Phones and Brain Tumors (see www.radiationresearch.org) and recent reports from neurosurgeons in Australia Charles Teo and Vini Khurauna, in Britain, Kevin O’Neill and in the U.S., Santosh Kesari and Keith Black. Here’s what the FCC website says about Children and Cell phones as of February 1, 2011: “The scientific evidence does not show a danger to any users of cell phones from RF exposure, including children and teenagers.” It is time for a change.

Cell towers infect The USA with insomnia

2011-09-13T16:02:00.001+01:00

Today, millions of Americans in cities awaken around 3 in the morning and then struggle to get back to sleep. As the number of devices (cell phones, iPods, GPS, Wi-Fi, smart meters, wireless broadband for laptop computers, etc.) that emit microwave radiation has increased in the past 10 years, so has the number of Americans who suffer from sleep interruptions. According to the National Sleep Foundation, the percent of people who are not satisfied with the quality of their sleep has increased from 15% of the population (43 million) in 2002 to 40% (120 million) in 2009. In addition, there has been a proportional increase in the number of people using prescription drugs for insomnia. Marching in step with both these numbers has been a steady and proportional increase in the number of cell phone towers and antennas and devices that use wireless technology based on high-frequency microwave radiation. Today we have over 100,000 cell phone relay towers in the US and 2 million antennas.The increasing level of electromagnetic pollution has caused the nation's health to spiral downward. It is like watching a train wreck in slow motion; no one seems to be able to stop it. Too many people are in denial that any problem exists at all. Most public discussion has been limited to cell phones and how long it takes for them to give you a brain tumor, but the sleeping giant of all health problems from this technology is itself sleep interruptions. The number of adults developing high blood pressure due to sleep interruptions is increasing by about 500,000 every month. The percent of adults with hypertension is moving on a fast track from 1 in 3 to half the population. Like a volcano building up pressure leading to an eruption, tens of thousands of strokes and heart attacks will soon follow, if not already under way. I have written a book, Insomnia, Fatigue and Cell-Phone Towers, in an attempt to awaken the public to the perils of electromagnetic pollution from microwave radiation and provide a number of solutions. The following interview with Beverly from Las Vegas is excerpted from the book and shows the depth of the problem as well as the denial of the problem that grows worse by the hour.

Controversial but very likely true, even understated

2011-09-13T09:10:00.003+01:00

Yesterday we remembered the terrible terrorist attacks that killed thousands of innocent people on Sept 11, 2001. It was easy to recognise the horror of the situation, explosions, fire, bodies and wreckage all shown live and repeated on television many times in the ten years since. A disaster with much worse consequences may now be taking place but in slow motion. Exposure to microwave radiation is likely to harm very many more people than 911, but it will not be nearly as visible, newsworthy and shocking. Cancer, various illnesses, shortened lives and slow painful deaths are likely to be the consequences of using wireless convenience devices such as cell phones, cordless telephones and Wi Fi. Who are the terrorists that are allowing this to happen? Why are Governments not taking this known threat seriously and protecting the public?

Another White Zone

2011-09-13T09:01:00.003+01:00

Dozens of Americans who claim to have been made ill by wi-fi and mobile phones have flocked to the town of Green Bank, West VirginiaMore than five billion people use mobile phones worldwide and advances in wireless technology make it increasingly difficult to escape the influence of mobile devices. But while most Americans seem to embrace continuous connectivity, some believe it's making them physically ill.Diane Schou is unable to hold back the tears as she describes how she once lived in a shielded cage to protect her from the electromagnetic radiation caused by waves from wireless communication."It's a horrible thing to have to be a prisoner," she says. "You become a technological leper because you can't be around people. "It's not that you would be contagious to them - it's what they're carrying that is harmful to you."Ms Schou is one of an estimated 5% of Americans who believe they suffer from Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity (EHS), which they say is caused by exposure to electromagnetic fields typically created by cell phones, wi-fi and other electronic equipment. Hiding in a cage Symptoms range from acute headaches, skin burning, muscle twitching and chronic pain. Diane Schou says she was forced to live in a shielded cage in Iowa, prior to moving to West Virginia "My face turns red, I get a headache, my vision changes, and it hurts to think. Last time [I was exposed] I started getting chest pains - and to me that's becoming life threatening," Ms Schou says.To alleviate the pain, her husband built an insulated living space known as a Faraday Cage. He covered a wooden frame with two layers of wire mesh and a door that could be sealed shut to prevent radio waves from entering. Diane spent much of her time inside it, sleeping on a twin mattress on a plywood base."At least I could see my husband on the outside, I could talk to him," she says. Diane believes her illness was triggered by emissions from a mobile phone mast. Her symptoms were so severe that she abandoned her family farm in the state of Iowa and moved to Green Bank, West Virginia - a tiny village of 143 residents in the heart of the Allegheny Mountains.Outlawed wireless technology Green Bank is part of the US Radio Quiet Zone, where wireless is banned across 13,000 sq miles (33,000 sq km) to prevent transmissions interfering with a number of radio telescopes in the area.The largest is owned by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory and enables scientists to listen to low-level signals from different places in the universe. Others are operated by the US military and are a critical part of the government's spy network. As a result of the radio blackout, the Quiet Zone has become a haven for people like Diane, desperate to get away from wireless technology. The world's largest, fully steerable radio telescope is operated in the town of Green Bank "Living here allows me to be more of a normal person. I can be outdoors. I don't have to stay hidden in a Faraday Cage," she says."I can see the sunrise, I can see the stars at night, and I can be in the rain. "Here in Green Bank allows me to be with people. People here do not carry cells phones so I can socialise."I can go to church, I can attend some celebrations, I can be with people. I couldn't do that when I had to remain in the Faraday Cage."But EHS is not medically recognised in the US.

School throws out WiFi

2011-09-10T09:59:00.000+01:00

A private school in Ontario has cut its wireless Internet network over concerns that the technology causes health issues in students.Pretty River Academy in Collingwood, Ont., a private school with 150 students attending kindergarten to Grade 12, is the first Ontario school to remove Wi-Fi from campus.The school's old Wi-Fi system was taken out over the summer and replaced with Ethernet connections ahead of the first day of the school year.In May the World Health Organization said radio frequency radiation from WiFi and cell phones posed a similar health threat to DDT, lead and car exhaust.Principal Roberta Murray-Hirst says the new hard-wired Internet system is actually faster than their previous system and gives teachers control over when students can go online.Murray-Hirst said they did not receive any complaints from students or parents about health concerns but decided to take the precaution anyway."We like to be proactive and obviously safety is always a concern," she said.The debate over wireless Internet in Ontario schools grew heated last summer when a group of elementary school teachers attempted to have the technology banned from classrooms in the Niagara region.The Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario voted in 2010 to keep wireless Internet. In August, the group voted to establish a committee for studying Wi-Fi in classrooms.A group called the Safe Schools Committee has also continued to push for a ban.They claim exposure to wireless Internet causes headaches, insomnia and rashes in students – afflictions that seem to subside on weekends and vacations, only to return when the kids go back to school.Ontario's Chief Medical Officer of Health said wireless Internet posed no threat to children at schools.

Spanish court recognises Electro-sensitivity

2011-09-10T09:52:00.001+01:00

Hypersensitivity to the waves produced by mobile phones becomes a new cause of permanent disability.Spain, September 2011 .- This has been ruled by the Labour Court to declare Madrid 24 permanent incapacitation of a college professor who suffered from chronic fatigue and environmental and electromagnetic hypersensitivity. The ruling is unique in this regard and make a precedent for future conditions related to hypersensitivity to these waves. The verdict was issued on 23 May and gave the teachers 100% of his base salary, which amounted to 1640.80 euros.Team Assessment of the Social Security disability (EVI), recognized in clinical diagnosis: chronic fatigue syndrome, celiac disease, fibromyalgia syndrome and environmental electromagnetic hypersensitivity, yet they dismissed the patient's disability.The Labour Court in Madrid again puts into question the criteria for the granting of this degree by the provincial leadership of the national institute, and recognizes the rights of the applicant stating that presents enormous problems for the performance of their tasks " with appropriate level of professionalism and performance. "Legal Medical Group would like to echo this statement pioneer in the defense of those who are entitled to a permanent disability pension, and upholds the spirit of not giving any circumstances for lost, when there is sufficient medical and legal basis. Legal Medical Group is a pioneer in the defense of those who apply for disability, accident or illness, advising them from a technical point of view, medical and legal since 1978.

Motorola corruption

2011-09-10T09:46:00.000+01:00

US regulators are investigating an Austrian lobbyist and US telecom maker Motorola over alleged bribes of up to 2.2 million euros (NZ$3.68m), Austrian weekly Profil revealed at the weekend. From April 2004 onwards, Motorola apparently transferred up to 2.2 million euros to three firms controlled by lobbyist Alfons Mensdorff-Pouilly, Profil said in a summary of a report to be published on Monday, local time.Mensdorff-Pouilly then used this money to make “illegal payments” to key political figures in Europe and the Middle East, it said. The US Securities and Exchange Commission had evidence that “people in office” were bribed with presents and holidays, and has now launched a probe against Mensdorff-Pouilly and Motorola, Profil added.The news magazine already reported last week on an alleged contract between the lobbyist and the US telecom company over a digital radio project by the Austrian government. Mensdorff-Pouilly allegedly helped secure the project for a consortium including Motorola and Telekom Austria, gaining up to 2.6 million euros in the process, according to Profil. Telekom Austria is itself facing a wave of corruption claims that emerged in recent weeks, and on Friday announced an external probe by international experts into the allegations.Mensdorff-Pouilly himself is no stranger to corruption claims. In January 2010, he was charged in Britain with bribing European officials to secure fighter jet contracts for defence giant BAE Systems. The charges were eventually dropped.

2011-03-11T15:41:00.003Z

Mobile phone users have been advised by the Government for the first time to text or use hands free kits rather than make calls.
The Department of Health said this would reduce the user's exposure to reduce radiation emitted by the devices.
In the first update to the UK Mobile Phones and Health leaflet since 2005, health officials added that further research is needed into the long-term effects of using mobile phones.
It stated there had been no 'clear evidence of adverse health effects' from the use of mobiles or from phone masts.
However, it added: 'As people have only been using mobile phones for relatively few years, the HPA advises that more research be carried out, especially to investigate whether there might be longer term effects.'

The UK Chief Medical Officer restated previous advice that children under the age of 16 should only use mobile phones for 'essential purposes' and should 'keep calls short.'
This was described as a 'precautionary' move as teenagers' bodies and nervous systems are still developing.
The latest advice comes just weeks after a £15m Interphone study, that found radio waves from mobiles appear to boost activity in parts of the brain closest to the devices' antennas.
U.S researchers found a 50-minute phone call led to seven per cent localised increase in brain activity.
Writing in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Dr Nora Volkow said: 'Although we cannot determine the clinical significance, our results give evidence that the human brain is sensitive to the effects of radio-frequency electromagnetic fields from acute cellphone exposures.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1365237/Text-dont-Government-tells-mobile-users-time.html#ixzz1GIydKwPz

2011-03-09T14:58:00.001Z

Would you be willing to take a drug that had not been trialed before its release on the market? Would you take the drug if manufacturers assured you that it was ‘safe’ on the basis that it did not cause shocks, excessive heat or flashes of light in the eye? What if others who’d taken it developed problems ranging from headaches to life-threatening diseases? Finally, would you give it to your children to take? As ridiculous as this scenario may sound, the truth is that most people receive potentially harmful exposures like this every day – not necessarily from a drug – but from a risk of an entirely different sort. The risk is electromagnetic pollution – the invisible emissions from all things electric and electronic. It is emitted by power lines, household wiring, electrical appliances and equipment, computers, wireless networks, mobile and cordless phones, mobile phone base stations, TV and radio transmitters and so on. As engineers compete to develop an ever-diversifying range of radiating technologies to seduce a generation of addicts, and thereby ensure a lucrative return, there is an implicit assumption that these technologies are safe. They comply with international standards, we are told. But there the illusion of safety ends. Published by Scribe Publications
Sadly compliance with international standards is no more a guarantee of safety than being born rich is a guarantee of happiness. For such standards protect only against a very few effects of radiation, and short-term effects at that (such as shocks, heating and flashes of light in the retina). They fail entirely to protect against the long-term effects of radiation which, of course, is the sort of radiation that you and I are exposed to if we use a mobile or cordless phone every day, live near a high voltage power line, use a wireless internet computer, or live under the umbrella of a mobile phone base station, TV or radio or satellite transmitter. In short, we’re all exposed. Regulating to protect only against some of the effects of radiation is a bureaucratic nonsense. It’s like regulating a car’s airbags and not its brakes. It’s like regulating the colour of a pill and not its contents. It’s every bit as meaningless to public health protection. Particularly when long-term exposure to electromagnetic radiation has been convincingly linked to problems such as leukemia, Alzheimer’s disease, brain tumours, infertility, genetic damage and cancerous effects, headaches, depression, sleep problems, reduced libido, irritability and stress. Short-term protection is a short-sighted approach to public health protection. It may guarantee safety of the politicians as far as the next election. It may guarantee protection of a manufacturer as far as its next annual profit statement. But it does not guarantee the safety of the users of this technology, particularly those children who are powerless to make appropriate choices about technology and manage their exposure, who are more vulnerable to its emissions and who have a potential lifetime of exposure. History is replete with examples of innovations that seemed like a good idea at the time but which eventually caused innumerable problems – to users, to manufacturers and to the public purse. Tobacco, asbestos and lead are but a few. The risk is that electromagnetic pollution is a public health disaster unfolding before our eyes. By failing to implement appropriate standards; by ignoring signs of risk from science; by failing to ensure addictive technologies are safe before they’re released onto the market – our public health authorities have abrogated their responsibilities and chosen to play Russian roulette with our health. It’s a gamble that not everyone assumes willingly

2011-02-14T14:19:00.002Z

Wireless advances could mean no more cell towers
By PETER SVENSSON, AP Technology Writer Peter Svensson, Ap Technology Writer Fri Feb 11, 11:52 pm ET
[photo removed]
NEW YORK – As cell phones have spread, so have large cell towers — those unsightly stalks of steel topped by transmitters and other electronics that sprouted across the country over the last decade.

Now the wireless industry is planning a future without them, or at least without many more of them. Instead, it's looking at much smaller antennas, some tiny enough to hold in a hand. These could be placed on lampposts, utility poles and buildings — virtually anywhere with electrical and network connections.

If the technology overcomes some hurdles, it could upend the wireless industry and offer seamless service, with fewer dead spots and faster data speeds.

Some big names in the wireless world are set to demonstrate "small cell" technologies at the Mobile World Congress, the world's largest cell phone trade show, which starts Monday in Barcelona, Spain.

"We see more and more towers that become bigger and bigger, with more and bigger antennas that come to obstruct our view and clutter our landscape and are simply ugly," said Wim Sweldens, president of the wireless division of Alcatel-Lucent, the French-U.S. maker of telecommunications equipment.

"What we have realized is that we, as one of the major mobile equipment vendors, are partially if not mostly to blame for this."

Alcatel-Lucent will be at the show to demonstrate its "lightRadio cube," a cellular antenna about the size and shape of a Rubik's cube, vastly smaller than the ironing-board-sized antennas that now decorate cell towers. The cube was developed at the famous Bell Labs in New Jersey, birthplace of many other inventions when it was AT&T's research center.

In Alcatel-Lucent's vision, these little cubes could soon begin replacing conventional cell towers. Single cubes or clusters of them could be placed indoors or out and be easily hidden from view. All they need is electrical power and an optical fiber connecting them to the phone company's network.

The cube, Sweldens said, can make the notion of a conventional cell tower "go away." Alcatel-Lucent will start trials of the cube with carriers in September. The company hopes to make it commercially available next year.

For cell phone companies, the benefits of dividing their networks into smaller "cells," each one served by something like the cube antenna, go far beyond esthetics. Smaller cells mean vastly higher capacity for calls and data traffic.

Instead of having all phones within a mile or two connect to the same cell tower, the traffic could be divided between several smaller cells, so there's less competition for the cell tower's attention.

"If it is what they claim, lightRadio could be a highly disruptive force within the wireless industry," said Dan Hays, who focuses on telecommunications at consulting firm PRTM.

Rasmus Hellberg, director of technical marketing at wireless technology developer Qualcomm Inc., said smaller cells can boost a network's capacity tenfold, far more than can be achieved by other upgrades to wireless technology that are also in the works.

That's sure to draw the interest of phone companies. They've already been deploying older generations of small-cell technology in areas where a lot of people gather, like airports, train stations and sports stadiums, but these are expensive and complicated to install.

In New York City, AT&T Inc. has started creating a network of outdoor Wi-Fi hotspots, starting in Times Square and now spreading through the midtown tourist and shopping districts. Its network has been hammered by an onslaught of data-hungry iPhone users, and this is one way of moving that traffic off the cellular network.

Smaller cells could do the same job, but for all phones, not just Wi-Fi enabled ones like the iPhone. They could also carry calls as well as data.

San Diego-based Qualcomm will be at the Barcelona show with a live demonstration of how "heterogeneous networks" — ones that mix big and small cells, can work. A key issue is minimizing radio interference between the two types of cells. Another hurdle is connecting the smaller cells to the bigger network through optical fiber or other high-capacity connections.

"That's an impediment that we're seeing many operators struggling with right now as data volumes have increased," Hays said.

LM Ericsson AB, the Swedish company that's the largest maker of wireless network equipment in the world, is also introducing a more compact antenna at the show, one it calls "the first stepping stone towards a heterogeneous network."

Small cellular base stations have already penetrated hundreds of thousands of U.S. homes. Phone companies like AT&T, Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel Corp. have for several years been selling "femtocells," which are about the size of a Wi-Fi router and connect to the phone company's network through a home broadband connection.

The cells project radio signals that cover a room or two, providing five bars of coverage where there might otherwise be none.

British femtocell maker Ubiquisys Ltd. will be in Barcelona to demonstrate the smallest cell yet. It's the size of a thumb and plugs into a computer's USB drive. According to Ubiquisys, the idea is that overseas travellers will plug it into their Internet-connected laptops to make calls as if they were on their home network, but there are potential problems with interference if used that way.

According to Rupert Baines, marketing head of Picochip Ltd., a more realistic application for a tiny plug-in cell is to make it work with cable boxes or Internet routers, to convert them into femtocells.

A key part of the "small cell" idea is to take femtocells outside the home, into larger buildings and even outdoors.

Picochip, a British company that's the dominant maker of chips for femtocells, will be in Barcelona to talk about its chips for "public-access" femtocells, designed to serve up to 64 phone calls at a time, with a range of more than a mile. They could be used not just to ease wireless congestion in urban areas, but to fill in dead spots on the map, Baines said.

For instance, a single femtocell could provide wireless service to a remote village, as long as there's some way to connect it to the wider network, perhaps via satellite.

Analyst Francis Sideco of research firm iSuppli pointed out a surprising consumer benefit of smaller cells: better battery life in phones.

When a lot of phones talk to the same tower, they all have to "shout" to make themselves heard, using more energy. With a smaller cell, phones can lower their "voices," much like group of people moving from a noisy ballroom to a smaller, quieter room.

"Ultimately, what you end up with is a cleaner signal, with less power," Sideco said.

2010-10-02T14:50:00.001+01:00

In January 2009 the administration of the Bavarian Municipality of
Selbitz gathered relevant data from 251 residents as part of a health
survey. Subsequently, the data were assessed based on the exposure
levels of cell phone radiation.
In a next step, the exposure levels based on residential location and
available RF measurements of local cell phone radiation levels were
used to classify participants into exposure groups.
The mean radiation exposure level of the highest exposure group in
Selbitz (1.2 V/m) was substantially higher than that of the study
population in the QUEBEB study (1) of the German Mobile Phone
Programme (mean value 0,07 V/m). For such symptoms as sleep
problems, depressions, cerebral symptoms, joint problems,
infections, skin problems, cardiovascular problems as well as
disorders of the visual and auditory systems and the gastrointestinal
tract, a significant dose-response relationship was observed in
relation to objectively determined exposure levels. The impact of
microwave radiation on the human nervous system serves as an
explanation.
Carried out without outside funds, the study presented here provides
a protocol concept that allows physicians and municipalities to
cooperate and assess the potential human health impact of cell
phone base stations located within residential areas.
Keywords: symptoms, cell phone radiation, wireless technologies, doseresponse
relationship
Participating offices: Dr. Brömel/Pozder, Schulstraße 4, 95197 Schauenstein;
Dr. Jahn, Brunnenstraße 1, 95152 Selbitz; Dr. Müller, Wildenberg 22, 95152
Selbitz.
Deutsche Zusammenfassung
In der bayerischen Stadt Selbitz wurden im Januar 2009 zuerst durch die
Gemeinde im Rahmen einer Gesundheitsbefragung relevante Daten von 251
Einwohnern erfasst und anschließend daran nach Belastungsstärken durch
Mobilfunkwellen ausgewertet.
Die Belastungswerte wurden in einem zweiten Schritt an hand von Wohnort
und vorliegenden Messdaten der örtlichen Mobilfunkstrahlung zur
Stratifizierung der Teilnehmer in Belastungsgruppen verwendet.
Die mittlere Strahlenbelastung der höchstbelasteten Gruppen in Selbitz (1,2
V/m) lag deutlich höher als die untersuchte Studienpopulation der QUEBEBElectromagnetic
Fields Original Scientific Paper
Original German umwelt-medizin-gesellschaft ⏐23⏐2/2010 2
Studie (1) des Deutschen Mobilfunkforschungsprogramms (Mittelwert DMF
O,07V Im). Fürdie Beschwerden Schlafstörung, Depressionen, cerebrale
Symptome, Gelenkbeschwerden, Infekte, Hautveränderungen, Herz-Kreislauf
Störungen sowie Störungen des optischen und akustischen Sensoriums und
des Magen-Darm-Traktes besteht eine signifikante dosiswirkungsabhängige
Korrelation zu objektiv bestimmten Expositionslagen, die mit dem Einfluss
von Mikrowellen auf das Nervensystem des Menschen erklärt wird.
Die vorliegende fremdmittelfrei erstellte Arbeit gibt einen Konzeptentwurf
vor, mit dem Ärzte und Gemeindeverwaltungen gemeinsam den
gesundheitlich relevanten Einfluss von innerörtlichen Mobilfunksendern
abschätzen können.
Introduction
Over the last decades wireless technologies have gained in importance. As a
result, however, TV and radio stations are no longer the broadcasting sources
that cause the highest exposure levels in residential areas; now it is cell
phone base stations. Since 2003 the German Commission on Radiological
Protection (SSK) has explicitly pointed out that there is a lack of knowledge
about the consequences of these technologies on human health (2).
In Upper Franconian Selbitz, the municipality collaborated with local medical
offices1 whereby two separate data sets—a general health survey and
available RF measurements—were used to correlate gathered symptom
scores with independently available RF emission measurements of relevant
cell phone radiation.
Materials and Methods
Selbitz in Upper Franconia is located in the northeast of Bavaria, Germany,
having a total population of 4,644 (2,171 male and 2,473 female) on 31
December 2008 (3).
Cell phone coverage is available across the entire municipality. In the center,
cell phone transmitters of two service providers are located in the street
Feldstraße 28 and the installation of a third telecommunication service
provider is located in the
street Burgstraße 26a (4).
Fig. 1:
Cell Phone Transmitters on
Top of the Multistory
Building at Feldstraße 28,
Selbitz, Upper Franconia
Electromagnetic Fields Original Scientific Paper
Original German umwelt-medizin-gesellschaft ⏐23⏐2/2010 3
As part of a survey in 2009, Selbitz municipality sent standardized health
questionnaires by mail to 1,080 persons within the municipality and
surrounding areas. The participants were aware that they could receive a
questionnaire when they lived within a 400-m radius of the cell phone base
station at Feldstraße 28 or also outside of this radius. There were no personal
interviews. A total of 88 sets of information on health symptoms were
gathered, using a quantitative scale of zero to five. The symptom groups
based on clinical entities were summarized as clusters for the assessment
(Table 1).
Table 1: Summary of Symptom Groups Based on Clinical Entities
The cover letter of the invitation to participate stated that participant
confidentiality is ensured. The questionnaires could be returned or sent back
to Selbitz municipality or the local doctor’s offices. After the questionnaires
were returned, the personal information form was separately filed from the
symptom information form at the doctor’s office of Dr. Eger, Naila. The
anonymously coded symptom information forms were then passed on for
data entry to the administrative staff of Selbitz municipality. The staff of the
IT department entered the anonymized data into an Excel table for analysis.
On the personal information form, the existence of a DECT phone in the
residence was indicated by a simple checkmark, which was also entered into
the data pool.
Symptom Group Symptom Number
1 Sleep disorders 1-5
2 Symptoms of depression 6,7,18-23
3 Headaches 8
4 Cerebral affections 8-12
5 Concentration difficulties 24-29
6 Joint problems 30-34
7 Toothaches 35
8 Infections 36-41
9 Skin problems 42-47
10 Dizziness 55
11 Cardiovascular problems 48-52
12 Auditory system,
Disturbance of equilibrium
56-61
13 Visual problems 62-67
14 Nosebleed 68
15 Hormonal imbalances 70-74
16 Weight gain 75
17 Weight loss 76
18 Gastrointestinal problems 77-81
19 Bedwetting 85
Electromagnetic Fields Original Scientific Paper
Original German umwelt-medizin-gesellschaft ⏐23⏐2/2010 4
All participants who returned their questionnaires were classified into groups
based on their residential address. The circles drawn in Figure 2 show
distances of 100 m, 200 m, 300 m, or 400 m from the two cell transmitters
installed on the building of Feldstraße 28, identifying the groups 1 to 4. One
control group (group 5), which can be classified as low-emission, includes
participants outside the 400-m radius directly in Selbitz and also from
surrounding areas that are further away from the municipality.
According to the elevation map, the landscape around the transmitter is level
toward the west and east, gently rises toward the north, and declines with 7°
to 9° toward the south.
The cell phone facilities of the service providers are located at a height of
19.20 m, 20.20 m, and 23.50 m above ground with the actual transmitters at
19.35 m and 22.70 m. The down tilt of the transmitters is given with 8°. The
frequency ranges used are at about 940 MHz and 1850 MHz (5).
Under these conditions, the area where the main beam touches the ground is
located almost 200 m away from the transmitters. Within the 200-m radius
additional side lobes are to be expected.
Fig. 2: The map from the land title office shows in the center of the
concentric circles the cell transmitters at Feldstraße 28 in Selbitz.
(Source: 5, With kind permission of Selbitz municipality)
Electromagnetic Fields Original Scientific Paper
Original German umwelt-medizin-gesellschaft ⏐23⏐2/2010 5
Testing Situation and Measurement Results
Based on the testing report by the accredited company ECL, mean exposure
values of the cell phone radiation could be assigned to the individual
exposure groups (6). For the groups 1 and 2 the mean value is 1.17 V/m, for
the groups 3 and 4 0.7 V/m.
The testing results for the area outside the 400-m radius were on average at
0.18 V/m and serve as a reference value. Weidesgrün area showed the
lowest measurements with 0.01 V/m.
The analysis is performed by using a two-tailed t-test of two unrelated
samples for a total of 19 symptom scores of the individual groups 1 through
5 to test the null hypothesis that the symptom scores of the compared
groups are evenly distributed and thus independent of the radiation effect
(7).
The comparison of the health-relevant data was carried out based on two
concepts:
A) Comparison of the participant groups 1 to 4 within the 400-m radius of
the transmitter location to the control group outside the 400-m radius in
Selbitz/surrounding areas.
B) Comparison of the participant groups within the 400-m radius of the
transmitter location, comparing the highest-exposure groups 1 and 2 to
the groups 3 and 4 further away.
Results
A total of 255 persons above the age of 18 participated in the survey; 4
questionnaires could not be evaluated. This corresponds with a response rate
of 23% from 1,090 questionnaires sent out. In total, the groups 1 to 4 close
to the transmitter had a response rate of 22% and the control group’s rate
was 27%, thus displaying no significant difference in the response rate
(Table 2).
For all participants the gender ratio of 43% male and 57% female applies,
which roughly corresponds with the ratio of the statistically registered
inhabitants of Selbitz with 47% male and 53% female (Table 3).
For groups 1 through 4, the control group 5, and persons in Selbitz from the
age of 18, the average age is 54.5, 52.0, and 53.5 years.
The age distribution in 5-year increments corresponds with the total
population in Selbitz (Table 3, Figure 3a-e). The survey participants, thereby,
represent an age-representative sample of the total population of all
inhabitants of Selbitz from age 18.
Within the 400-m radius around the transmitter, a higher symptom rate
could be documented for 14 out of 19 symptom groups in the highest
exposure groups 1 and 2 close to the transmitter compared to groups 3 and
4 further away from the transmitter (Table 4). The difference is statistically
significant.
Electromagnetic Fields Original Scientific Paper
Original German umwelt-medizin-gesellschaft ⏐23⏐2/2010 6
Mailouts Responses
Number/(Percent)
Nonresponses
Number/(Percent)
Comparison of
Responses/Nonresponses
incl. Control Group 5
(chi-square test)
Groups
1 125 45 (36.0%) 80 (64.0%) n.s.**
2 144 37 (25.7%) 107 (74.3%) n.s.
3 281 60 (21.4%) 221 (78.6%) n.s.
4 273 38 (14.0%) 235 (86.0%9 p < 0.01 (chi2)
Control
Group 5 254 71 (28.0%) 183 (72.0%)
Sum 1077* 251 826
Table 2: Distribution of Questionnaires in Groups 1 to 4 and Control Group 5
according to Responses and Nonresponses.
With the exception of the low response rate in group 4, the
differences between the responders/nonresponders of the individual
groups and the control group 5 are not statistically significant.
*Three persons of the 1,080 surveys sent out could not be
assigned.
** n.s. = not significant
Number Gender
Male/Female
(in %)
Age in
5-year
Increments**
Mean/Median
Distance
from
Transmitter
at
Feldstraße
Mean
Exposure
Levels of Cell
Phone
Radiation
in V/m
Groups
1 45 47/53 57.5/57 0-100 m
2 37 41/59 52.0/52 100-200 m
1.17 V/m
3 60 40/60 55.0/57 200-300 m
4 38 42/57 53.5/52 300-400 m
0.70 V/m
5 71 44/56 52.0/52 > 400 m 0.18 V/m
Selbitz* 4644 47/53 53.5/52
Table 3: Overview of Investigated Groups Based on Gender, Age, Residential
Location, and Exposure Level. Groups 1-4 with a total of 180
participants are located within the 400-m radius of the transmitter.
The 71 participants of control group 5 are further away than 400 m.
Both the gender distribution as well as the comparison of age
groups does not statistically differ from the total population of
Selbitz.
* For the comparison of the mean age only persons above the age
of 18 were chosen from the Selbitz population. Total population of
Selbitz: 4,644; Inhabitants above age 18: 3,890.
** Age values are given within 5-year groups.
Electromagnetic Fields Original Scientific Paper
Original German umwelt-medizin-gesellschaft ⏐23⏐2/2010 7
Group 1 Group 2
Group 3 Group 4
Control Group 5
Fig. 3a-e: Age Distribution in Groups 1-4 and Control Group 5 in 5-year
Increments
Electromagnetic Fields Original Scientific Paper
Original German umwelt-medizin-gesellschaft ⏐23⏐2/2010 8
A
Comparison of
Groups 1 to 4
(0-400 m/n=180)
to control group 5
(> 400 m/n=71)
B
Comparison of
Groups 1 and 2
(0-200m/n=82)
to groups 3 and 4
(200-400 m/n=98)
Symptoms Significance level
p (t-test)
Significance level
p (t-test)
1 Sleep problems 0.001 0.001
2 Symptoms of depression 0.001 0.001
3 Headaches n.s. 0.001
4 Cerebral affections 0.001 0.001
5 Concentration difficulties n.s. 0.001
6 Joint problems 0.01 0.001
7 Toothaches n.s. n.s.
8 Infections 0.01 0.001
9 Skin problems 0.001 0.001
10 Dizziness n.s. 0.01
11 Cardiovascular problems 0.001 0.001
12 Auditory system
Disturbance of equilibrium 0.01 0.001
13 Visual problems 0.01 0.001
14 Nosebleed n.s. 0.01
15 Hormonal imbalances 0.05 n.s.
16 Weight gain n.s. n.s.
17 Weight loss n.s. n.s.
18 Gastrointestinal problems 0.01 0.001
19 Bedwetting n.s. n.s. = not significant
Table 4: Specific Symptoms of Study Participants in Relation to Distance
from Emission Source
A) Comparison of participant groups 1 to 4 around the transmitter to
control group outside 400-m radius in Selbitz/surrounding areas
B) Comparison of participant groups within 400-m radius of
transmitter. Groups 1 and 2 with the highest exposure are
compared to groups 3 and 4 with a lower exposure level further
away from the transmitter. Exposure levels for groups 1 and 2 were
1.17 V/m, for groups 3 and 4 0.7 V/m, and for control group 5 0.18
V/m.
In comparison to the control group, significant (p < 0.01, t-test) differences
were found for the following symptom groups in the four exposure groups 1
to 4 located close to the transmitter: sleep problems, symptoms of
depression, cerebral symptoms, joint problems, infections, skin problems,
Electromagnetic Fields Original Scientific Paper
Original German umwelt-medizin-gesellschaft ⏐23⏐2/2010 9
cardiovascular problems, disorders of the visual and auditory system as well
as hormone system and also gastrointestinal problems. The control
symptoms “toothaches” and “bedwetting” were not significant (Table 4).
An overview of the documented mean values for all 19 symptoms or
symptom scores is shown in Figure 4. The highest mean values are found
mostly in the two highest exposure groups 1 and 2.
Fig. 4: Comparison of Specific Symptoms to Field Strengths
The spatial representation shows the 19 symptom scores on the yaxis
where the mean value of each symptom score is plotted
quantitatively. On the z-axis the exposure groups 1 to 5 are shown.
In Figure 5 and 8, the symptom scores for sleep problems, symptoms of
depression, joint problems and cardiovascular problems are shown with their
mean values and 95% confidence intervals. In a highly visual way, the
significant relationships from Table 4 become obvious here.
Electromagnetic Fields Original Scientific Paper
Original German umwelt-medizin-gesellschaft ⏐23⏐2/2010 10
Fig. 5:
Control Symptom Score 1 for
Sleep Problems for Groups 1-4
and Control Group 5
On the y-axis the mean values
of the symptom scores are
shown; the vertical bars at the
result points represent the
95% confidence intervals.
Fig. 6:
Control Symptom Score 2 for
Symptoms of Depression for
Groups 1-4 and Control Group
5
On the y-axis the mean values
of the symptom scores are
shown; the vertical bars at the
result points represent the
95% confidence intervals.
Fig. 7:
Control Symptom Score 6 for
Joint Problems for Groups 1-4
and Control Group 5
On the y-axis the mean values
of the symptom scores are
shown; the vertical bars at the
result points represent the
95% confidence intervals.
Electromagnetic Fields Original Scientific Paper
Original German umwelt-medizin-gesellschaft ⏐23⏐2/2010 11
Fig. 8:
Control Symptom Score 11 for
Cardiovascular Problems for
Groups 1-4 and Control Group
5
On the y-axis the mean values
of the symptom scores are
shown; the vertical bars at the
result points represent the
95% confidence intervals.
Fig. 9:
Control Symptom Score 7 for
Toothaches for Groups 1-4
and Control Group 5
On the y-axis the mean values
of the symptom scores are
shown; the vertical bars at the
result points represent the
95% confidence intervals.
Fig. 10:
Control Symptom Score 19 for
Bedwetting for Groups 1-4 and
Control Group 5
On the y-axis the mean values
of the symptom scores are
shown; the vertical bars at the
result points represent the
95% confidence intervals.
Electromagnetic Fields Original Scientific Paper
Original German umwelt-medizin-gesellschaft ⏐23⏐2/2010 12
The symptoms “toothaches” and “bedwetting” served as controls in order to
validate with these radiation-independent symptoms the plausibility of the
participants’ responses. There were no significant differences found for
groups 1 and 2 in comparison to groups 3 and 4 or to control group 5,
respectively (Table 4).
In a second step, we investigated if, within the 400-m radius, documented
symptom scores are related to the distance or measured exposure level.
In Figure 11 the mean values are shown, comparing group 1 and 2 (upper
black line) to group 3 and 4 (lower gray line).
Except for the symptoms toothache, hormone imbalance, weight gain, weight
loss, and bedwetting, significant differences were found (p < 0.01; t-test).
Among the study participants a significant dose-response relationship was
found between the theoretically calculated or measured exposure level and
the symptom score levels.
Fig. 11: Comparison of Groups 1 and 2 near the Transmitter to Groups 3 and
4 further away within the 400-m Radius
The numbers a shade lighter represent the nonsignificant symptom
groups.
Electromagnetic Fields Original Scientific Paper
Original German umwelt-medizin-gesellschaft ⏐23⏐2/2010 13
Data Gathering of DECT Phone Use
In the personal information form, participants could checkmark whether they
have a DECT phone in their household. Out of 251 participants, 171 said they
owned such a device and 80 said no. The average age of DECT phone users
was with 50.5 years significantly lower than for those participants without a
DECT phone (t-test, p < 0.001) so that no comparison group existed for
individual relationships.
Discussion
The presented results show a significant relationship between mean exposure
levels of the study participants and reported health symptoms.
For the highest exposure group, the mean microwave exposure is given with
a field intensity of 1.2 V/m. An additional question concerning the use of
DECT phones at home revealed an additional background exposure level in
all participating households.
The graphs show clear trends for decreasing symptom scores in relation to
decreasing mean exposure levels caused by cell phone transmitter emissions.
The comparison with the national and international research to classify these
results provides additional arguments for nonrandom relationships.
Within the framework of the German Mobile Phone Programme (DMF), the
QUEBEB study also investigated if health symptoms in the population could
be associated with cell phone base stations and measured microwave
radiation levels.
This study did not show any significant relationships because the highest
measurement is given with 1 volt per meter, whereby 99% of the
measurements are below 0.34 V/m. The mean exposure level was at 0.07
V/m with a 95% percentile at 0.17 V/m (1).
While less than 1% of the participants of the DMF study were exposed above
0.34 V/m, 82 out of the 251 study participants in Selbitz belonged to a highexposure
group above 0.7 V/m, that is, 32.7%.
High exposure groups as found in Selbitz did basically not occur in the
samples of the German Mobile Phone Programme. To a certain degree, this
has to do with the method of random sampling and leads to a systematic
underestimation of the risk for population groups with higher exposures.
Thus the finding of the QUEBEB study that found no correlation applies only
to low-exposure groups and does in no way contradict the findings in Selbitz.
In Germany where complete cell phone coverage is provided, the Federal
Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) has received highly important
information about the health problems affecting residents living next to cell
phone base stations. In a meeting on 2 August 2006 in Neuherberg, strongly
worded official medical reports were quoted that document problem
situations in particularly highly exposed households (17-19).
Electromagnetic Fields Original Scientific Paper
Original German umwelt-medizin-gesellschaft ⏐23⏐2/2010 14
It has become known to industry that the health of their technicians is
damaged (20,21).
There are already efforts under way to explore possibilities of how the
electromagnetic pollution in wireless networks could be reduced. The
reasoning for a patent filed in 2003 explicitly quotes evidence of damage in
human DNA (22).
Since the 1960s long-term, nonthermal effects on the human central nervous
system have been causally linked to microwaves, ultrashort waves, and
shortwaves in several studies.
As part of a dissertation, Wenzel studied the health status of radio personnel
in East German military forces (NVA) and summarized his results in a report
that was confidential until 1989. In comparison to a nonexposed group, he
observed an increase in headaches, sleep problems, general fatigue, eye
pain, stabbing pain in the chest, declining mental power, irritability,
dizziness, tendency to sweat, and visual problems. As a result of his findings,
the inadequacy of the current exposure limits had already been pointed out
in 1967 (9).
The review of occupational surveys in the Soviet Union between 1960 and
1996, which had been carried out by Prof. Hecht on behalf of the Federal
Office for Telecommunications, revealed causal links for microwave radiation
as a stressor of the central nervous system (26).
In 1960 Iranyi et al. from Hungary reported for the first time in the Munich
Medical Weekly Journal about a substantially increasing number of health
problems in radio personnel of “modern” radio stations that had been
validated by measurements and confirmed by medical doctors, including
headaches, dizziness, tiredness, sleep problems, tremors, and other
symptoms. The symptoms occurred from field intensities above 3.8 V/m.
There was no indication of simulated complaints. Because the symptoms
occurred during their working hours and were associated with the number of
years of employment, the authors concluded that there is a causal link
between symptoms and exposure levels (10).
In 1962 Miro found increasing cases of pain, dizziness, nausea, personality
changes, weight loss, fever attacks with chilling and sweating, and general
fatigue in French radar personnel. The RF radiation exposure was at ca. 5
V/m (8).
In 1996 a study by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy around the shortwave
transmitter at Schwarzenburg in Switzerland documented highly significant
health problems in the civilian population regarding sleep problems,
headaches, joint pain, fatigue, and other symptoms. In a blinded follow-up
study, symptoms started to improve one day after the transmitter was
turned off (11-13).
Electromagnetic Fields Original Scientific Paper
Original German umwelt-medizin-gesellschaft ⏐23⏐2/2010 15
In 2002 Santini et al. had also demonstrated a clear dose-response
relationship for the following symptoms in the vicinity of French cell phone
base stations: sleep problems, tiredness, fatigue, irritability, depression, and
other symptoms. As a conclusion, it was recommended back then to install
this type of transmitter no closer to residences than 300 m (14).
Similar findings were revealed in the work by Navarro et al. with the followup
measurements by Oberfeld (Government of Land Salzburg, Health
Department), in which case the measured exposure levels were highly
significantly correlated with major health problems. Three groups showed the
following field intensity distribution: group 1 – 0.02-0.04 V/m, group 2 –
0.05-0.22 V/m, and group 3 – 0.25-1.29 V/m (15).
In 2007 the paper by Abdel-Rassoul et al. showed significant problems of the
central nervous system (headaches, memory problems, dizziness, tremors,
symptoms of depression, sleep problems) in an exposed population
compared to the control group. The measured field intensity of the group
classified as exposed was 3 V/m (16).
The survey presented here included specific control questions to verify the
credibility of the participants’ responses. From the number of described
symptoms, for example, it was possible to see that the questionnaires had
not been filled out randomly. Thus the control question for “toothaches,” a
disease mainly caused by caries, showed no difference between the exposed
and unexposed groups.
As was to be expected, the control symptom “bedwetting” occurred only in a
very small percentage and also showed no difference between exposed and
unexposed groups.
The relationship between the question “weight gain” and “weight loss”
corresponded with the known clinical reality. The obesity prevalence (body
mass index BMI > 30) in the population is on average at 20%, which
corresponds with a value of 1 (20% of maximum value 5) in our symptom
scores. Underweight is found only in ca. 1-6% of the German population,
which is reflected in the low symptom score for weight loss at 0.2 in our
study (28).
A trend toward voting behavior in terms of symptom aggravation could thus
be ruled out.
The occurrence of the symptom groups sleep problems, depression, cerebral
symptoms, infections, skin problems, cardiovascular problems, problems of
the visual and auditory system as well as the gastrointestinal tract proved to
be consistently and significantly higher in the exposed groups. As can be
seen from the literature review, it has been known since the 1960s that RF
electromagnetic fields and microwaves can trigger these symptoms (8-10).
Electromagnetic Fields Original Scientific Paper
Original German umwelt-medizin-gesellschaft ⏐23⏐2/2010 16
Equally significant were differences for the scores of joint problems, which
again replicated already published findings of the Schwarzenburg study,
Switzerland (11-13).
The results presented here were statistically validated by the t-test (7). The
often stereotypically quoted criticism of too small case numbers for a
validation of an association was mathematically refuted by the application of
this statistical test and its significant results.
Considerably more crucial is the limitation of the gathered data because of
the noticeable self-selection of the participants compared to the total number
of the survey sample, which is reflected in the low response rate to the
questionnaires. However, neither the response rates of the entire 400-m
radius around the transmitter nor the highest exposure area do significantly
differ from the response rate of control area 5, which again suggests a
homogenous response behavior and speaks against an overselection of
allegedly sick persons (Table 2).
The approached participants, including persons from the 400-m radius
around the cell phone transmitter at the Feldstraße as well as Selbitz
residents from further away, did not know that they would be classified into
groups based on their residential location and exposure level. Thus it was not
possible for the participants to classify themselves into groups 1 to 5.
In follow-up studies one should try to increase the response rate by phone
calls or personal interviews instead of relying on a single mailout as was done
in this study.
In Selbitz municipality, there are proponents as well as critics of wireless
technologies and also persons who are indifferent to it so that each group
had the same opportunity to respond. The number of study participants who
considered their health affected by cell phone radiation was 12% in Selbitz
and, therefore, falls below the participation rate of 23%. This corresponds
with a percentage of 9% as found in the DMF. Thus a selection bias was not
detected.
The participating individual groups did not differ based on age or gender,
respectively; the plausibility of the responses was validated within the study.
It is therefore assumed that the documented results reflect the actual
distribution of the health problems.
International definitions stipulate that adverse health effects caused by
microwave radiation can only be regarded as verified if the explanation for a
plausible effect mechanism is provided, studies are independently replicated
several times, and no contradictions exist in other studies (23).
With the paper presented here, these conditions are met so that the ongoing
demand for evidence has been met once again. When taking the low
exposure levels into account, the negative results of the German Mobile
Phone Programme are consistent.
Electromagnetic Fields Original Scientific Paper
Original German umwelt-medizin-gesellschaft ⏐23⏐2/2010 17
Conclusions
Until 2009 the official protocol for the investigation of health problems in
residents living next to transmitters amounted to nothing more than
measuring exposure levels in affected households instead of on-site
monitoring with transmitter shutdowns to investigate causal links.
From the compliance with the currently valid exposure limits, it was
concluded without any further investigation—using the logic of
reductionism—that below these exposure limits no health effects could occur
because, first, the exposure limits have already been met and, second, no
scientifically accepted studies are available. The latter statement is not up to
the current state of science.
According to the Federal Immission Control Act (§ 22 BlmSchG) as well as
the German constitution (art. 2, para. 2 GG), during the operation of
technical facilities health hazards to a third party must indisputably be ruled
out.
With the Federal Immission Control Ordinance (26. BlmSchV), the federal
regulation maker establishes exposure limit regulations for electromagnetic
fields whose specifications are required by acts and the constitution. But as
the presented paper shows once more, a clearly increasing incidence of
disease is already taking place far below legally binding exposure guideline
limits.
Even if in legal terms, this is not yet proof for an individual-specific evidence
of damage, the presented investigations make it clear that the conclusions
drawn by the federal regulation maker from the results of the German Mobile
Phone Programme, according to which no health risk is to be expected below
the exposure limits of the 26. BlmSchV, are scientifically and legally
unjustifiable.
From a legal perspective, it should be noted here that the current exposure
limit regulations basically do not provide sufficient protection against health
risks. Insofar as official agencies still suggest that the exposure limits of the
26. BlmSchV would be precautionary limits, these limits are now disproven—
among others—through our investigation, as it showed a significantly
increased health risk in the vicinity of cell phone base stations.
As has already been demanded by the European Parliament, current
exposure guidelines need to be urgently reviewed. Because of the
documented relationship between exposure and health symptoms, there is
also an urgent need for further research to elucidate the detailed
relationships of health symptoms.
It is a physician’s responsibility—not bound by directives—to work towards
the preservation of the natural basis of life regarding human health (24).
As representatives of public health agencies, state offices such as the Public
Health Department, the State Office for the Environment, and the Bavarian
Ministry of the Environment as well as higher-ranking government levels
Electromagnetic Fields Original Scientific Paper
Original German umwelt-medizin-gesellschaft ⏐23⏐2/2010 18
such as the Federal Ministry of the Environment and the European Union are
invited to specify the cause of this possible slow poisoning.
After shutting down the respective transmitters for half a year, a portion of
the health symptoms reported by the study participants in Selbitz should
become normalized. The significant clinical relevance of the observed results
has been discussed.
Contact
Dr.med. Horst Eger (correspondence)
Marktplatz 16
95119 Naila
Phone: 09282/1304
E-mail: horst-eger@acormail.de
Medical Quality Assurance Working Group “Electromagnetic Fields in Medicine—
Diagnostics, Therapy, Environment” Code No. 65143 (KVB), recognized by the
Bavarian Medical Association
Dr. med Manfred Jahn
Brunnenstr. 1
95152 Selbitz
Acknowledgement
Beside the people of Selbitz, we especially thank Mayor Klaus Adelt, Sabine
Bodenschatz, Tanja Wohlfahrt, and Udo Wohlfahrt because without their
help this paper would never have been possible.
We owe Christina Panchyrz our gratitude for the record keeping.
Translation
Performed by Katharina Gustavs and authorized by the authors and publisher
Original publication:
EGER, H., JAHN, M., Spezifische Symptome und Mobilfunkstrahlung in Selbitz
(Bayern) – Evidenz für eine Dosiswirkungsbeziehung,
umwelt·medizin·gesellschaft, 23, 2 (2010), 130-139.
Note:
Upon request, the anonymized raw data can be provided by Selbitz
municipality to scientific institutions.
Submitted: 12 November 2009
Revised version accepted: 3 May 2010
Electromagnetic Fields Original Scientific Paper
Original German umwelt-medizin-gesellschaft ⏐23⏐2/2010 19
Editor’s Note
The above paper is identified as an original scientific paper and it was
subject to a special peer-review process in cooperation with the Scientific
Advisory Board.
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des Einfiusses von Mikrowellen auf den Gesundheitszustand des
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Electromagnetic Fields Original Scientific Paper
Original German umwelt-medizin-gesellschaft ⏐23⏐2/2010 20

2010-10-02T14:14:00.001+01:00

Upsala Journal of Medical Sciences. 2010; 115: 91–96
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Effect of radio-frequency electromagnetic radiations (RF-EMR)
on passive avoidance behaviour and hippocampal morphology in
Wistar rats
SAREESH NADUVIL NARAYANAN1, RAJU SURESH KUMAR1,
BHAGATH KUMAR POTU2, SATHEESHA NAYAK3,
P. GOPALAKRISHNA BHAT4 & MANEESH MAILANKOT5
1Department of Physiology, Melaka Manipal Medical College, Manipal University, Manipal, India, 2Department of
Anatomy, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal University, Manipal, India, 3Department of Anatomy, Melaka Manipal
Medical College, Manipal University, Manipal, India, 4Department of Biochemistry, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal
University, Manipal, India, and 5Department of Biochemistry, Melaka Manipal Medical College, Manipal University,
Manipal, India
Abstract
Introduction. The interaction of mobile phone radio-frequency electromagnetic radiation (RF-EMR) with the brain is a serious
concern of our society.
Objective. We evaluated the effect of RF-EMR from mobile phones on passive avoidance behaviour and hippocampal
morphology in rats.
Materials and methods. Healthy male albino Wistar rats were exposed to RF-EMR by giving 50 missed calls (within 1 hour) per
day for 4 weeks, keeping a GSM (0.9 GHz/1.8 GHz) mobile phone in vibratory mode (no ring tone) in the cage. After the
experimental period, passive avoidance behaviour and hippocampal morphology were studied.
Results. Passive avoidance behaviour was significantly affected in mobile phone RF-EMR-exposed rats demonstrated as shorter
entrance latency to the dark compartment when compared to the control rats. Marked morphological changes were also
observed in the CA3 region of the hippocampus of the mobile phone-exposed rats in comparison to the control rats.
Conclusion. Mobile phone RF-EMR exposure significantly altered the passive avoidance behaviour and hippocampal
morphology in rats.
Key words: Hippocampus, memory, mobile phone, passive avoidance, RF-EMR (radio-frequency electromagnetic radiation)
Introduction
The use of mobile phones is increasing day by day,
and it is estimated that approximately 500 million
people worldwide are using mobile phones currently.
A large proportion of users is made up of children and
teenagers. Due to the wide and growing use of mobile
communication, there is increasing concern about
the interactions of electromagnetic radiation with
the human organs and, in particular, with the brain.
Experimental studies have shown that the radiofrequency
electromagnetic radiation (RF-EMR)
emitted from the mobile phones can affect the brain
in various ways. These effects have been described
in vitro and in vivo in a number of studies: in particular,
effects on cerebral blood flow (1–4), blood-brain barrier
permeability (4), oxidant and antioxidant balance
(5), neurotransmitter balance (6), nerve cell damage
(7), and genomic responses (8) have been reported.
There is some concern that short-term memory loss
Correspondence: Sareesh Naduvil Narayanan, Department of Physiology, Melaka Manipal Medical College, Manipal University, Manipal 576104, India.
E-mail: sareeshnn@yahoo.co.in
(Received 3 August 2009; accepted 10 December 2009)
ISSN 0300-9734 print/ISSN 2000-1967 online 2010 Informa UK Ltd. (Informa Healthcare, Taylor & Francis AS)
DOI: 10.3109/03009730903552661
or other cognitive effects may be associated with
the use of mobile telephones. In our previous study
we had reported that mobile phone exposure in
Wistar rats resulted in impaired spatial memory
performance in the Morris Water Maze (MWM)
test, demonstrated as more time taken to reach the
target quadrant and less time spent in the target quadrant
(9). In the present study, we tried to evaluate the
effect of long-term exposure to RF-EMR emitted from
a mobile phone (0.9 GHz/1.8 GHz) on passive avoidance
behaviour and hippocampal morphology in male
Wistar rats.
Materials and methods
Animals
Inbred healthy male albino Wistar rats (8–10 weeks
old) were used in this experiment. They were
obtained from Manipal University (MU) central animal
facility. The rats were housed in plastic cages of
size 36 cm 23 cm 21 cm (three rats in each cage)
inside a temperature- and humidity-controlled environment
with free access to food and water ad libitum,
with a 12 h light and 12 h dark cycle. All the experiments
were carried out with prior approval from the
institutional animal ethics committee. Care was taken
to handle the rats in a humane manner, and all
precautions were taken to use the minimum number
of animals required to generate significant data.
Experimental design
Animals were divided into two groups: group I
(n = 12), normal control; and group II (n = 12)
were exposed to RF-EMR by giving 50 missed calls
(within 1 hour) per day for 4 weeks, keeping a GSM
(0.9 GHz/1.8 GHz) mobile phone in vibratory mode
(no ring tone) in the cage (9). Each missed call was of
the duration of 45 seconds. Animals were free to move
in the cage. The phone was kept in a small woodbottomed
cage sized 12 cm 7 cm 7 cm. The
bamboo wire mesh on top of the wood bottom cage
prevented the animals from contact with the phone.
Twenty-four hours after the last exposure, six randomly
picked animals from both groups were tested
for passive avoidance behaviour using passive avoidance
apparatus. This test was conducted between
4.00 p.m. and 6.00 p.m. The remaining animals
from both groups were sacrificed to study the histological
changes in the hippocampus. Statistical analysis
was done by using Student’s t test. P-value < 0.05
was considered as significant.
Passive avoidance apparatus
The apparatus has two compartments, a rectangular
larger compartment with a 50 cm 50 cm grid floor
and wooden walls of 35 cm height. It has a roof, which
can be opened or closed. One of the walls has a
6 cm 6 cm opening connecting the larger compartment
to a dark smaller compartment. The smaller
compartment has a 15 cm 15 cm electrifiable grid
connected to a constant current stimulator, wooden
walls of 15 cm height, and a ceiling that can be
opened or closed. The connection between the two
compartments can be closed with a sliding door
made of Plexiglas. The larger compartment was
illuminated with a 100-W bulb placed 150 cm above
the centre.
Passive avoidance test
Passive avoidance test was conducted by the method
of Bures et al. (10), with modifications. The experiment
had three parts: 1) an exploration test, 2) an
aversive stimulation and learning test, and 3) a
retention test. The exploration test was conducted
in three trials. During this, each rat was kept in the
centre of the larger compartment facing away from
the entrance to the dark compartment. The door
between the two compartments was kept open. The
rat was allowed to explore the apparatus (both larger
and smaller compartments) for 3 minutes. In each
trial, the total time taken by the animal to enter the
dark compartment was noted using a stop-watch. At
the end of the trial, the rat was replaced in the home
cage, where it remained during an inter-trial interval
of 5 minutes. After the last exploration trial, the rat
was again kept in the larger compartment as in the
trial sessions. When the animal entered the smaller
compartment, the sliding door between the two
compartments of the apparatus was closed and three
strong foot shocks (50 Hz, 1.5 mA, and 1 s duration)
were given at 5-second intervals. The ceiling was
then opened and the rat was then returned to its
home cage. The retention test was carried out after
24 and 48 hours. The rat was kept in the centre of the
larger compartment facing away from the entrance
to the smaller compartment for a maximum period
of 3 minutes. The sliding door was kept open during
this period. The latency time required for the
animal to enter the dark compartment was recorded.
The latency time was recorded as 3 minutes for
those animals that did not enter the dark compartment
within 3 minutes. Absence of entry into the
dark compartment indicated positive memory
retention.
92 S. N. Narayanan et al.
Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining
All histological procedures were uniform for control
and test group animals. The rats were sacrificed by
cervical dislocation under ether anaesthesia, and the
brain was exposed by cutting the skull along the midline.
The whole brain was carefully dissected out and
fixed in 10% buffered formalin (with pH 7.4) for 24 h.
It was then dehydrated in ethanol, defatted in xylene,
and embedded in paraffin. Care was taken to ensure
that all brains were oriented in the same direction
during embedding to minimize differences in the
angles at which the brains were sectioned. A single
investigator processed all brains to maintain consistency
in histological analysis. Sections were cut on a
rotary microtome (Leica RM2155, Germany) at
5-micron thickness and stained with hematoxylin
and eosin (H&E) according to standard procedure.
The hippocampal CA3 region was studied under a
light microscope. To avoid observer’s bias, an independent
person coded the slides before subjecting
them to morphological evaluations.
Results
Passive avoidance test
In the exploration trials, the entrance latency to the
dark compartment was decreased in both the groups
from first to third trial, but there was a significant
difference in the entrance latency time of the groups in
the second and third trials. The RF-EMR-exposed
animals took more time to enter the dark compartment
during the second and third exploration trials
(Figure 1).
During the memory retention test, the entrance
latency to the dark compartment was significantly
less for mobile phone-exposed rats when compared
with the control group. The latency was approximately
four times less in the mobile phone-exposed
animals tested 24 hrs after the shock trial (Figure 2A),
and the latency was approximately three times less in
the mobile phone-exposed rats tested 48 hours after
the shock trial (Figure 2B).
Hippocampal morphology
In comparison to the control animals, marked morphological
changes were detected in the CA3 region of
the hippocampus of the RF-EMR-exposed rats. The
hippocampus of RF-EMR-exposed rats showed
shrunken, darkly stained neurons (Figure 3B). No
such changes were observed in the control rats
(Figure 3A).
Discussion
Passive avoidance tests or conditioned avoidance tests
have been used in several studies to assess memory or
retention and also retrieval after or during other
treatments (11–13). Generally rats avoid intense illumination
and prefer dim illumination. When placed
in a brightly illuminated space connected with a dark
enclosure, they rapidly enter the dark compartment
and remain there. After an aversive consequence (foot
shock) in the dark compartment, the animals modify
their behaviour by inhibiting the innate activities or
learned habits (staying in the dark) and remain in the
bright compartment (10). So, in this task the animals
learn to avoid a noxious event by suppressing a
particular behaviour (14).
In the current study, the mobile phone exposure
significantly affected the passive avoidance behaviour
in rats. In other words, the memory retention and the
retrieval were significantly affected in mobile phone
RF-EMR-exposed rats. In comparison to the control
group, mobile phone-exposed animals showed
shorter latency to enter into the dark compartment
in the memory retention test (24 h and 48 h after the
aversive stimulus). This showed that the animals, after
being exposed to aversive stimulation (foot shock) in
the passive avoidance task, did not remember this task
to some extent on the following day, and this clearly
indicates the impairment of the memory. In mobile
phone-exposed animals the associative memory which
had built up through repetition over many trials and
expressed primarily in the performance of tasks
30
20
10
0
Trial 1 Trial 2
Control Exposed
Entrance latency to the dark
compartment (sec)
Trial 3
*
*
Figure 1. Time taken by the animals to enter the dark compartment
of the passive avoidance apparatus during the exploration trials
of passive avoidance test. The entrance latency to the dark compartment
was decreased in both the groups from first to third trial,
but there was a significant difference in the entrance latency time of
the groups in the second and third trials. The radio-frequency
electromagnetic radiation (RF-EMR)-exposed animals took
more time to enter the dark compartment during the exploration
trials. *P < 0.05.
Effect of RF-EMR on Wistar rats 93
was affected. This change in the behaviour of animals
(the shorter latency to enter the dark compartment) in
the passive avoidance task could be due to the altered
functioning of both hippocampal and amygdaloidal
neurons due to the damage caused by the RF-EMR
emitted from the mobile phone. A number of clinical
and experimental studies have shown the role of
hippocampal formation and related structures in
the medial temporal lobe in learning and memory
(15,16). In rats, bilateral lesion of the specific areas of
the hippocampus (CA1 and CA3) produced greater
impairments in the performance of passive avoidance
task (17). Bilateral hippocampal lesions in chicks
caused decreased retention of the avoidance response
(18). These studies suggest the involvement of the
hippocampal system in associative learning processes
and in memory.
In our current study, the hematoxylin and eosin
staining of the hippocampal region clearly showed
interspersed, deeply stained, shrunken cells, which
clearly indicates the degenerative changes in these
areas. The exact mechanism responsible for this
degeneration has to be investigated; perhaps the
mechanism is through reactive oxygen species. Earlier
A. B.
Figure 3. Representative photomicrograph of sections of hippocampal CA3 region of the brain from both control and radio-frequency
electromagnetic radiation (RF-EMR)-exposed rat stained with hematoxylin and eosin. A: Control animal; row of normal nerve cells in a section
of the pyramidal cell band of the hippocampus CA3 region is seen. B: Mobile phone RF-EMR-exposed rat; among the normal nerve cells, dark
(deeply stained) and shrunken nerve cells are seen.
A. 40 B.
30
20
10
0
Control Exposed
Entrance latency to the dark
compartment (sec)
*
Control
Entrance latency to the dark
compartment (sec)
Exposed
30 *
10
0
Figure 2. Effect of radio-frequency electromagnetic radiation (RF-EMR) on latency to enter the dark compartment 24 hours (A) and 48 hours
(B) after the shock trial. Rats exposed to the mobile phone took significantly less time to enter the dark compartment in the memory retention
test. Results are expressed as mean ± SEM. *P < 0.05.
94 S. N. Narayanan et al.
reports have stated that mobile phones caused oxidative
damage biochemically by increasing the levels of
Malondialdehyde (MDA), carbonyl groups, Xanthine
oxidase (XO) activity, and decreasing CAT activity;
and that treatment with melatonin significantly prevented
oxidative damage in the brain (19). The studies
on guinea-pigs have shown increases in MDA,
vitamins A, D3 (3), and E levels, increased CAT
enzyme activity, and decreased Glutathione (GSH)
level in the blood of Electromagnetic field (EMF)-
exposed guinea-pigs (20). The rats, when exposed to
900 MHz electromagnetic radiation from a mobile
phone for 7 days (1 h/day) showed 1) increase in
malondialdehyde and nitric oxide levels in brain tissue,
2) decrease in brain superoxide dismutase and
glutathione peroxidase activities, and 3) increase in
brain xanthine oxidase and adenosine deaminase
activities. Ginkgo biloba significantly prevented these
changes in the brain (21). Exposure of adult Sprague-
Dawley rats to regular cell phones resulted in mRNA
up-regulation of several injury-associated proteins,
such as calcium ATPase, neural cell adhesion molecule,
neural growth factor, and vascular endothelial
growth factor (22). The possible role of programmed
cell death in the brain could also not to be excluded.
Short-term exposure to cell phone radio-frequency
emissions (1900 MHz) can up-regulate elements of
apoptotic pathways in cells derived from the brain,
and neurons appear to be more sensitive to this effect
than are astrocytes (23). The primary neuronal cultures
of rats exposed to a continuous wave (CW) 900 MHz
Radiofrequency fields (RF) for 24 h induced apoptosis
through a caspase-independent pathway that involves
Apoptosis inducing factor (AIF) (24).
Both neurons and glia interact dynamically to
enable information processing and behaviour
(25,26). The poor performance of rats in the behavioural
tests could also be due to the damaging effect
of microwaves on glial cells, which in turn alters the
neuronal activity in the rat hippocampus and amygdala.
Acute exposure to GSM 900 MHz electromagnetic
fields (a single GSM exposure = 15 min)
induced glial reactivity and biochemical modifications
in the rat brain (27). Chronic exposure to GSM
900 MHz microwaves induced persistent astroglia
activation in the rat brain, which is the sign of a
potential gliosis (28). Reports also suggest that both
amygdala and hippocampus act synergistically to form
long-term memories of significantly emotional events,
and these brain structures are activated following an
emotional event and cross-talk with each other in the
process of consolidation (29). In order to prove the
involvement of various pathways (Reactive Oxygen
Species (ROS), apoptosis, or glial reactivation, or a
combination of all three) in the alteration of rat
behaviour and hippocampal morphology after
mobile phone RF-EMR exposure, further studies
are warranted.
Conclusion
The health effects of commonly encountered radiofrequency
electromagnetic radiations (RF-EMR) from
mobile phone exposures do exist. The evidence from
this study points to the quite substantial hazard of
RF-EMR from the mobile phone on passive avoidance
behaviour and hippocampal morphology in rats.
Declaration of interest: The authors report no
conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible
for the content and writing of this paper.
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2010-09-23T13:53:00.002+01:00

IS THIS WHY SO MANY OF US CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT WE CAME IN TO THE SUPERMARKETY FOR

Raleigh, N.C. - Building air ducts can help boost cellphone and Wi-Fi signals in stores, helping retailers expand their mobile marketing efforts..

Research at North Carolina State University shows that the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning ducts (HVAC) that snake through commercial real estate act as natural signal boosters that can help eliminate dead spots in stores.

This would be a boon to retailers like Best Buy and Target, which are rolling out mobile-marketing programs that send coupons, sales alerts and product information to shopper's cell phones.

According to a report in Storefront Backtalk, an industry newsletter, the researchers found that HVAC ductwork is an excellent conduit for cell tower transmissions because the ducts typically consist of hollow metal pipes. The group was originally searching for ways to boost RFID signals in stores.

Retailers would still require a microcell repeater to grab and strengthen the cell signals, although the ducts themselves would act as distributed antennae, said Dr. Dan Stancil, chairman of the university's electrical and computer engineering department.

"The ducts will increase the range in a very different way, meaning that you can cover Wi-Fi with far fewer access points," he said.

2010-08-23T11:43:00.001+01:00

Dr. Samuel Milham was the first scientist to alert the world that exposure to electromagnetic fields can cause disease. His new book, Dirty Electricity: Electrification and the Diseases of Civilization, documents Dr. Milham’s early years and education, and describes his discovery of the link between electromagnetic field exposure and most of the twentieth century diseases of civilization, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and suicide.

In Dirty Electricity, Dr. Milham discusses the recent proliferation of radio frequency radiation from cell phones and towers, terrestrial antennas, Wi-Fi and Wi-max systems, broadband internet over power lines, and personal electronic equipment and warns of the epidemic of disease and mortality that we may soon face because of these technologies. These technologies, he explains, are creating the 2nd wave of illnesses from electromagnetic fields, the first being from electrification beginning in the early part of the 20th century and only recently discovered thanks to Dr. Milham’s work.

Dr. Milham says the ‘War on Cancer’ has been a failure because “people have missed the major carcinogen”. He has tried to get the attention of several government agencies, as well as the marines, as to the role that electromagnetic fields–and in particular ‘dirty electricity’ –have played in the illnesses of our times, to no avail. Thus, he has written “Dirty Electricity: Electrification and the Diseases of Civilization” to bring the key learnings of his career to the public. A winner of the Ramazzini prize for his pioneering work in the occupational risks for cancer from electromagnetic fields, Dr. Milham has long been on the forefront of understanding biological effects from electromagnetic fields. After recently doing pioneering work linking cancer clusters in schools to Dirty Electricity, he is now especially concerned about a cluster of Boeing workers with Lou Gehrig’s disease and would like to study the electromagnetic environment there but so far has not been granted access. He also says that Gulf War Syndrome may have an important electromagnetic component, and that military health issues blamed on things like water quality in certain instances may in fact be electromagnetic in nature, such as from extensive portable air conditioning for soldiers in the Middle East.

ElectromagneticHealth.org’s interview with Dr. Milham begins with a discussion of the very low incidence of many diseases among one sect of the Amish that uses no electricity whatsoever, and his finding that doctors there report no ADHD in children. Another very interesting learning from this interview is that EMF risk from cell towers is not only from the radiation (RF) being emitted (i.e. the microwave radiation), but from the dirty electricity the operation of the tower puts onto the electrical system in the neighborhood, suggesting anyone who lives near a tower might be well advised to check the level of Dirty Electricity with a Graham Stetzer meter, developed by Dr. Martin Graham, Professor Emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley, and Dave Stetzer of Stetzer Electric. Graham Stetzer meters to measure Dirty Electricity, and filters to address the problem (capacitors), can be found at www.EMFSafetyStore.com.

Dr. Milham says, “Government has really failed. It has let the people down.” As one additional example of this Milham says, “Why on earth would governments allow cell towers to be put on school grounds?”

2010-08-23T11:23:00.004+01:00

Are our minds being altered by the ever increasing see of radio waves we live in?

Every 50 years or so, American magazine the Atlantic lobs an intellectual grenade into our culture. In the summer of 1945, for example, it published an essay by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) engineer Vannevar Bush entitled "As We May Think". It turned out to be the blueprint for what eventually emerged as the world wide web. Two summers ago, the Atlantic published an essay by Nicholas Carr, one of the blogosphere's most prominent (and thoughtful) contrarians

"Over the past few years," Carr wrote, "I've had an uncomfortable sense that someone, or something, has been tinkering with my brain, remapping the neural circuitry, reprogramming the memory. My mind isn't going – so far as I can tell – but it's changing. I'm not thinking the way I used to think. I can feel it most strongly when I'm reading. Immersing myself in a book or a lengthy article used to be easy. My mind would get caught up in the narrative or the turns of the argument and I'd spend hours strolling through long stretches of prose. That's rarely the case anymore. Now my concentration often starts to drift after two or three pages. I get fidgety, lose the thread, begin looking for something else to do. I feel as if I'm always dragging my wayward brain back to the text. The deep reading that used to come naturally has become a struggle."

It's not rocket science our brains are living in a totally alien see of microwaves of course we can't think the way God designed us to!!

2010-08-20T11:58:00.000+01:00

In its latest publication ARCEP-FRANCE (Regulatory Authority Electronic Communications and Postal) mentions a very significant fact: after falling for several years, the volume of minutes used on landline telephones has recently increased spectacularly and now exceeds the minutes used by mobile phones. The respective figures show traffic of 25.5 billion minutes for mobile phones, which is the same figure as the first quarter of 2009, thus a stagnation "after years of non-stop expansion". In contrast, during the same period “the total volume of traffic for landline phones reached 30.7 billion minutes in the first quarter of 2010, a level which it had not reached since almost 10 years ago,” declared ARCEP.
Some people explain this by the economic crisis (are parents keeping a closer eye on the phone bills?), others see the dawning realisation that using a mobile phone carries a health risk. Whatever the reason, against all expectation the landline phone is gaining ground in a surprising way against the mobile.
Paradoxically average yearly revenues remain the same, in spite of the ingenuity and multiplicity of new offers from the phone companies. An ex-fan of the mobile phone…
The golden age of an investment return in double figures from mobile telephony is now in the past, and the poor return on the mobile videophone (3G, etc,) is a bitter pill for the phone companies. Whether due to the economic climate or not, the PMT (Personal Mobile Television), which the operators were so keen on and was supported by the authorities, backed up by offers from the manufacturers, has turned out to be a flop. The truth is that there is a widespread falling off of demand, especially in the northern countries, for mobile phone time. Is this a first sign of salvation for the southern European countries? [Report ABI research]
For the time being the phone companies’ revenues are still being boosted in the developing countries, particularly in Africa which is a truly limitless Eldorado, with its favourable geopolitical conditions and a public that has no awareness of any health risks. Considering the poverty in some African countries it’s even indecent, yet it is entirely possible that, in the face of the phone companies’ aggressive marketing and business methods, the demand for mobile phones will literally explode.
But beware and prepare for tomorrow, for the tide may well turn.
- Authority:

2010-08-10T15:56:00.000+01:00

A LETTER TO CONGRESS

Dear Mr. Martin:
I write in reference to the Federal Communication Commission's vote on the authorization of
new unlicensed "White Spaces" devices for wireless communications in the TV Broadcast
Bands, scheduled for its November 4th meeting. FCC adoption of rules to authorize use of White
Spaces spectrum for wireless devices operating in the home will lead to the repeated, chronic,
long-term exposure of individuals, at all age levels, and to more frequencies and quantities of
radiofrequency (RF) radiation at very close range than is currently the case. Whether these
exposures pose human health risks is under investigation by members of the scientific and public
health research communities. I am writing to remind FCC to consider the potential for serious
human health effects that could result from the proliferation of these devices in the home, before
allowing the proliferation of such devices.
By design, the White Spaces devices rule will increase the bandwidth available for wireless
devices operating at close range, for general use in the home and elsewhere. As a result, it is
expected that the number of transmitters in the broadcast frequency range will increase
exponentially with the roll out of White Spaces devices and infrastructure. The Commission has
classified unlicensed broadband White Spaces devices to be used in the TV bands into two
general functional categories. The first category consists of lower power "personal/ portable"
unlicensed devices, such as Wi-Fi cards in laptop computers or wireless in-home local area
networks (LANs). The second category consists of higher power "fixed/access" unlicensed
devices that are generally operated from a fixed location and may be used to provide a
commercial service such as wireless broadband Internet access. Whereas high-powered analog
broadcast transmitter sites have traditionally been found at locations somewhat removed from
business centers and residential neighborhoods, the new White Spaces devices that will also
transmit in the digital broadcast frequencies are designed to operate at close range to members of
Mr. Kevin J. Martin
November 3,2008
,Page2
the public who choose to use them as well as to their colleagues and neighbors who may choose
not to use them.
This proliferation of RF exposure follows the September 25,2008 hearing before the
Domestic Policy Subcommittee of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee on
"Tumors and Cell Phone Use-'What the Science Says," at which witnesses raised serious
concems about the potential public health implications of RF exposures through cell phones.
Some specific concerns were raised about FCC RF radiation exposure limits. Namely, they may
not be adequate to protect humans from adverse biological effects; may not provide protection
from long-term exposure; are only based on tissue heating reactions on a non-representative
sample of the total population (a six-feet tall male); do not address the current state of scientif,rc
research establishing non-thermal biological effects; and do not err on the side of precaution.
While RF exposures from cell phones are different than the RF exposures that will be
generated through the White Spaces auction, there is much that is unknown about the health
effects of these exposures that corresponds with concerns raised in the hearing. In its 2005 Fact
Sheet entitled, "Studies on Radiofrequency Radiation Emitted by Cellular Phones," the National
Toxicology Program (NTP) at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences states:
Over 100 million Americans curuently use wireless communication devices with over 50
thousand new users daily. This translates into a potentially significant public health
problem should the use ofthese devices even slightly increase the risk ofadverse health
effects. Cellular phones and other wireless communication devices are required to meet
the radiofrequency radiation (RFR) exposure guidelines of the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC, August 1996). The existing exposure guidelines are based on
protectionfrom acute injuryfrom thermal fficts of RFR exposure. Cunent datq are
insfficient to draw definitive conclusions concerning the adequacy of these guidelines to
be protective against any non-thermal fficts of chronic exposures.
In January 2008 the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) issued a report entitled:
Identification of Research Needs Relating to Potential Biological or Adverse Health Effects of
Wireless Communication Devices. The following excerpts from the NAS Report support the
NTP's conclusion that the research record upon which FCC's RF Safety Guidelines are based
does not adequately safeguard the public from non-thermal chronic exposures:
Research Needs
l. There is a need to characterize exposure ofjuveniles, children, pregnant women,
andfetuses, bothfor personal wireless devices (e.g., cell phones, wireless
personal computers, tPcsl) and for RF fields from base station antennqs
including gradients and variability of exposures, the environment in which
devices are used, and exposures from other sources, multilateral exposures, and
multiple frequencies.
Mr. Kevin J. Martin
November 3, 2008
Page 3
2. Wireless networlcs are being built very rapidly, and many more base station
antennas are being installed. A crucial research need is to characterize radiated
electromagnetic fields for typical multiple-element bqse station antennas andfor
the highest radiated power conditions with measurements conducted during peak
hours of the day at locations close to the antennas as well as at ground level . . .
3. The use of evolving types of antennas for hand-held cell phones and text
messaging devices need to be characterizedfor the Specffic Absorption Rates
(SARÐ that they deliver to dffirent parts of the body so that this data is available
for use infuture epidemiologic studies.
4. RF exposure of the operational personnel close to multi-element newer base
station antennas is unlcnown and could be high, These exposures need to be
characterized. Also needed are dosimetric absorbed power calculations using
realistic anatomic models for both men and women of dffirent heights.
(P.s)
Most of the reported studies to date have involved one base station antenna and
have used mostly homogeneous models, often of simplified circular or rectangular
cross sections of the exposed human . . . In other words, the studies to date do not
pertain to the commonly used multiple-element base station radiators. Also,
unlike highly localized cell phone RF energt deposition, the base station
exposures involve much, if not all, of the body and would have slightly dffirent
radiator origins (for multiple-element base stqtions) and may be multi-frequency
as well, particularly if several dffirent-frequency base stcttion antennas are colocated.
Furthermore, because of the whole-body resonance phenomenon, the
SIR is likely to be higher for shorter individuals due to the closeness of the
fr e quency/fr e qu enc i e s of exp o s ur e t o the w hol e -b o dy r e s onanc e fr e que ncy.
(P.1s)
FCC has committed detailed and thorough analysis of what this White Spaces technology
might do to cause interference with other commercial uses. I call upon the Commission to match
its concern for commercial interests with concern for human health of the future consumers of
this technology. To that end, I hereby request that the Commission stay its November 4,2008
vote pertaining to "White Spaces" devices. In the interim, I urge you to immediately take
appropriate agency action to consider what RF human exposure guidelines FCC should set to
protect the health and safety of the American public before authorizing this technology to be
licensed or deployed. I also request that the Commission provide my Subcommittee with a
detailed description of the measures FCC has taken to date to ensure public health will not be
jeopardized by the auctioning of the White Spaces spectrum, given the scientific concerns and
unknowns about RF exposure and the proliferation of new RF exposures that will result.
Mr. Kevin J. Martin
November 3, 2008
Page 4
The Oversight and Government Reform Committee is the principal oversight committee in
the House of Representatives and has broad oversight jurisdiction as set forth in House Rule X.
An attachment to this letter provides information on how to respond to the Subcommittee's
request. W'e request that you provide these documents as soon as possible, but in no case later
than 5:00 p.m. on Monday, November 17,2008.
If you have any questions regarding this request, please contact Jaron Bourke, Staff Director,
at (202) 225-6427.
Sincerely,
ù,u^;- ù,\ü^-;cL Dennis J. Kucinich
Chairman
Domestic Policy Subcommittee

2010-08-10T10:16:00.006+01:00

DECT telephones and mobile phones cause cancer

The Highest Regional Court in Brescia (North Italy) has now issued a final valid judgement confirming a causal connection.

The brain tumor of an employee of the INAIL (IstitutoNazionale by l' Assicurazione contro gli Infortuni sul Lavoro) the National Public Insurance Institute, has been caused by hours of use of a cordless(DECT) and/or mobile phone

The judgement is a breakthrough because this time the Judge excluded industry financed appraisals and relied on industry independent data.

This judgement makes it now possible for employees in Italy to insist on the supply of a corded phone and to advise their employer that they are legally liable for future damages should they insist on the use of a cordless phone.

The Consumer Center in South Tirol advises everyone to insist on a written declaration regarding the use of telecommunication equipment which expressly states that the employer takes all responsibility for any future medium or long term consequences

The plaintiff has now been awarded an 80% disability pension due to his ` handy damage' .and the employer INAIL is to pay all court costs.

2010-06-24T09:44:00.001+01:00

In January 2009 the municipality of the Bavarian town of Selbitz, carried out a health survey by which the data of 251 citizens was recorded and then analyzed regarding radiation intensity by microwaves. In a second step, the radiation data was used to stratify the participants in pollution intensity groups, utilizing place of residence and available readings of the regional mobile telephone radiation. The mean radiation measurements of the groups exposed at most in Selbitz (1.2 V/m) was substantially higher than the mean radiation of the study population studied in the QUEBEB study (1) of the German mobile telephone research program (Deutsches Mobilfunkforschungsprogramm DMF, established mean value DMF 0.07 V/m).

A significant correlation was found dependent on dose-effects for insomnia, depressions, cerebral symptoms, joint illnesses, infections, skin changes, heart and circulation disorders, and disorders of the optical and acoustic sensory systems and the gastro-intestinal tract with objectively determined locations of exposure, which can be related by the influence of microwaves on the human nervous system. This work, which has been carried out without external resources, provides a protocol for surveys of medical practitioners and municipality administrations to estimate Wissenschaftlicher Originalbeitrag 2 possible health effects of mobile telephone basic stations situated near population residents.

Specific symptoms and radiation from mobile basis stations in Selbitz, Bavaria, Germany: evidence for a dose-effect relationship

Keywords: symptoms, HF-radiation, dose-effect evidence

2010-03-27T13:08:00.001Z

ENVIRONEMENTAL DISEASES: WHEN THE MEDICAL PROFESSION "CAN’T HELP YOU"
My electrosenstivity showed up in late 2004 after a boat trip where I'd spent the day on the deck close to the mobile phone antennas, the radar and GSM probably, and the night also not far from them. It was the straw that broke the camel's back, a journey I made by boat in order not to add to greenhouse gases by taking the plane. I'd already been given a lovely present of a wireless phone on the bedside table, an electric transformer under the bed, mobile phone antennas very close and the terminal of some electrical wiring, to mention only the most powerful sources of electromagnetic radiation.
At the time I could no longer even walk beside a river (the friction of the water molecules releases atoms and creates an electrical field), my legs felt like cotton wool and I felt as if I was going to fall over.
When I was exposed to electromagnetic fields, all sorts of symptoms could appear: inflammation of the thyroid and severe pains (I suffer from the auto-immune Hashimoto's disease); feeling dizzy, falling sensations, poor coordination between brain and legs; sensations of electrocution of the brain followed by suffocation; problems with my metabolism; heart problems, digestive problems; problems with my sight; joint pains; stabbing pains in my muscles; cramps; sleeping problems; exhaustion; being unable to stand stress, heat, noise, light; difficulty in remembering, concentrating and following through my thoughts and speaking; skin conditions; severe pain in the jaws and teeth; depression - to mention only the mentionable ones.
And as if that wasn't enough, whether exposed to EMFs or not, I entered a charmed world: thickening features, falling hair, silhouette like a pink hippopotamus .....
In 2005 I put my health in the hands of the medical profession. When I found out they could do nothing I decided in 2006 to take charge of it myself. My first research foray led me to a forum "L'appart" that specialized in a gluten free and dairy-free diet. This diet did me a lot of good. Later that year an article in the magazine BioContact, distributed free in health shops, put me on the trail of poisoning from dental mercury so criticized by the late and regretted Dr Mellet. In fact I had many amalgam fillings, some of them overlaid with gold crowns. Gold and mercury can easily exchange their electrons, and the galvanization that this caused in my mouth greatly aggravated my numerous symptoms. I only understood this much later when the last crown was removed. . . In December 2006 I realised for sure that I was also electrosensitive when I went to visit one of my children who lived in a high-rise apartment block, on the 16th floor. It was obvious that the 6 relay antennas sited on its roof were very effective in filling the coffers of the Office Public de l'Habitat (formerly the Public Office of Social Housing), to the detriment of the health of its tenants. . In the face of all this I decided to create a healthier environment for myself.
Like many people who are EHS (Electro-Hyper-Sensitive), I had to confine myself in my home, which I'd fitted out with protection from hyperlan radiation (high-speed Internet at 5.4 GHz) and from LF radiation: Faraday cage and shielding of the mains electricity with earthing, among other things. If I chose to leave it, I had to wear garments that protected me against EMFs. In spite of these precautions, every trip resulted in a great deal of pain that was sometimes hardly bearable. If I tried to have some sort of social life I had to turn up with an HF EMF meter so that those present could see with their own eyes that their mobile phones were emitting powerful radiation, and I could hope that they would turn them off. It is worth remembering that Dr Maschi, who was rudely attacked by his colleagues, was already in 1965 warning about the health hazards from artificial electromagnetic wavelengths especially in low frequencies.
During the same period I had my dental fillings and crowns removed and followed a two-year chelation treatment to eliminate the heavy metals.
On the "L'appart" forum I met other people affected by heavy metals and EMFs and we set up another forum specifically for the topic of detoxification from these metals, the forum Melodie (Information and support for heavy metal detoxification)
Through our intense collective efforts we discovered some clues to other therapeutic approaches. One thing was obvious, that our immune systems were very weak, for instance several of us had Lyme's disease.
The most important discovery that our investigations and experiments as "forumers" revealed was probably the work of the American researcher Dr Hulda Clark. She describes how through using an audio oscillator she discovered that the root causes of all illness are environmental pollution and parasites (viruses, bacteria, moulds, amoebas, worms, etc). To restore health she developed a protocol that consists first of all in eliminating all parasites (certain ones block secretions from the organs) and cleaning out the cleansing organs: kidneys, intestines and liver. In fact the fourth liver cleanse removed a quarter litre of gallstones from my liver and cured my electrosenstivity. These cleanses are completely painless and can get rid of gallstones larger than a walnut.
However I still had problems with hypoglycemia and with painful joints, and a severe lack of magnesium. Continuing my research, I discovered that I had chronic candidiasis, a condition described in detail by Dr P-G Besson in his book "Je me sens mal, mais je ne sais pas pourquoi" (I Feel Bad but I Don't Know Why). Eliminating sugar from my diet completed my return to feeling well.
Chinese medicine has established a connection between the Hashimoto thyroid condition and chronic candidiasis. This system attributes auto-immune diseases to chronic candidiasis, since Candida albicans perforates the intestinal walls in order to feed itself from the lymph and the blood. I cherish the hope that eventually, once the Candida albicans has regained its place as common yeast, I will be able to say goodbye to my Hashimoto thyroid condition, which is supposedly incurable. In my case my thyroid, thanks to my gluten- and dairy-free diet (see the work of Dr Seignalet, "L'alimentation ou la troisième médecine" (Nutrition or the Third Type of Medicine) has not changed much and my antibodies are steadily decreasing. After several years of this condition this gland often just about disappears.
After thinking about this painful history and at its almost miraculous outcome, this is my understanding of the facts. This is just a hypothesis, mostly inspired by the work of Dr Hulda Clark. . Candida albicans is electrosensitive, so artificial electromagnetic fields constitute a stress for it. When I seat myself in front of my computer screen I soon start feeling itches in my back, one of the symptoms of chronic candidiasis. . It is a mould and therefore produces substances that are poisonous for the human body, feeding almost exclusively on sugar. Before the fourth cleanse my liver could no longer eliminate these substances. Dr Clark's theory was that the gallstones compress the cavities in the liver that detoxify the organism. Once these cavities that eliminate the Candida toxins had been unclogged by the fourth cleanse, my liver was once again capable of doing its cleaning job.
In a similar way, Dr Clark points out that the "universal allergy", that is to say chemosensitivity, can be cured by cleansing the liver of its numerous gallstones. It is a fact that 75% of people who are chemosensitive are also electrosensitive.
To treat chronic candidiasis it is essential to rebalance the ph of the body (since fungus grows in an acid environment) and to starve the Candida albicans to death by following a diet without any added sugar. This can take up to a year, and afterwards a strict diet must be adhered to. The growth of Candida is stimulated by, among other things, antibiotics, cortisone, chemotherapy, vaccines and fast foods, and by the pollution of the body by heavy metals and electromagnetic fields. In fact the graphs that indicate mercury poisoning, EMF pollution, Lyme's disease and chronic candidiasis are all more or less the same.
Unfortunately doctors do not receive nay training in environmental diseases. As soon as they come up against one of them they readily label it "psychosomatic" - it makes things so much easier! Tomorrow they'll tell us it's "genetic" but that won't make the diseases any better.
So when will they stop just trying to suppress symptoms, and take an interest in finding the cause of our diseases: pollution and parasites, poor eating habits, ineffective cleansing organs or whatever? .
Without the Internet and the Melodie forum [Fr], it would have been impossible for me to treat myself successfully.
Marie-Christine

2010-03-05T11:25:00.001Z

ME now known as CFS, originally Yuppy Flu was its first name so called due to sufferers being early mobile phone users CFS symptoms and ES are closely linked. Why can't the Medics connect on this are we all turning into robots!

Thursday
4 March 2010

Editor's Choice
Let’s proceed with caution
Fiona Godlee, editor, BMJ
fgodlee@bmj.com
The lively response to last month’s editorial on chronic fatigue syndrome (BMJ 2010;340:c738, doi:10.1136/bmj.c738) brings home the inadequacy of our current understanding of this condition, or group of conditions. The responses from patients, carers, and clinicians remind us that we remain largely in the dark about its causes and prognosis, there are no accepted diagnostic tests, and treatment options are limited (www.bmj.com/cgi/eletters/340/feb11_1/c738). Sufferers must also deal with social and (if they are doctors) professional stigmatisation, as dermatologist Stephanie Munn experienced (doi:10.1136/bmj.c1179).
Little wonder if many who live or work with chronic fatigue syndrome leapt at the news last October that scientists in Nevada had found a "highly significant association" between the condition and a newly discovered retrovirus, xenotropic murine leukaemia virus-related virus (XMRV). The case-control study published in Science was trumpeted, especially by the authors, as having found the cause of chronic fatigue syndrome, with promises of a diagnostic test and treatments to follow.
As an epidemiologist, Cathie Sudlow’s initial response was sceptical, quickly confirmed when she saw that the paper lacked basic methodological information (doi:10.1136/bmj.c1260). "Where were the details of the characteristics and selection procedures for the cases and controls, or of blinding of researchers to the case-control status of the samples? Where was the discussion of the potential role of bias and confounding?"
She and others sent electronic letters to the journal. Four months on, these have yet to appear. Meanwhile, and sadly for those whose hopes had been raised, the study has been refuted by three further case-control studies, one of them in the BMJ (doi:10.1136/bmj.c1018). Myra McClure and Simon Wessely point out that claims of association between retroviruses and diseases often fail to withstand the test of time (doi:10.1136/bmj.c1099).
The paper by Van Kuppeveld and colleagues is an unusual paper for the BMJ to publish. As our research highlights page explains, we would usually reject a small case-control study examining the prevalence of a virus in 20 year old blood samples. Instead we fast tracked it. We did this because it’s about an important and debilitating syndrome that’s often seen by generalists and because we felt it added to an important and highly controversial debate. We and our reviewers also thought it was well done.
So yes, let’s have more research into chronic fatigue syndrome, but let’s make sure it’s good enough research.
We’re all under pressure to innovate, so we need to ensure as far as possible that innovation brings improvement. This may not be the case with the new edition of America’s (and hence the world’s) Diagnostic Criteria for Psychiatric Disorders. Three years in the drafting, DSM-V is now out for consultation with a view to publication in 2013.
Our editorialist cries caution (doi:10.1136/bmj.c1168). DSM-IV was unwittingly responsible, says Allen Frances, for three "epidemics" of overdiagnosis. Rates of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism, and childhood bipolar disorders shot up when it was published, fuelled not only by DSM-IVs more inclusive diagnostic criteria but by zealous marketing of drugs to doctors and the public.
Now DSM-V threatens worse. It widens the criteria for several existing diagnoses and creates five new ones: binge eating, mixed anxiety depression, minor neurocognitive problems, risk of psychosis, and temper dysregulation. This could "expand the territory of mental disorder and thin the ranks of the normal," exposing vast numbers of new "patients" to avoidable harm.
Cite this as: BMJ 2010;340:c1266

2010-03-01T14:38:00.000Z

Are We Expecting Too Much of Ofcom?

Extract from Ofcom’s official website: What is Ofcom? Ofcom is the communications regulator. We regulate the TV and radio sectors, fixed line telecoms and mobiles, plus the airwaves over which wireless devices operate.
We make sure that people in the UK get the best from their communications services and are protected from scams and sharp practices, while ensuring that competition can thrive. Ofcom operates under the Communications Act 2003. This detailed Act of Parliament spells out exactly what Ofcom should do. The Act says that Ofcom’s general duties should be to further the interests of citizens and of consumers. Meeting these two duties is at the heart of everything we do. Accountable to Parliament, we are involved in advising and setting some of the more technical aspects of policy, implementing and enforcing the law. Independent of Government, our decisions and advice are not swayed by party politics, which allows us to act solely in the interest of citizens and consumers.

http://www.Ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/3Glicences/3Glicences/

1.8 We are asking stakeholders to consider the following questions when responding to this consultation:
Are there any reasonable grounds why Ofcom should not grant the request to vary the five Wireless Telegraphy Third Generation Mobile Licences by increasing the permitted maximum in-band EIRP to 68dBm as soon as practicable? If so, please explain your reasoning for this.
Are there any reasonable grounds why Ofcom should not also apply the increased permitted maximum in-band EIRP to future 2 GHz MSS/CGC licences? If so, please explain your reasoning for this.

Such a request for information seems like a straightforward, honourable and reasonable position to take. Participation by ‘stakeholders’ - those who have something to gain or lose, is granted to all comers, for free. On the face of it, the consultative processes may seem like democracy in action.

But there is another interpretation: Yet more of our ‘inalienable’ right to unpolluted living space is about to be taken from us, and those with the power to do it are granting us the opportunity to express our opinion, to ‘get it off our chest’, as it were.
There are a number of reasons why consultation ‘rights’ might be granted:
• It makes the organisation asking appear fair and reasonable.
• It defuses opposition and protest.
• It divides and conquers (views flow into organisations, decisions flow out).
• It allows people with little or no power to believe they have some influence.
• It allows a gullible public to believe their rights are being treated with respect.
• It allows the recipients to ‘weigh the evidence’ according to their criteria.
The organisation offering the ‘consultation’ naturally cannot promise any particular action in response to concerns expressed as they do not know in advance what those views will be. They are nevertheless often the sole arbiter of which views are represented and what weight is given to them - they also control what data is published and when.
• The consultative process relies on those being consulted believing that their views may have a beneficial influence.
• Consultation takes the anger, force and motivation out of opposition. It provides a wall against which to throw sand.
• It provides insight into detail, strength of feeling and likely opposition.
• It buys time during which implementation plans can be fine-tuned to minimize the cost of adverse reactions.
• It provides apparent legitimacy for the chosen course of action.

Anything you get for free has got to be of questionable value. Being given the opportunity to express ones views, to defend one’s rights, by those who have the power to remove them, is a free opportunity that does not come without cost. After a suitable delay, expect a statement to the effect of: “All stakeholders have been given the opportunity to express their views and all submissions received by the deadline have been considered.”

Freely handing over one’s thoughts is a matter of trust. For many, Ofcom, particularly by its continued slavish adherence to the ICNIRP standard and its enthusiastic support for digital roll-outs, has failed to demonstrate that it is an official branch of this government that warrants the trust of those made ill by the technologies they promote.

Submissions which fall broadly in favour of the published plan may suggest additional business opportunities and will surely point to advantages of the plan which may be promoted to those less convinced by its benefits. Submissions broadly against the plan allow arguments to be identified and counter-arguments to be developed, disseminated and practiced.

Ofcom are not there to protect the public’s health. There is nothing in their statement about safety and deciding on ‘citizen’s best interests’ covers a multitude of sins. Delivering willing and reassured consumers to the incredibly powerful and influential telecommunications industry seems a plausible explanation. But why should such an outrageous thing be allowed to happen, especially regardless of the consequences suffered by some people? Never mind the billions of pounds/dollars/euros/yen that smooth the process, Governments cannot achieve sufficient intelligence information to counter terrorism without the support of the telecommunications companies. Our collective security is unfortunately now dependent on a dangerous and unequal alliance between Government and Very Very Big Business.

But people will say things like:
“If we don’t tell Ofcom our views when they do ask, how will they know what we want? Ofcom will say we don’t care and go ahead anyway.”
What is the point of telling Ofcom our views if we are not convinced Ofcom or the Governments ‘technology partners’ will not simply use our input to legitimize their actions? Is the mobile mast power upgrade a ‘done-deal’ and is public consultation merely ‘window dressing’? Why should the disenfranchised have any influence now when they have had precious little before?

If these words are representative of wider feelings, they may resonate with EMF Refugees across the world. Perhaps others will be inspired to share their otherwise private submissions with a wider and perhaps more receptive audience.

Does Ofcom deserve our respect and trust? Do we believe in its objectives? Do we support what it says it stands for? Do we feel our elected officials and unelected representatives who nonetheless speak and act on our behalf and with our authority, do we believe them to be smart, well-informed and influential enough to do us justice and safeguard our wellbeing?

1. Sufferers of EHS are reeling under the onslaught of wireless-radiation that by Ofcom’s authority they are now subjected to, everywhere they go. Unprecedented in the history of the planet, never before has so widespread, constant and untested wireless technology been unleashed on the whole ecosystem without adequate oversight and controls.

2. The UK Government, through Ofcom, has allowed, indeed encouraged everyone’s forced participation in the biggest uncontrolled biological experiment since the Nazi’s. Ordinary people who are unable to tolerate even the present level of these now ubiquitous emissions are losing their jobs, their homes, their opportunities - their lives. They have no access to medical and dental care, their ability to travel is curtailed, they are forced into isolation. Their rights are quietly being stripped from them. They have become outcasts and refugees in their own homelands. In short, like the polar bears, wolves and the American Indians, they are quietly having their habitats taken from them under official sanction. It is already a scandal. It is obscene that this intolerable situation is being promoted under official acquiescence. Increasing the power of mobile phone base stations will further accelerate this process and should not be allowed. The people at Ofcom should be ashamed to be associated with enabling such a power increase.

3. Mobile phone radiation was not safety tested before it was let loose on the public. It is now impossible to conduct case controlled studies into its biological effects. There are now no un-irradiated individuals, animals or plants, let alone bees. Increasing the power of mobile phone base stations will further accelerate the damage being done and should not be allowed.
1. Mobile phone base station emissions in our collective environment do not exist in isolation. They are part of the cacophony of digital signals to which we are now all subjected. Until it is known why they and other forms of man-made digitally pulsed microwave radiation makes some people sick, allowing an increase in radiated power is dangerous, irresponsible and should not be allowed.
2.
3. Incredibly, Ofcom does not know how much digitally pulsed microwave radiation is emitted from all the transmitters on the masts to which it, on the Government’s behalf, grants licences. Ofcom does not ask the operators and the operators are not obliged to provide information on the number of individual transmitters or their antenna gain in any particular direction. Even if Ofcom did know, because each licence application is considered in isolation, they have no idea of the total emissions from any given mast, rooftop or other installed facility.
4.
5. Even if Ofcom conducts measurements, it is clear to those adversely affected that in the digital realm, gross power levels are an inadequate metric for assessing biological effects. Indeed Ofcom do not appear empowered to consider biological effects, deferring to other equally complicit organisations such as ICNIRP, the UK’s Health Protection Agency - HPA and The World Health Organisation - WHO to cover their ignorance, lack of remit and lack of influence.
6.
7. Even if Ofcom had all of the information believed lacking, they have no way of factoring in all the other exposures to which people are subjected as they go about their normal daily business. Digital Terrestrial TV - DTV, Digital Audio Broadcasts - DAB, satellites, airborne radar and HAPS to name but a few. Wireless alarm systems, leakage from microwave ovens - the list goes on and on, never mind those ignorant or foolhardy enough hold mobile phones to their heads. Where is precaution in any of this? Until more is known about the now undeniable adverse biological effects of pulsed digital microwave radiation and other forms of man-made electromagnetic radiation, increased signal strengths from mobile phone base stations should not be allowed.
8.
9. This Government and Ofcom are subservient to, and slavishly compromised by the ICNIRP standards which allow blanket exposure based on gross analogue power levels, taking into no account the non-thermal effects of digital signals. Increased levels of digitally pulsed mobile phone base station microwave emissions should not be allowed.
10.
11. Britain, like the rest of the world has allowed itself to be swept up on a wave of technological advantage with scant regard for the health consequences. Ofcom have been instrumental in that process. A public health tsunami of unimaginable consequence is building.
So if you wish to participate in Ofcom’s ‘consultation’ and share your thoughts with them, go right ahead.

A similar ‘consultation process’ was enacted in Sweden in 2000. It took years for all the data to eventually surface, and then only because a few enlightened dedicated people made it happen.

If you want to know how others might feel about an increase in licensed mobile phone base station power, you have only to consult Black On White, the testimony of over 400 Swedish people whose lives have been destroyed by electromagnetic radiation.

It is available as a free download from http://www.feb.se/feb/blackonwhite-complete-book.pdf As for being out of date, it is even more relevant now than it was in 2000.

Ofcom have given us the spur on which to collect our thoughts. Please use this opportunity to share them with the rest of the world who are watching from the wilderness.

2009-10-15T16:46:00.001+01:00

iBurst blamed for 'nightmare'

by Kanina Foss

The Star, Johannesburg, Tuesday October 6 2009

Tracey-Lee and Dave McGregor spent nine years building their dream home. Tracey-Lee planted lavender bushes to attract bees and butterflies. In August, the bees upped and left. Then the dream turned into a nightmare.

The McGregors are among Craigavon residents in Joburg objecting to the erection of a broadband tower metres from their homes by service provider iBurst.

It went up 50m from the McGregors' bedroom in August. A few days later, the bees left. Last month the symptoms started.

Tracey-Lee has a painful rash all over her body. "It starts as a hot spot, which looks like ringworm. The next thing you're itching and burning. You get so itchy you want to scratch your flesh off your bones," she says.

The worst part is the nausea. Their 10-year-old son Keegan, who also has rashes, has been off school six days in the past month because of retching. Tracey-Lee is constantly nauseous.

They also get heart palpitations and headaches.

"Keegan has never had headaches in his life. Now he's waking up in the middle of the night with headaches. He's had three episodes of heart palpitations."

Tracey-Lee and Keegan are spending alternate nights at her mother's house to get some relief. "When I'm off the property, the symptoms subside," she says.

Dave adds: "I want to phone the CEO of iBurst and say: 'If this were to happen to your wife and child, what would you do?' He's welcome to move in here for a month and see how he feels."

The McGregors are not alone. Residents of nearby complexes have been getting headaches, insomnia, rashes, fatigue, upset stomachs and tinnitus (ringing in the ears) -- all symptoms mentioned in scientific studies on electrohypersensitivity.

Sabine Hark says: "I've noted that ever since the tower has been up, I battle to fall asleep. I doesn't matter how tired I am. I also wake up in-between."

Betty Ngwenya, who sleeps in a room facing the tower, has had headaches, difficulty breathing and a rash all over her body for three weeks. "My body is itchy. I can't stand in one place, it's very sore."

Just after the tower was erected, Melinda Treki's Alsatian went through a stage of throwing up once a day. The vet couldn't find anything wrong with the dog.

iBurst CEO Jannie van Zyl says he's commissioned an independent company to test electromagnetic radiation levels in the area. If they are found to be above World Health Organisation (WHO) regulations, action will be taken.

But in some countries, WHO regulations have been deemed insufficient. Russia insists on a 2km buffer between towers and residential properties, and New Zealand requires a 500m distance.

Van Zyl says it's necessary to stick to scientific fact.

"I'm not saying science has proved that radiation doesn't have an impact on living tissue, but every study I've read says it's a very complex environment and further studies should be done."

iBurst followed the necessary steps to get the erection of the R2 million tower approved, including notifying all residents living in close proximity, he says -- despite claims by the McGregors and others that they were never informed.

Van Zyl questions why the Craigavon tower is the only one of about 15,000 in South Africa to spark an outcry, and says service providers are being put in a difficult position by consumers wanting better access.

Tracey-Lee sent photographs of her rash to Professor Olle Johansson, a Swedish neuroscientist and electrohypersensitivity expert, and Eileen O'Connor, of the UK Radiation Research Trust. Both say the family's symptoms are consistent with those of others living near electromagnetic radiation.

The McGregors have considered selling the house they planned to retire in. "It's like a nightmare and you don't know if you're ever going to wake up," says Dave.

2009-09-29T15:20:00.001+01:00

Immune Function Dr. Johansson
Table of Contents
I. Basic concepts and components of the immune system
II. Hypersensitivity reactions
A. Hypersensitivity to environmental substances
B. Hypersensitivity to self antigens
C. Types of hypersensitivity reactions (Types 1,2,3 and 4)
III. The old and new electromagnetic environment
A. Definitions and sources
B. Natural sources of electromagnetic fields
C. Human-made sources of electromagnetic fields
D. What makes the various forms of electromagnetic fields so
different?
E. A few basic facts
F. Electromagnetic fields at low frequencies
G. How do static fields differ from time-varying fields?
IV. The immune system and the impairment electrohypersensitivity
V. Scientific studies of electrohypersensitivity, as well as effects of
electromagnetic fields on humans
VI. Direct effects of EMFs on the immune system
VII. Electromagnetic fields and health
VIII. Conclusions
IX. Acknowledgements
X. References
Appendix 8-A Some legal aspects of the functional impairment
electrohypersensitivity in Sweden
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Immune Function Dr. Johansson
I. Basic concepts and components of the immune system
The human immune system is part of a general defense barrier towards our
surrounding environment. We live in a biological system, the world, dominated by
various microorganisms, including microbes and viruses, many of which can cause
harm. The immune system serves as the primary line of defense against invasion by
such microbes. As we are, practically speaking, built as a tube, the outer surface - the
skin - and the innermost surface - the gastrointestinal tract - are the major borders
between us and the rest of the universe. These borders must be guarded and protected
since any damage to them could be fatal.
The skin and the mucous membranes are part of the innate or non-adaptive immune
system. However, if these barriers are broken (e.g. after cutting a finger), then
microbes, including potential pathogens (i.e. harmful microbes) can enter the body
and then begin to multiply rapidly in the warm, moist, nutrient-rich environment. The
cut may not be as physical, brutal and abrupt as a knife cut, it could also very well be
an internal leakage, such as the one found after microwave exposure of the fragile
blood-brain-barrier (cf. Persson et al, 1997). Such a leakage could indeed be fatal,
causing nerve cell damage and consecutive cellular death (cf. Salford et al, 2003).
One of the first cell types to be encountered by a foreign organism after a cut in the
skin is the phagocytic white blood cells which will congregate within minutes and
begin to attack the invading foreign microbes. Following this, the next cell type to be
found in the area of such a local infection will be the so-called neutrophils. They are
also phagocytic and use pattern-regonizing surface receptor molecules to detect
structures commonly found on the surface of bacteria. As a result, these bacteria - as
well as other forms of particulate materia - will be ingested and degraded by the
neutrophils. Various other protein components of serum, including the complement
components may bind to the invader organisms and facilitate their phagocytosis,
thereby further limiting the source of infection/disease. Other small molecules, the
interferons, mediate an early response to viral infection by the innate system.
The innate immune system is often sufficient to destroy invading microbes. If it fails
to clear an infection, it will rapidly activate the adaptive or acquired immune
response, which - as a consequence - takes over.The molecular messenger connection
between the innate and the adaptive systems are molecules known as cytokines
(actually, the interferons are part of this molecular family).
The first cells in this cellular orchestra to be activated are the T and B lymphocytes.
These cells are normally at rest and are only recruited at need, i.e. when encountering
a foreign (=non-self) entity referred to as an antigen. The T and B lymphocytes,
together with a wide spectrum of other cell types, have antigen receptors or antigenrecognizing
molecules on their surface. Among them you find the classical antibodies
(=B cell antigen receptors), T cell antigen receptors as well as the specific protein
products of special genetic regions (=the major histocompatibility complexes). The
genes of humans are referred to as human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genes and their
protein products as HLA molecules. The antibodies - apart from being B cell surface
receptors - are also found as soluble antigen-recognizing molecules in the blood
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Immune Function Dr. Johansson
(immunoglobulins). The adaptive immune response is very highly effective but rather
slow; it can take 7-10 days to mobilize completely. It has a very effective pathogen
(non-self) recognition mechanism, a molecular memory and can improve it's
production of pathogen-recognition molecules during the response.
A particularly interesting set of cells are the various dendritic cells of the skin. In the
outermost portion, the epidermis, you find both dendritic melanocytes, the cells
responsible for the pigment-production, as well as the Langerhans cells with their
antigen-presenting capacity. In the deeper layer, the dermis, you find corresponding
cells, as well as the basophilic mast cells, often showing a distinct dendritic
appearance using proper markers such as chymase, tryptase or histamine. All these
cells are the classical reactors to external radiation, such as radioactivity, X-rays and
UV light. For that reason, our demonstration (Johansson et al, 1994) of a high-to-very
high number of somatostatin-immunoreactive dendritic cells in the skin of persons
with the functional impairment electrohypersensitivity is of the greatest importance.
Also, the alterations found in the mast cell population of normal healthy volunteers
exposed in front of ordinary house-hold TVs and computer screens (Johansson et al,
2001) are intriguing, as are the significantly increased number of serotonin-positive
mast cells in the skin (p<0.05) and neuropeptide tyrosine (NPY)-containing nerve
fibers in the thyroid (p<0.01) of rats exposed to extremely low-frequency
electromagnetic fields (ELF-EMF) compared to controls, indicating a direct EMF
effect on skin and thyroid vasculature (Rajkovic et al, 2005a,b, 2006; for further
details and refs., see below). In the gastrointestinal tract, you will find corrsponding
types of cells guardening our interior lining towards the universe.
In essence, the immune system is a very complex one, built up of a large number of
cell types (B and T lymphocytes, macrophages, natural killer cells, mast cells,
Langerhans cells, etc.) with certain basic defense strategies. It has evolved during an
enormously long time-span and is constructed to deal with it's known enemies,
including bacteria. Among the known enemies are, of course, not modern
electromagnetic fields, such as power-frequent electric and magnetic fields,
radiowaves, TV signals, mobile phone or Wi-Fi microwaves, radar signals, X-rays or
radioactivity. They have been introduced during the last 100 years, in many cases
during the very last decades. They are an entirely new form of exposure and could
pose to be a biological ”terrorist army” against which there are no working defence
walls. They do penetrate the body from outside and in. Some of them have already
been proven to be of fatal nature, and today no-one would consider having a
radioactive wrist watch with glowing digits (as you could in the 1950s), having your
children’s shoes fitted in a strong X-ray machine (as you could in the 1940s), keeping
radium in open trays on your desk (as scientists could in the 1930s), or X-raying each
other at your garden party (as physicians did in the 1920s). That was, of course, just
plain madness. However, the persons doing so and selling these gadgets were not
misinformed or less intelligent, not at all. The knowledge at the time was just lacking
as was a competent risk analysis behaviour coupled to a parallel analysis of true
public need.
II. Hypersensitivity reactions
The immune system can react in an excessive manner and it can cause damage to the
local tissue as well as generally to the entire body. Such events are called
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Immune Function Dr. Johansson
hypersensitivity reactions and they occur in response to three different types of
antigens: a) infectious agents, b) environmental disturbances, and c) self-antigens.
The second one is related to the impact of the new electromagnetic fields of today's
modern world. Hypersensitivity can occur in response to innocuous environmental
antigens - one example of this is allergy. For example, in hay fever, grass pollens
themselves are incapable of causing damage; it is the immune response to the pollen
that causes harm.
II A. Hypersensitivity to environmental substances
For environmental substances to trigger hypersensitivity reactions, they must be fairly
small in order to gain access to the immune system. Dust triggers off a range of
responses because they are able to enter the lower extremities of the respiratory tract,
an area that is rich in adaptive immune-response cells. These dusts can mimic
parasites and may stimulate an antibody response. If the dominant antibody is IgE,
they may subsequently trigger immediate hypersensitivity, which is manifest as
allergies such as asthma or rhinitis, If the dust stimulates IgG antibodies it may trigger
off a different kind of hypersensitivity, e.g. farmer's lung.
Smaller molecules sometimes diffuse into the skin and these may act as haptens,
triggering a delayed hypersensitivity reaction. This is the basis of contact dermatitis
caused by nickel.
Drugs administered orally, by injection or onto the surface of the body can elicit
hypersensitivity reactions mediated by IgE or IgG antibodies or by T cells.
Immunologically mediated hypersensitivity reactions to drugs are very common and
even very tiny doses of drugs can trigger life-threatening reactions. These are well
classified as idiosyncratic adverse drug reactions.
In this respect, of course electromagnetic fields could be said to fulfil the most
important demands: they can penetrate the entire body and if they are small.
II B. Hypersensitivity to self antigens
Some degree of immune response to self antigens is normal and is present in most
people. When these become exaggerated or when tolerance to further antigens breaks
down, hypersensitivity reactions can occur and manifest themselves as an
autoimmune disease, many of which that are truly serious and may even end fatally.
II C. Types of hypersensitivity reactions
The hypersensitivity classification system was first described by Coombs and Gell.
The system classifies the different types of hypersensitivity reaction by the types of
immune responses involved. Each type of hypersensitivity reaction produces
characteristic clinical diseases whether the trigger is an enviromental, infectious or
self-antigen. For example, in type III hypersensitivity the clinical result is similar
whether the antigen is streptococcus, a drug or an autoantigen such as DNA.
Hypersensitivity reactions are reliant on the adaptive immune system. Prior exposure
to antigen is required to prime the adaptive immune response to produce IgE (type I),
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Immune Function Dr. Johansson
IgG (type II and III) or T cells (type IV). Because prior exposure is required,
hypersensitivity reactions do not take place when an individual is first exposed to
antigen. In each type of hypersensitivity reaction the damage is caused by different
adaptive and innate systems, each of which with their respective role in clearing
infections.
Type I
Type I hypersensitivity is mediated through the degranulation of mast cells
and eosinophils. The effects are felt within minutes of exposure and this type
of hypersensitivity is sometimes referred to as immediate hypersensitivity and
is also known as allergy. Among such reactions are hay fever and the classical
skin prick test that can be used to reveal such reaction patterns. The mast cell
is a common denominator in the functional impairment electrohypersensitivity
(earlier referred to as ”electrical allergy”).
Type II
Type II hypersensitivity is caused by IgG reacting with antigen present on the
surface of cells. The bound immunoglobulin then interacts with complement
or with Fc receptors on macrophages. These innate mechanisms then damage
the target cells using processes that may take several hours, as in the case of
drug-induced hemolysis.
Type III
Immunoglobulin is also responsible for the type III hypersensitivity. In this
case, immune complexes of antigen and antibody form and either cause
damage at the site of production or circulate and cause damage elsewhere.
Immune complexes take some time to form and to initiate tissue damage.
Among the cells types involved are neutrophils. Post-streptococcal
glomerulonephritis is a good example of immune complex disease.
Type IV
The slowest form of hypersensitivity is that mediated by T cells (type IV
hypersensitivity). This can take 2-3 days to develop and is referred to as
delayed hypersensitivity. Macrophages are frequently involved. A well-known
example of such delayed reactions is contact dermatitis.
III. The old and new electromagnetic environment
"Electromagnetic radiation" covers a broad range of frequencies (over 20 orders of
magnitude), from low frequencies in electricity supplies, radiowaves and microwaves,
infrared and visible light, to x-rays and cosmic rays.
III A. Definitions and sources
Electric fields are created by differences in voltage: the higher the voltage, the
stronger will be the resultant field. Magnetic fields are created when electric current
flows: the greater the current, the stronger the magnetic field. An electric field will
exist even when there is no current flowing. If current does flow, the strength of the
magnetic field will vary with power consumption but the electric field strength will be
constant.
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Immune Function Dr. Johansson
III B. Natural sources of electromagnetic fields
Electromagnetic fields are present everywhere in our environment but are invisible to
the human eye. Electric fields are produced by the local build-up of electric charges in
the atmosphere associated with thunderstorms. The earth's magnetic field causes a
compass needle to orient in a North-South direction and is used by birds and fish for
navigation.
III C. Human-made sources of electromagnetic fields
Besides natural sources the electromagnetic spectrum also includes fields generated
by human-made sources: X-rays are employed to diagnose a broken limb after a sport
accident. The electricity that comes out of every power socket has associated low
frequency electromagnetic fields. And various kinds of higher frequency radiowaves
are used to transmit information – whether via TV antennas, radio stations or mobile
phone base stations.
III D. What makes the various forms of electromagnetic fields so different?
One of the main characteristics which defines an electromagnetic field (EMF) is its
frequency or its corresponding wavelength. Fields of different frequencies interact
with the body in different ways. One can imagine electromagnetic waves as series of
very regular waves that travel at an enormous speed, the speed of light. The frequency
simply describes the number of oscillations or cycles per second, while the term
wavelength describes the distance between one wave and the next. Hence wavelength
and frequency are inseparably intertwined: the higher the frequency the shorter the
wavelength.
III E. A few basic facts
Field strength: An electromagnetic field consist of an electrical part and a magnetic
part. The electrical part is produced by a voltage gradient and is measured in
volts/metre. The magnetic part is generated by any flow of current and is measured in
Tesla. For example, standing under a power line would expose you to an electrical
voltage gradient due to the difference between the voltage of the line (set by the
power company) and earth. You would also be exposed to a magnetic field
proportional to the current actually flowing through the line, which depends on
consumer demand. Both types of field give biological effects, but the magnetic field
may be more damaging since it penetrates living tissue more easily. Magnetic fields
as low as around 2 milligauss (mG) or 0.2 microTesla (a millionth of a Tesla) can
produce biological effects. For comparison, using a mobile (cell) phone or a PDA
exposes you to magnetic pulses that peak at several tens of microTesla (Jokela et al,
2004; Sage et al, 2007), which is well over the minimum needed to give harmful
effects. Because mobile phones and other wireless gadgets are held close to the body
and are used frequently, these devices are potentially the most dangerous sources of
electromagnetic radiation that the average person possesses.
Frequency: The fields must vary with time, e.g. those from alternating currents, if
they are to have biological effects. Extremely low frequencies (ELF) represent powerlines
and domestic appliances, and here, just now in June 2007, the WHO again has
pointed them out as an area for general caution since they are believed to be one of
the causes for children’s leukemia. Pulsed or amplitude modulated, at a biologically
active lower frequency (i.e. when the radio signal strength rises and falls in time with
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Immune Function Dr. Johansson
the lower frequency), high-frequencies are the hallmark of mobile phones, WiFi
systems, PDAs, etc,
III F. Electromagnetic fields at low frequencies
Electric fields exist whenever a positive or negative electrical charge is present. They
exert forces on other charges within the field. The strength of the electric field is
measured in volts per metre (V/m). Any electrical wire that is charged will produce an
associated electric field. This field exists even when there is no current flowing. The
higher the voltage, the stronger the electric field at a given distance from the wire.
Electric fields are strongest close to a charge or charged conductor, and their strength
rapidly diminishes with distance from it. Conductors such as metal shield them very
effectively. Other materials, such as building materials and trees, provide some
shielding capability. Therefore, the electric fields from power lines outside the house
are reduced by walls, buildings, and trees. When power lines are buried in the ground,
the electric fields at the surface are hardly detectable.
Plugging a wire into an outlet creates electric fields in the air surrounding the
appliance. The higher the voltage the stronger the field produced. Since the voltage
can exist even when no current is flowing, the appliance does not have to be turned on
for an electric field to exist in the room surrounding it.
Magnetic fields arise from the motion of electric charges. The strength of the
magnetic field is measured in amperes per meter (A/m); more commonly in
electromagnetic field research, scientists specify a related quantity, the flux density
(in microtesla, μT) instead. In contrast to electric fields, a magnetic field is only
produced once a device is switched on and current flows. The higher the current, the
greater the strength of the magnetic field.
Like electric fields, magnetic fields are strongest close to their origin and rapidly
decrease at greater distances from the source. Magnetic fields are not blocked by
common materials such as the walls of buildings.
III G. How do static fields differ from time-varying fields?
A static field does not vary over time. A direct current (DC) is an electric current
flowing in one direction only. In any battery-powered appliance the current flows
from the battery to the appliance and then back to the battery. It will create a static
magnetic field. The earth's magnetic field is also a static field. So is the magnetic field
around a bar magnet which can be visualized by observing the pattern that is formed
when iron filings are sprinkled around it.
In contrast, time-varying electromagnetic fields are produced by alternating currents
(AC). Alternating currents reverse their direction at regular intervals. In most
European countries electricity changes direction with a frequency of 50 cycles per
second or 50 Hertz. Equally, the associated electromagnetic field changes its
orientation 50 times every second. North American electricity has a frequency of 60
Hertz.
What are the main sources of low, intermediate and high frequency fields? The timevarying
electromagnetic fields produced by electrical appliances are an example of
extremely low frequency (ELF) fields. ELF fields generally have frequencies up to
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Immune Function Dr. Johansson
300 Hz. Other technologies produce intermediate frequency (IF) fields with
frequencies from 300 Hz to 10 MHz and radiofrequency (RF) fields with frequencies
of 10 MHz to 300 GHz. The effects of electromagnetic fields on the human body
depend not only on their field level but on their frequency and energy. Our electricity
power supply and all appliances using electricity are the main sources of ELF fields;
computer screens, anti-theft devices and security systems are the main sources of IF
fields; and radio, television, radar and cellular telephone antennas, and microwave
ovens are the main sources of RF fields. These fields induce currents within the
human body, which if sufficient can produce a range of effects such as heating and
electrical shock, depending on their amplitude and frequency range. (However, to
produce such effects, the fields outside the body would have to be very strong, far
stronger than present in normal environments.)
There are four phenomena that emerge from the use of electricity: ground currents;
"electromagnetic smog" from communications equipment; magnetic fields from
power lines and specialized equipments; and radiofrequencies on power lines or socalled
"dirty electricity." They may all be potential environmental toxins and this is an
area of research that must be further pursued.
Electromagnetic fields at high frequencies
Mobile telephones, television and radio transmitters and radar produce RF fields.
These fields are used to transmit information over long distances and form the basis
of telecommunications as well as radio and television broadcasting all over the world.
Microwaves are RF fields at high frequencies in the GHz range. In microwaves ovens,
we use them to quickly heat food at 2.45 GHz (or 2,450 MHz ).
Communications and radar antennae expose those who live or work near these
installations to their emissions. The radiation travels through buildings, and can also
be conducted along electrical wires or metal plumbing. Wireless communications
create levels within buildings that are orders of magnitude higher than natural
background levels.
At radio frequencies, electric and magnetic fields are closely interrelated and we
typically measure their levels as power densities in watts per square metre (W/m2).
IV. The immune system and the impairment electrohypersensitivity
An increasing number of studies has clearly shown various biological and medical
effects at the cellular level of electromagnetic fields, including power-frequency and
radiofrequency/microwave exposures at low-intensity levels. Such electromagnetic
fields are present in everyday life, at the workplace, in your home in homes and at
places of leisure. Such bioeffects and health impacts are substantially documented in
the scientific literature, and are directly relevant to public health.
Direct effects on the immune system were first reported in relation to people with
symptoms of electrohypersensitivity. Subjective and objective skin- and mucosarelated
symptoms, such as itch, smarting, pain, heat sensation, redness, papules,
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Immune Function Dr. Johansson
pustles, etc., after exposure to visual display terminals (VDTs), mobile phones, DECT
telephones, WI-FI equipments, as well as other electromagnetic devices were
reported. Frequently, symptoms from internal organ systems, such as the heart and the
central nervous system were reported.
A working definition of EHS from Bergqvist et al. (1997) is:
“a phenomenon where individuals experience adverse health effects while using or
being in the vicinity of devices emanating electric, magnetic or electromagnetic fields
(EMFs)”.
Stenberg (2004) distinguishes between two groups: those who experience facial skin
symptoms in connection with VDT work (sensory sensations of the facial skin
including stinging, itching, burning, erythema, rosacea) while EHS symptoms include
these and also fatigue, headache, sleeplessness, dizziness, cardiac and cognitive
problems.
Hillert (2004) reports that symptoms of EHS may include facial skin complaints, eye
irritation, runny or stuffy nose, impaired sense of smell, hoarse dry throat, coughing,
sense of pressure in ear(s), fatigue, headache, heaviness in the head, nausea/dizziness,
and difficulties in concentrating.
Cox (2004) reported on a study of electrical hypersensitivity in the United Kingdom.
Symptoms reported by mobile phone users included headaches (85%), dizziness
(27%), fatigue (24%), nausea (15%), itching (15%), redness (9%), burning 61%), and
cognitive problems (42%). For those individuals reporting EHS symptoms in the UK
population, the percentage of patients with symptoms from cell phone masts was
18%, DECT cordless phones (36%), landline phones (6%), VDTs (27%), television
(12%) and fluorescent lights (18%).
Fox et al (2004) reported that a questionnaire survey of EHS individuals revealed
symptoms of nausea, muzziness/disorientation.
Levallois et al. (2002) reported on their study of prevalence of self-perceived
hypersensitivity to electromagnetic fields in California. They found that about 3% of
the population reports to be electrohypersensitive. About 0.5% of the population has
reported the necessity to change jobs or to remain unemployed due to the severity of
their electrohypersensitivity symptoms. Underestimation of these percentages is
discussed, since the population surveyed was found through contact with either an
occupational clinic or a support group, and electrohypersensitive people very
frequently cannot due normal outings (go out, travel, meet in buildings with EMF
exposures, etc). The study concludes that while there was no clinical confirmation of
the reported symptoms of electrohypersensitivity, the perception is of public health
importance in California, and perhaps North America. The results were based on a
telephone survey among a sample of 2,072 Californians. Being “allergic or very
sensitive” to getting near electrical devices was reported by 68 subjects resulting in an
adjusted prevalence of 3.2% (95% confidence interval: 2.8, 3.7). Twenty-seven
subjects (1.3%) reported sensitivity to electrical devices but no sensitivity to
chemicals. Alleging that a doctor had diagnosed “environmental illness or multiple
chemical sensitivity” was the strongest predictor of reporting being hypersensitive to
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Immune Function Dr. Johansson
EMF in this population (adjusted prevalence odds ratio = 5.8, 95 % confidence
interval: 2.6 - 12.8. This study confirms the presence of this self-reported disorder in
North America.
A recent German survey suggests that the prevalence of subjects who attribute health
complaints to EMF exposures is not negligible. In a sample of 2,500 interviewees, 8%
specifically attributed health complaints to exposures from mobile phone base station
antennas or the use of mobile or cordless phones [Institut für angewandte
Sozialwissenschaft (infas), 2004]. In Sweden, 3.1% of the population claimed to be
hypersensitive to EMF. Considerable variation across countries, regions within
countries, and surveys in the same regions has been noted before. In 1997, a European
expert group reported that electrical hypersensitivity had a higher prevalence in
Sweden, Germany, and Denmark than in the United Kingdom, Austria, and France
[European group of experts, 1997]. All these data suggest that the true number is still
uncertain and the topic merits further research (cf. Schuz et al, 2006).
Roosli et al. (2004a, 2004b) estimates that the proportion of individuals in
Switzerland with EHS symptoms is about 5%, where the exposures of concern are
cited to be powerlines, handheld phones, television and computer exposures rather
than base stations (cell towers). He reported that about half the Swiss population is
concerned about health effects from EMF exposures in general.
V. Scientific studies of electrohypersensitivity, as well as effects of
electromagnetic fields on humans
Lyskov et al. (2004) reported that EHS individuals exhibited sensitivity to VDTs,
fluorescent lights and television, all of which produce flickering light. EHS
individuals that were given provocation tests with flickering light exhibited a higher
critical flicker frequency (CFF) than normal, and their visual evoked potential (VEP)
was significantly higher than in controls. Follow-up studies, individuals with EHS
demonstrated increased CFF, increased VEP, increased heart rate, decreased heart rate
variability (HRV) and increased electrodermal (EDA) reaction to sound stimuli.
These results indicate an imbalance in the autonomic nervous system and a lack of
normal circadian rhythms in these EHS individuals. However, it may also just show
that they feel ill.
Mueller and Schierz (2004) reported that soundness of sleep and well-being in the
morning but not sleep quality were affected by exposure in EHS individuals to
overnight EMF exposures. An effect was reported where EHS individuals shifted
their position in the bed during sleep to the non-exposed (or probably less exposed)
side of the bed.
Vecchio et al (2007) have reported that EMF from mobile phones affects the
synchronization of cerebral rhythms. Their findings suggest that prolonged exposure
to mobile phone emissions affect cortical activity and the speed of neural
synchronization by interhemispherical functional coupling of EEG rhythms. This may
be evidence that such exposure can affect the way in which the brain is able to
process information, by interfering with the synchronization rhythms between the
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Immune Function Dr. Johansson
halves of the brain, and by disregulating the normal alpha wave 2 (about 8-10 Hz) and
alpha 3 (10-12 Hz) bands.
Markova et al. (2005) reported that non-thermal microwave exposure from Global
System for Mobile Communication (GSM) mobile telephones at lower levels than the
ICNIRP safety standards affect 53BP1 and γ-H2AX foci and chromatin conformation
in human lymphocytes. They investigated effects of microwave radiation of GSM at
different carrier frequencies on human lymphocytes from healthy persons and from
persons reporting hypersensitivity to electromagnetic fields (EMFs). They measured
the changes in chromatin conformation, which are indicative of stress response and
genotoxic effects, by the method of anomalous viscosity time dependence, and
analyzed tumor suppressor p53-binding protein 1 (53BP1) and phosphorylated histone
H2AX (γ-H2AX), which have been shown to colocalize in distinct foci with DNA
double-strand breaks (DSBs), using immunofluorescence confocal laser microscopy.
The authors reported that microwave exposure from GSM mobile telephones affect
chromatin conformation and 53BP1/γ-H2AX foci similar to heat shock. For the first
time, they reported that effects of microwave radiation from mobile telephones on
human lymphocytes are dependent on carrier frequency. On average, the same
response was observed in lymphocytes from hypersensitive and healthy subjects.
These effects occurred at non-thermal microwave exposure levels from mobile
telephones. These levels are presently permissible under safety standards of the
International Commission for Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP).
Recent evidence has indicated activation of stress-induced pathways in cultivated
cells in response to microwaves (Leszczynski et al, 2002). Their article indicated that
mobile telephone microwaves activate a variety of cellular signal transduction
pathways, among them the hsp27/p38MAPK stress response pathway (Leszczynski et
al, 2002). Whether activation of stress response pathways relates to apoptosis, bloodbrain
barrier permeability, or increased cancer in humans remains to be investigated.
Further work reported gene and protein expression changes in human endothelial cell
lines with microwave 900 MHz mobile phone exposure (Leszczynski and Nylund,
2006).
Persons claiming adverse skin reactions after having been exposed to computer
screens or mobile phones very well could be reacting in a highly specific way and
with a completely correct avoidance reaction, especially if the provocative agent was
radiation and/or chemical emissions -- just as would happen if you had been exposed
to e.g. sun rays, X-rays, radioactivity or chemical odors. The working hypothesis,
thus, early became that they react in a cellularly correct way to the electromagnetic
radiation, maybe in concert with chemical emissions such as plastic components,
flame retardants, etc., something later focussed upon by professor Denis L. Henshaw
and his collaborators at the Bristol University (cf. Fews et al, 1999a,b). This is also
covered in great depth by the author Gunni Nordström in her latest book (2004).
Very early immune cell alterations were observed when exposing two EHS
individuals to a TV monitor (Johansson et al, 1994). In this people were placed in
front of, in front of an ordinary TV set (an open provocation study). Subjects who
regarded themselves as suffering from skin problems due to work at video display
terminals were tested. Employing immunohistochemistry, in combination with a wide
range of antisera directed towards cellular and neurochemical markers, we observed
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Immune Function Dr. Johansson
and reported a high-to-very high number of somatostatin-immunoreactive dendritic
cells as well as histamine-positive mast cells in skin biopsies from the anterior neck
taken before the start of the provocation. At the end of the provocation the high
number of mast cells was unchanged, however, all the somatostatin-positive cells had
seemingly disappeared. The reason for this latter finding may be discussed in terms of
loss of immunoreactivity, increase of breakdown, etc. The high number of mast cells
present may explain the clinical symptoms of itch, pain, edema and erythema.
In facial skin samples of electrohypersensitive persons, the most common finding is a
profound increase of mast cells as monitored by various mast cell markers, such as
histamine, chymase and tryptase (Johansson and Liu, 1995). From these studies, it is
clear that the number of mast cells in the upper dermis is increased in the
electrohypersensitivity group. A different pattern of mast cell distribution also
occurred in the electrohypersensitivity group, namely, the normally empty zone
between the dermo-epidermal junction and mid-to-upper dermis disappeared in the
electrohypersensitivity group and, instead, this zone had a high density of mast cell
infiltration. These cells also seemed to have a tendency to migrate towards the
epidermis (=epidermiotrophism) and many of them emptied their granular content
(=degranulation) in the dermal papillary layer. Furthermore, more degranulated mast
cells could be seen in the dermal reticular layer in the electrohypersensitivity group,
especially in those cases which had the mast cell epidermiotrophism phenomenon
described above. Finally, in the electrohypersensitivity group, the cytoplasmic
granules were more densely distributed and more strongly stained than in the control
group, and, generally, the size of the infiltrating mast cells was found to be larger in
the electrohypersensitivity group as well. It should be noted, that increases of similar
nature later on were demonstrated in an experimental situation employing normal
healthy volunteers in front of visual display units, including ordinary house-hold
television sets (cf. Johansson et al, 2001).
Mast cells, when activated, release a spectrum of mediators, among them histamine,
which is involved in a variety of biological effects with clinical relevance, e.g.,
allergic hypersensitivity, itch, edema, local erythema, and many types of dermatoses.
From the results of the above studies, it is clear that electromagnetic fields affect the
mast cell, and also the dendritic cell, population, and may degranulate these cells.
The release of inflammatory substances, such as histamine, from mast cells in the skin
results in a local erythema, edema, and sensation of itch and pain, and the release of
somatostatin from the dendritic cells may give rise to subjective sensations of ongoing
inflammation and sensitivity to ordinary light. These are, as mentioned, the common
symptoms reported from persons suffering from electrohypersensitivity/screen
dermatitis. Mast cells occur in the brain (Zhuang et al, 1999) and their presence may,
under the influence of electromagnetic field and/or radiofrequency radiation exposure
lead to chronic inflammatory response by the mast cell degranulation.
Mast cells are also present in the heart tissue and their localization is of particular
relevance to their function. Data from studies made on interactions of electromagnetic
fields with the cardiac function have demonstrated that changes are present in the
heart after exposure to electromagnetic fields. Some electrically sensitive people have
symptoms similar to heart attacks after exposure to electromagnetic fields.
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Immune Function Dr. Johansson
We have also compared facial skin from electrohypersensitive persons with
corresponding material from normal healthy volunteers (Johansson et al, 1996). The
aim of the study was to evaluate possible markers to be used for future double-blind
or blind provocation investigations. Differences were found for the biological markers
calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), somatostatin (SOM), vasoactive intestinal
polypeptide (VIP), peptide histidine isoleucine amide (PHI), neuropeptide tyrosine
(NPY), protein S-100 (S-100), neuron-specific enolase (NSE), protein gene product
(PGP) 9.5 and phenylethanolamine N-methyltransferase (PNMT). The overall
impression in the blind-coded material was such that it turned out easy to blindly
separate the two groups from each other. However, no single marker was 100% able
to pin-point the difference, although some were quite powerful in doing so (CGRP,
SOM, S-100). In our on-going investigations, we have also found alterations of the
Merkel cell number in the facial skin of electrohypersensitive persons (Yoshimura et
al, 2006). However, it has to be pointed out that we cannot, based upon those results,
draw any definitive conclusions about the cause of the changes observed. Blind or
double-blind provocations in a controlled environment (Johansson et al, 2001) are
necessary to elucidate the underlying causes for the changes reported in this particular
investigation.
Gangi and Johansson (1997, 2000) have proposed models for how mast cells and
substances secreted from them (e.g., histamine, heparin, and serotonin) could explain
sensitivity to electromagnetic fields similar to those used to explain UV- and ionizing
irradiation-related damages. We discuss an increasing number of persons who report
cutaneous problems as well as symptoms from certain internal organs, such as the
central nervous system and the heart, when being close to electric equipment. Many
of these respondents are users of video display terminals, and have both subjective
and objective skin- and mucosa-related symptoms, such as pain, itch, heat sensation,
erythema, papules, and pustules. The central nervous system-derived symptoms are,
e.g., dizziness, tiredness, and headache, erythema, itch, heat sensation, edema, and
pain which are also common symptoms of sunburn (UV dermatitis). Alterations have
been observed in cell populations of the skin of electrohypersensitive persons similar
to those observed in the skin damaged due to ultraviolet light or ionizing radiation.
Gangi and Johansson (1997, 2000), have proposed a theoretical mechanism to explain
how mast cells and substances secreted from them could cause sensitivity to
electromagnetic fields. The mechanism derives from known facts in the fields of UVand
ionizing irradiation-related damage. Alterations seen after power-frequency or
microwave electromagnetic field exposures that result in electrohypersensitivity
symptoms may be understood by comparison to to ionizing radiation damage
according to the type of immune function responses seen in both.
The working hypothesis is that electrohypersensitivity is a kind of irradiation damage,
since the observed cellular changes are very much the same as the ones documented
in tissue subjected to UV-light or ionizing radiation (see references below).
Mast cells are located in close proximity to neurons in the peripheral and central
nervous systems, suggesting a functional role in normal and aberrant
neurodegenerative states. They also possess many of the features of neurons, in terms
of monoaminergic systems, responsiveness to neurotrophins and neuropeptides and
the ability to synthesise and release bioactive neurotrophic factors. Mast cells are able
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Immune Function Dr. Johansson
to secrete an array of potent mediators which may orchestrate neuroinflammation and
affect the integrity of the blood-brain barrier. The «cross-talk» between mast cells,
lymphocytes, neurons and glia constitutes a neuroimmune axis which is implicated in
a range of neurodegenerative diseases with an inflammatory and/or autoimmune
component, such as multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer's disease.
Mast cells are involved in numerous activities ranging from control of the vasculature,
to tissue injury and repair, allergic inflammation and host defences. They synthesize
and secrete a variety of mediators, activating and modulating the functions of nearby
cells and initiating complex physiological changes. Interestingly, NO produced by
mast cells and/or other cells in the microenvironment appears to regulate these diverse
roles. Some of the pathways central to the production of NO by mast cells and many
of the tightly controlled regulatory mechanisms involved have been identified.
Several cofactors and regulatory elements are involved in NO production, and these
act at transcriptional and post-translational sites. Their involvement in NO production
and the possibility that these pathways are critically important in mast cell functions
should be investigated. The effects of NO on mast cell functions such as adhesion,
activation and mediator secretion ought to be examined with a focus on molecular
mechanisms by which NO modifies intracellular signalling pathways dependent or
independent of cGMP and soluble guanylate cyclase. Metabolic products of NO
including peroxynitrite and other reactive species may be the critical elements that
affect the actions of NO on mast cell functions. Further understanding of the actions
of NO on mast cell activities may uncover novel strategies to modulate inflammatory
conditions.
It is important to remember that mastocytosis - an abnormal accumulation of mast
cells in one or more organ system - can occur secondarily to other causes, such as
inflammation and some kinds of leukemia. The increase in EHS being described here
is more accurately thought of as “primary” mastocytosis, meaning that the increased
number of mast cells occurs independently of any other cause. However, because of
the increased number of mast cells in primary mastocytosis, conditions such as
osteoporosis and inflammation may arise as a result of the activity of those mast cells.
The manner in which primary mastocytosis can be distinguished from secondary
mastocytosis and other conditions should be addressed.
Research of mast cells and mastocytosis has made impressive progress over the past
decade toward understanding what is different about mast cells in patients who have
mastocytosis compared with mast cells in people who do not. A group of 23
researchers from Europe and the United States met in Vienna in September, 2000,
and, after lengthy discussions, arrived at a consensus as to what criteria will
accurately diagnose mastocytosis, and how to classify the various sub-types. Their
conclusions are reported in a series of articles in the July, 2001, issue of Leukemia
Research. Unfortunately, nothing was mentioned about mast cells and EMF effects.
Patients with mastocytosis may or may not have constitutional symptoms, including
weight loss, pain, nausea, headache, malaise, or fatigue. These symptoms may be due
to uncontrolled proliferation of mast cells or involvement of distinct organs, such as
the stomach and intestines, or bone or bone marrow. Constitutional symptoms also
can result from high levels of mast cell mediators in the blood stream. The severity of
symptoms varies from mild to life-threatening.
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Immune Function Dr. Johansson
The study of biopsy tissue in patients with suspected mastocytosis requires the use of
appropriate stains. Tryptase is the stain of choice, as toluidine blue and Giemsa stains
are more likely to be affected by tissue processing and may not always produce
reliable results.
In skin, accumulation of groups of mast cells combined with the presence of urticaria
pigmentosa or mastocytoma is diagnostic of cutaneous mastocytosis. In some cases, it
may be difficult to establish a diagnosis. The absence of skin lesions does not rule out
the diagnosis of mastocytosis.
The abnormalities that may be seen in mastocytosis mast cells are elongated shape,
oval nuclei that are not in the center of the mast cell, and fewer than usual granules
inside the mast cells, with those present being in groups rather than scattered. If two
or more of these features are found, the cells are referred to as atypical mast cells.
Sometimes the nucleus of atypical mast cells will have "lobes."
When the diagnosis of mastocytosis has not previously been established, specialized
analyses may be required to differentiate between mastocytosis and other non-mast
cell disorders of the blood-forming system, such as leukemias and myeloproliferative
disorders. In some of these other disorders, the diseased cells contain and release low
amounts of tryptase. Additional blood cell studies and chromosome analysis may be
necessary to make a clear diagnosis in such cases.
Holmboe and Johansson (2005) reported on testing for the presence of increased
levels of IgE or signs of a positive Phadiatop Combi (which is a screening test for
allergies towards certain articles of food, pollen, insects, and other animals) which
both would be indicators of an immune system alert. Twenty-two people (5 men, 17
women) participated in the study. Skin and nervous system effects were the primary
symptoms reported by participants in the study. The most frequently reported
symptoms were skin redness, eczema and sweating, loss of memory, concentration
difficulties, sleep disturbances, dizziness, muscular and joint-related pain, and
muscular and joint-related weakness. Headache, faintness, nasal stuffiness, and
fatigue were also common. In addition, 19 of the people had disturbances of the
gastrointestinal tract. All the people with the impairment electrohypersensitivity had
tinnitus.
No connection between IgE blood levels and symptoms were found. All the people
who reported electrohypersensitivity had normal values (<122 kU/l). Only 3 people
had a positive Phadiatop Combi. Such increases could be used in the diagnosis of
electrohypersensitivity, but they were not found to be useful indicators.
Animal Studies
In addition to the studies in humans, series of animal experiments were performed in
collaboration with the Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Novi Sad, Serbia
and Montenegro), and the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden (Rajkovic et al,
2005a,b, 2006).
The aim of these was to investigate the influence of extremely low-frequency
electromagnetic fields (ELF-EMFs) on mast cells, parafollicular cells, and nerve
fibers in rat skin and thyroid gland, as seen using light and transmission electron
16
Immune Function Dr. Johansson
microscopy. The experiments were performed on 2-month-old Wistar male rats
exposed for 4 h a day, 5 or 7 days a week for 1 month to power-frequent (50 Hz)
EMFs (100-300 μT, 54-160 V/m). After sacrifice, samples of skin and thyroid were
processed for indirect immunohistochemistry or toluidine blue staining and were then
analyzed using the methods of stereology. Antibody markers to serotonin, substance
P, calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), and protein gene product 9.5 (PGP) were
applied to skin sections and PGP, CGRP, and neuropeptide Y (NPY) markers to the
thyroid. A significantly increased number of serotonin-positive mast cells in the skin
(p<0.05) and NPY-containing nerve fibers in the thyroid (p<0.01) of rats exposed to
ELF-EMF was found compared to controls, indicating a direct EMF effect on skin
and thyroid vasculature.
After ultrastructural examination, a predominance of microfollicles with less colloid
content and dilated blood capillaries was found in the EMF group. Stereological
counting showed a statistically significant increase of the volume density of follicular
epithelium, interfollicular tissue and blood capillaries as well as the thyroid activation
index, as compared to the controls. The volume density of colloid significantly
decreased. Ultrastructural analysis of thyroid follicular cells in the EMF group
revealed the frequent finding of several colloid droplets within the same thyrocyte
with the occasional presence of large-diameter droplets. Alterations in lysosomes,
granular endoplasmic reticulum and cell nuclei compared to the control group were
also observed. Taken together, the results of this study show the stimulative effect of
power-frequency EMFs on thyroid gland at both the light microscope and the
ultrastructural level.
The animal results reported in these studies can not be explained away as
psychosomatic in origin because they were conducted on animals, not humans.
In summary, both human and animal studies report large immunohistological changes
in mast cells, and other measures of immune disfunction and disregulation due to
exposures to ELF and RF at environmental levels associated with new electrical and
wireless technologies.
It iss evident from our preliminary experimental data that various biological
alterations are present in the electrohypersensitive persons claiming to suffer from
exposure to electromagnetic fields. The alterations are themselves enough to fully
explain the EHS symptoms, and the involvement of the immune system is evident. In
view of recent epidemiological studies, pointing to a correlation between long-term
exposure from power-frequent magnetic fields or microwaves and cancer, our data
ought to be taken seriously and to be further analyzed.
Thus, it is of paramount importance to continue the investigation of persons with the
impairment electrohypersensitivity. We would favour studies of electromagnetic
fields' interaction with mast cell release of histamine and other biologically active
substances, studies of lymphocyte viability as well as studies of the newly described
serotonin-containing melanocytes. Also, continued analysis of the intraepidermal
nerve fibers and their relations to these mast cells and serotonin-containing
melanocytes are very important. Finally, not to be forgotten, a general investigation -
of persons with the impairment electrohypersensitivity versus normal healthy
volunteers - regarding the above markers as well as other markers for cell traffic,
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Immune Function Dr. Johansson
proliferation and inflammation is very much needed. Such scientific work may lay a
firm foundation for necessary adjustment of accessibility, thus helping and supporting
all persons with the functional impairment electrohypersensitivity.
VI. Direct effects of EMFs on the immune system
Childhood leukemia was early connected to power-frequent magnetic fields already in
the pioneering work by Wertheimer and Leeper (1979), and more recently
Scandinavian scientists have identified an increased risk for acoustic neuroma (i.e., a
benign tumor of the eighth cranial nerve) in cell phone users, as well as a slightly
increased risk of malignant brain tumors such as astrocytoma and meningioma on the
same side of the brain as the cell phone was habitually held (Hardell et al, 1999, 2004,
2005; Lonn et al, 2004). In addition, a clear association between adult cancers and FM
radio broadcasting radiation has been noticed, both in time and location (Hallberg and
Johansson, 2002b, 2004a, 2005a). Initial studies on facial nevi indicates that
nowadays also young children can have a substantial amount of these. If it can be
shown that radiofrequency radiation is not correlated with childhood cancers the
current focus on low-frequency electromagnetic fields can continue. If there is also a
radiofrequency and/or microwave correlation then this must be considered in future
research as well as in today's preventive work.
Anane and coworkers (2003) studied the effects of acute exposure to GSM-900
microwaves (900 MHz, 217 Hz pulse modulation) on the clinical parameters of the
acute experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) model in rats in two
independent experiments: rats were either habituated or nonhabituated to the exposure
restrainers. EAE was induced with a mixture of myelin basic protein and
Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Female Lewis rats were divided into cage control, sham
exposed, and two groups exposed either at 1.5 or 6.0 W/kg local specific absorption
rate (SAR averaged over the brain) using a loop antenna placed over their heads. No
effect of a 21-day exposure (2 h/day) on the onset, duration, and termination of the
EAE crisis was seen.
The object of the study by Boscol et al. (2001) was to investigate the immune system
of 19 women with a mean age of 35 years, for at least 2 years (mean = 13 years)
exposed to electromagnetic fields induced by radiotelevision broadcasting stations in
their residential area. In September 1999, the EMFs (with range 500 KHz-3 GHz) in
the balconies of the homes of the women were (mean +/- S.D.) 4.3 +/- 1.4 V/m.
Forty-seven women of similar age, smoking habits and atopy composed the control
group, with a nearby resident EMF exposure of < 1.8 V/m. Blood lead and urinary
trans-trans muconic acid (a metabolite of benzene), markers of exposure to urban
traffic, were higher in the control women. The EMF exposed group showed a
statistically significant reduction of blood NK CD16+-CD56+, cytotoxic CD3(-)-
CD8+, B and NK activated CD3(-)-HLA-DR+ and CD3(-)-CD25+ lymphocytes. 'In
vitro' production of IL-2 and interferon-gamma (INF-gamma) by peripheral blood
mononuclear cells (PBMC) of the EMF exposed group, incubated either with or
without phytohaemoagglutinin (PHA), was significantly lower; the 'in vitro'
production of IL-2 was significantly correlated with blood CD16+-CD56+
lymphocytes. The stimulation index (S.I.) of blastogenesis (ratio between cell
proliferation with and without PHA) of PBMC of EMF exposed women was lower
than that of the control subjects. The S.I. of blastogenesis of the EMF exposed group
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Immune Function Dr. Johansson
(but not blood NK lymphocytes and the 'in vitro' production of IL-2 and INF-gamma
by PBMC) was significantly correlated with the EMF levels. Blood lead and urinary
trans-trans muconic acid were barely correlated with immune parameters: the urinary
metabolite of benzene of the control group was only correlated with CD16+-CD56+
cells indicating a slight effect of traffic on the immune system. In conclusion, this
study demonstrates that high-frequency EMFs reduce cytotoxic activity in the
peripheral blood of women without a dose-response effect. Such an effect could, of
course, only be considered as very serious, since this could hamper the immune
system in it’s daily struggle against various organisms/agents.
On the other hand, Chagnaud and Veyret in 1999 could not demonstrate an effect of
low-level pulsed microwaves on the integrity of the immune system. They
investigated the effects of GSM-modulated microwaves on lymphocyte subpopulations
of Sprague-Dawley rats and their normal mitogenic responses using flow
cytometry analysis and a colorimetric method. No alterations were found in the
surface phenotype of splenic lymphocytes or in their mitogenic activity.
Cleary et al. (1990) reported a biphasic, dose-dependent effect of microwave
radiation on lymphycyte proliferation with non-thermal exposures. Whole human
blood was exposed or sham-exposed in vitro for 2 h to 27 or 2,450 MHz radiofrequency
electromagnetic (RF) radiation under isothermal conditions (i.e., 37 +/- 0.2
degrees C). Immediately after exposure, mononuclear cells were separated from blood
by Ficoll density-gradient centrifugation and cultured for 3 days at 37 degrees C with
or without mitogenic stimulation by phytohemagglutinin (PHA). Lymphocyte
proliferation was assayed at the end of the culture period by 6 h of pulse-labeling with
3H-thymidine (3H-TdR). Exposure to radiation at either frequency at specific
absorption rates (SARs) below 50 W/kg resulted in a dose-dependent, statistically
significant increase of 3H-TdR uptake in PHA-activated or unstimulated
lymphocytes. Exposure at 50 W/kg or higher suppressed 3H-TdR uptake relative to
that of sham-exposed cells. There were no detectable effects of RF radiation on
lymphocyte morphology or viability. Notwithstanding the characteristic temperature
dependence of lymphocyte activation in vitro, the isothermal exposure conditions of
this study warrant the conclusion that the biphasic, dose-dependent effects of the
radiation on lymphocyte proliferation were not dependent on heating.
Cleary et al. (1996) subsequently published yet another paper reporting a biphasic
response of lymphycytes to radiofrequency/microwave radiation where higher SARs
resulted in decreased cell proliferation and lower SARs result in increased cell
proliferation, dependent on the mitotic state of the cells. Previous in vitro studies had
provided evidence that RF electromagnetic radiation modulates proliferation of
human glioma, lymphocytes, and other cell types. The mechanism of such RF
radiation cell proliferation modulation, as well as mechanisms for effects on other cell
physiologic endpoints, however, were not well understood. To obtain insight
regarding interaction mechanisms, they investigated effects of RF radiation exposure
on interleukin 2 (IL-2) -dependent proliferation of cytolytic T lymphocytes (CTLL-2).
After exposure to RF radiation in the presence or absence of IL-2 cells were cultured
at various physiological concentrations of IL-2. Treatment effects on CTLL-2
proliferation were determined by tritiated thymidine incorporation immediately or 24
h after exposure. Exposure to 2,450 MHz RF radiation at specific absorption rates
(SARs) of greater than 25 W/kg (induced E-field strength 98.4 V/m) induced a
19
Immune Function Dr. Johansson
consistent, statistically significant reduction in CTLL-2 proliferation, especially at
low IL-2 concentrations. At lower SARs, 2,450 MHz exposure increased CTLL-2
proliferation immediately after exposure but reduced 24 h post-exposure proliferation.
RF radiation effects depended on the mitotic state of the cells at the time of exposure.
In 1992, Czerska et al. studied the effects of continuous and pulsed 2,450-MHz
radiation on spontaneous lymphoblastoid transformation of human lymphocytes in
vitro. Normal human lymphocytes were isolated from the peripheral blood of healthy
donors. One-ml samples containing one million cells in chromosome medium 1A
were exposed for 5 days to conventional heating or to continuous wave (CW) or
pulsed wave (PW) 2,450-MHz radiation at non-heating (37 degrees C) and various
heating levels (temperature increases of 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2 degrees C). The pulsed
exposures involved 1-microsecond pulses at pulse repetition frequencies from 100 to
1,000 pulses per second at the same average SAR levels as the CW exposures. Actual
average SARs ranged to 12.3 W/kg. Following termination of the incubation period,
spontaneous lymphoblastoid transformation was determined with an image analysis
system. The results were compared among each of the experimental conditions and
with sham-exposed cultures. At non-heating levels, CW exposure did not affect
transformation. At heating levels both conventional and CW heating enhanced
transformation to the same extent and correlate with the increases in incubation
temperature. PW exposure enhanced transformation at non-heating levels. This
finding is significant (p<0.002). At heating levels PW exposure enhanced
transformation to a greater extent than did conventional or CW heating. This finding
is significant at the 0.02 level. It was concluded that PW 2,450-MHz radiation acts
differently on the process of lymphoblastoid transformation in vitro compared with
CW 2,450-MHz radiation at the same average SARs.
In 2003, Dabrowski et al. exposed samples of mononuclear cells isolated from
peripheral blood of healthy donors (n = 16) to 1,300 MHz pulse-modulated
microwaves at 330 pps with 5 μs pulse width. The samples were exposed in an
anechoic chamber at the average value of power density of S = 10 W/m2 (1 mW/cm2).
The average specific absorption rate (SAR) was measured in rectangular waveguide
and the value of SAR = 0.18 W/kg was recorded. Subsequently, the exposed and
control cells were assessed in the microculture system for several parameters
characterizing their proliferative and immunoregulatory properties. Although the
irradiation decreased the spontaneous incorporation of 3H-thymidine, the proliferative
response of lymphocytes to phytohemagglutinin (PHA) and to Con A as well as the
T-cell suppressive activity (SAT index) and the saturation of IL-2 receptors did not
change. Nevertheless, the lymphocyte production of interleukin (IL)-10 increased
(p< 0.001) and the concentration of IFNγ remained unchanged or slightly decreased in
the culture supernatants. Concomitantly, the microwave irradiation modulated the
monokine production by monocytes. The production of IL-1β increased significantly
(p< 0.01), the concentration of its antagonist (IL-1ra) dropped by half (p< 0.01) and
the tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) concentration remained unchanged. These changes
of monokine proportion (IL-1 β vs. IL-1ra) resulted in significant increase of the
value of LM index (p<0.01), which reflects the activation of monocyte immunogenic
function. The results indicate that pulse-modulated microwaves represent the potential
of immunotropic influence, stimulating preferentially the immunogenic and
proinflammatory activity of monocytes at relatively low levels of exposure,
20
Immune Function Dr. Johansson
Following these findings of Go phase peripheral blood mononulclear cells (PBMC)
exposed to low-level (SAR = 0.18 W/kg) pulse-modulated 1300 MHz microwave,s
and subsequently cultured, demonstrating changed immune activity (as of above), in
2006 Stankiewicz and coworkers investigated whether cultured immune cells induced
into the active phases of cell cycle (G1, S) and then exposed to microwaves will also
be sensitive to electromagnetic fields. An anechoic chamber containing a microplate
with cultured cells and an antenna emitting microwaves (900 MHz simulated GSM
signal, 27 V/m, SAR 0.024 W/kg) was placed inside an ASSAB incubator. The
microcultures of PBMC exposed to microwaves demonstrated significantly higher
response to mitogens and higher immunogenic activity of monocytes (LM index) than
control cultures. The LM index, described in detail elsewhere (Dabrowski et al,
2001), represents the monokine influence on lymphocyte mitogenic response. The
results suggest that immune activity of responding lymphocytes and monocytes can
be additionally intensified by 900 MHz microwaves. The above described effects of
an immune system activity-intensifying effect of 900 MHz microwaves are, of course,
a very important warning signal as well as a very important piece of the explanatory
jigsaw puzzle regarding, for instance, the functional impairment
electrohypersensitivity. In the latter, affected persons very often describe “influenzalike”
sensations in their body. Maybe the mobile phones, as well as other highfrequency
devices, have aroused the immune system to a too high an activation level?
In an attempt to understand how non-atopic and atopic fertile women with uniform
exposure to toxic compounds produced by traffic - immunologically react to high or
low frequency electromagnetic fields (ELMF), Del Signore et al. (2000) performed a
preliminary study. Women were divided in group A (non-atopic, non-exposed to
ELMF); B (atopic, non-exposed to ELMF); C (non-atopic, exposed to ELMF); D
(atopic, exposed to ELMF). In vitro cell proliferation of peripheral blood
mononuclear cells (PBMC) of atopic women (groups B and D) stimulated by
phytohaemoglutinin (PHA) was reduced. The ELMF exposed women (groups C and
D) showed lower levels of blood NK CD16(+)-CD56+ lymphocyte subpopulations
and of "in vitro" production of interferon-gamma (both spontaneously and in presence
of PHA) by PBMC, suggesting that ELMF reduces blood cytotoxic activity. Serum
IgE of the atopic women exposed to ELMF (group D) was higher than that of the
other groups. Linear discriminant analysis including serum zinc and copper (essential
enzymes for immune functions), blood lead and urinary transtrans muconic acid, a
metabolite of benzene (markers of exposure to traffic) and key parameters of immune
functions (CD16(+)-CD56+ lymphocyte subset, serum IgE, interferon-gamma
produced by PBMC in presence of PHA, stimulation index of blastogenesis) showed
absence of significant difference between groups A and C and a marked separation of
groups B and D. This datum suggests that ELMF have a greater influence on atopic
women exposed to traffic than on non-atopic ones, again pointing out differing
reaction capacities in the human population – maybe dependent on varying immune
functions based on variations in genetic make-up.
A more general reaction pattern was found by Dmoch and Moszczynski (1998) who
assessed immunoglobulin concentrations and T-lymphocyte subsets in workers of TV
re-transmission and satellite communication centres. An increase in IgG and IgA
21
Immune Function Dr. Johansson
concentrations, an increased count of lymphocytes and T8 lymphocytes, an decreased
count of NK cells and a lower value of T-helper/T-suppressor ratio were found.
Elekes et al. (1996) found a very interesting sex-difference. The effect of continuous
(CW; 2.45 GHz carrier frequency) or amplitude-modulated (AM; 50 Hz square wave)
microwave radiation on the immune response was tested. CW exposures (6 days, 3
h/day) induced elevations of the number of antibody-producing cells in the spleen of
male Balb/c mice (+37%). AM microwave exposure induced elevation of the spleen
index (+15%) and antibody-producing cell number (+55%) in the spleen of male
mice. No changes were observed in female mice. It is concluded that both types of
exposure conditions induced moderate elevation of antibody production only in male
mice.
Irradiation with electromagnetic waves (8.15-18 GHz, 1 Hz within, 1 microW/cm2)
in vivo increases the cytotoxic activity of natural killer cells of rat spleen (Fesenko et al,
1999a). In mice exposed for 24-72 h, the activity of natural killer cells increased by 130-
150%, the increased level of activity persisting within 24 h after the cessation of treatment.
Microwave irradiation of animals in vivo for 3.5 and 5 h, and a short exposure of splenic
cells in vitro did not affect the activity of natural killer cells.
Whole body microwave sinusoidal irradiation of male NMRI mice with 8.15-18 GHz
(1 Hz within) at a power density of 1 microW/cm2 caused a significant enhancement of
TNF production in peritoneal macrophages and splenic T lymphocytes (Fesenko et al,
1999b). Microwave radiation affected T cells, facilitating their capacity to proliferate in
response to mitogenic stimulation. The exposure duration necessary for the stimulation of
cellular immunity ranged from 5 h to 3 days. Chronic irradiation of mice for 7 days
produced the decreasing of TNF production in peritoneal macrophages. The exposure of
mice for 24 h increased the TNF production and immune proliferative response, and these
stimulatory effects persisted over 3 days after the termination of exposure. Microwave
treatment increased the endogenously produced TNF more effectively than did
lipopolysaccharide, one of the most potential stimuli of synthesis of this cytokine.
Microwaves, thus, indeed can be a factor interfering with the process of cell immunity!
Gapeev et al. (1996) reported that low-intensity electromagnetic radiation of
extremely high frequency in the near field of modified the acitivity of mouse
peritoneal neutrophils in a quasi-reasonance fashion., He compared the effect of
radiation from various types of antennae, including one which created a uniform
spatial distribution of specific absorbed rating in the frequency range used and wideband
matching with the object both in near field and far field zones of the radiator.
The authors extremely high frequency in near field zone but not the far field zone of
the channel radiator modified the activity of mouse peritoneal neutrophils on a quasiresonance
manner. The interaction of electromagnetic radiation with the biological
object has been revealed in the narrow-band frequencies of 41.8-42.05 GHz and
consists in inhibition of luminol-dependent chemiluminescence of neutrophils
activated by opsonized zymosan. It is not found any frequency dependence of the
electromagnetic radiation effects in the far field zone of the radiator. The results
obtained suggest, that the quasi-resonance dependence of the biological effect on the
frequency of the electromagnetic radiation in the near field zone is conditioned by
structure and nature of the electromagnetic radiation in this zone.
22
Immune Function Dr. Johansson
In 2003, Gatta et al. studied the effects of in vivo exposure to GSM-modulated 900
MHz radiation on mouse peripheral lymphocytes. The aim of this study was to
evaluate whether daily whole-body exposure to 900 MHz GSM-modulated radiation
could affect spleen lymphocytes. C57BL/6 mice were exposed 2 h/day for 1, 2 or 4
weeks in a TEM cell to an SAR of 1 or 2 W/kg. Untreated and sham-exposed groups
were also examined. At the end of the exposure, mice were killed humanely and
spleen cells were collected. The number of spleen cells, the percentages of B and T
cells, and the distribution of T-cell subpopulations (CD4 and CD8) were not altered
by the exposure. T and B cells were also stimulated ex vivo using specific monoclonal
antibodies or LPS to induce cell proliferation, cytokine production and expression of
activation markers. The results did not show relevant differences in either T or B
lymphocytes from mice exposed to an SAR of 1 or 2 W/kg and sham-exposed mice
with few exceptions. After 1 week of exposure to 1 or 2 W/kg, an increase in IFNgamma
(Ifng) production was observed that was not evident when the exposure was
prolonged to 2 or 4 weeks. This suggests that the immune system might have adapted
(!) to RF radiation as it does with other stressing agents. All together, from their in
vivo data, they made the conclusion that it indicated that the T- and B-cell
compartments were not substantially affected by exposure to RF radiation and that a
clinically relevant effect of RF radiation on the immune system is unlikely to occur.
Another explanation could be that the cells were unable to deal with the exposure and
the obvious follow-up question then will be: What happened with the immune cells
after months and years of exposure?
On the other hand, Kolomytseva et al. (2002), in their whole-body exposure
experiment designed to study the dynamics of leukocyte number and functional
activity of peripheral blood neutrophils under whole-body exposure of healthy mice to
low-intensity extremely-high-frequency electromagnetic radiation (EHF EMR, 42.0
GHz, 0.15 mW/cm2, 20 min daily), showed that such a whole-body exposure of
healthy mice to low-intensity EHF EMR has a profound effect on the indices of
nonspecific immunity. It was shown that the phagocytic activity of peripheral blood
neutrophils was suppressed by about 50% (p<0.01 as compared with the shamexposed
control) in 2-3 h after the single exposure to EHF EMR. The effect persisted
for 1 day after the exposure, and then the phagocytic activity of neutrophils returned
to the norm within 3 days. A significant modification of the leukocyte blood profile in
mice exposed to EHF EMR for 5 days was observed after the cessation of exposures:
the number of leukocytes increased by 44% (p<0.05 as compared with sham-exposed
animals), mostly due to an increase in the lymphocyte content. The supposition was
made that EHF EMR effects can be mediated via the metabolic systems of
arachidonic acid and the stimulation of adenylate cyclase activity, with subsequent
increase in the intracellular cAMP level.
The modification of indices of the humoral immune response to thymus-dependent
antigen (sheep erythrocytes) after a whole-body exposure of healthy mice to lowintensity
extremely-high-frequency electromagnetic radiation was reported by
Lushnikov et al. in 2001. Male NMRI mice were exposed in the far-field zone of horn
antenna at a frequency of 42.0 GHz and energy flux density of 0.15 mW/cm2 under
different regimes: once for 20 min, for 20 min daily during 5 and 20 successive days
before immunization, and for 20 min daily during 5 successive days after
immunization throughout the development of the humoral immune response. The
intensity of the humoral immune response was estimated on day 5 after immunization
23
Immune Function Dr. Johansson
by the number of antibody-forming cells of the spleen and antibody titers. Changes in
cellularity of the spleen, thymus and red bone marrow were also assessed. The indices
of humoral immunity and cellularity of lymphoid organs changed insignificantly after
acute exposure and series of 5 exposures before and after immunization of the
animals. However, after repeated exposures for 20 days before immunization, a
statistically significant reduction of thymic cellularity by 17.5% (p<0.05) and a
decrease in cellularity of the spleen by 14.5% (p<0.05) were revealed. The results
show that low-intensity extremely-high-frequency electromagnetic radiation with the
frequency and energy flux density used does not influence the humoral immune
response intensity in healthy mice but influences immunogenesis under multiple
repeated exposures.
The immunoglobulins' concentrations and T lymphocyte subsets during occupational
exposures to microwave radiation were assessed in 1999 by Moszczynski et al. In the
workers of retransmission TV center and center of satellite communications on
increased IgG and IgA concentration and decreased count of lymphocytes and T8
cells was found. However, in the radar operators IgM concentration was elevated and
a decrease in the total T8 cell count was observed. The different behaviour of
examined immunological parameters indicate that the effect of microwave radiation
on immune system depends on character of an exposure. Disorders in the
immunoglobulins' concentrations and in the T8 cell count did not cause any reported
clinical consequences.
Experiments have also been conducted to elucidate the effects of chronic low powerlevel
microwave radiation on the immunological systems of rabbits (Nageswari et al,
1991). Fourteen male Belgian white rabbits were exposed to microwave radiation at 5
mW/cm2, 2.1 GHz, 3 h daily, 6 days/week for 3 months in two batches of 7 each in
specially designed miniature anechoic chambers. Seven rabbits were subjected to
sham exposure for identical duration. The microwave energy was provided through S
band standard gain horns connected to a 4K3SJ2 Klystron power amplifier. The first
batch of animals were assessed for T lymphocyte-mediated cellular immune response
mechanisms and the second batch of animals for B lymphocyte-mediated humoral
immune response mechanisms. The peripheral blood samples collected monthly
during microwave/sham exposure and during follow-up (5/14 days after termination
of exposures, in the second batch animals only) were analysed for T lymphocyte
numbers and their mitogen responsiveness to ConA and PHA. Significant suppression
of T lymphocyte numbers was noted in the microwave group at 2 months (p less than
0.01) and during follow-up (p less than 0.01). The first batch animals were initially
sensitised with BCG and challenged with tuberculin (0.03 ml) at the termination of
microwave irradiation/sham exposure and the increase in foot pad thickness (delta
mm), which is a measure of T cell-mediated immunity (delayed type hypersensitivity
response, DTH) was noted in both the groups. The microwave group revealed a more
robust response than the control group (delta % +12.4 vs. +7.54).
Nakamura et al. (1997) reported on the effect of microwaves on pregnant rats. The
authors reported that microwaves at the power of 10 mW/cm2 produced activation of
the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and increased oestradiol in both virgin and
pregnant rats, suggesting that microwaves greatly stress pregnant organisms. Earlier
data had indicated that these microwaves produce various detrimental changes based
on actions of heat or non-specific stress, although the effects of microwaves on
24
Immune Function Dr. Johansson
pregnant organisms was not uniform. This study was therefore designed to clarify the
effect of exposure to microwaves during pregnancy on endocrine and immune
functions. Natural killer cell activity and natural killer cell subsets in the spleen were
measured, as well as some endocrine indicators in blood--corticosterone and
adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) as indices of the hypothalamic-pituitaryadrenal
axis--beta-endorphin, oestradiol, and progesterone in six female virgin rats
and six pregnant rats (nine to 11 days gestation) exposed to microwaves at 10
mW/cm2 incident power density at 2,450 MHz for 90 minutes. The same
measurements were performed in control rats (six virgin and six pregnant rats). Skin
temperature in virgin and pregnant rats increased immediately after exposure to
microwaves. Although splenic activity of natural killer cells and any of the subset
populations identified by the monoclonal antibodies CD16 and CD57 did not differ in
virgin rats with or without exposure to microwaves, pregnant rats exposed to
microwaves showed a significant reduction of splenic activity of natural killer cells
and CD16+CD57-. Although corticosterone and ACTH increased, and oestradiol
decreased in exposed virgin and pregnant rats, microwaves produced significant
increases in beta-endorphin and progesterone only in pregnant rats.
Nakamura et al. (1998) evaluated the involvement of opioid systems in reduced
natural killer cell activity (NKCA) in pregnant rats exposed to microwaves at a
relatively low level (2 mW/cm2 incident power density at 2,450 MHz for 90 min).
They assayed beta-endorphin (betaEP) in blood, pituitary lobes, and placenta as well
as splenic NKCA in virgin and/or pregnant rats. Although microwaves elevated
colonic temperatures by 0.8 degrees C for virgin and 0.9 degrees C for pregnant rats,
and betaEP in blood and anterior pituitary lobes (AP) significantly, it did not change
blood corticosterone as an index of hypothalamic-pituitary adrenal axis. There were
significant interactions between pregnancy and microwave exposure on splenic
NKCA, betaEP in both blood and AP, and blood progesterone. Intra-peritoneal
administration of opioid receptor antagonist naloxone prior to microwave exposure
increased NKCA, blood, and placental betaEP in pregnant rats. Alterations in splenic
NKCA, betaEP and progesterone in pregnant rats exposed to microwaves may be due
to both thermal and non-thermal actions. These results suggest that NKCA reduced by
microwaves during pregnancy is mediated by the pituitary opioid system.
To further clarify the effects of microwaves on pregnancy, Nakamura et al. (2000)
investigated rats exposed to continuous-wave (CW) microwave at 2 mW/cm(2)
incident power density at 2,450 MHz for 90 min.. The effects on uterine or
uteroplacental blood flow and endocrine and biochemical mediators, including
corticosterone, estradiol, prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)), and prostaglandin F(2)alpha
(PGF(2)alpha) were measured, Colonic temperature in virgin and pregnant rats was
not significantly altered by microwave treatment. Microwaves decreased
uteroplacental blood flow and increased progesterone and PGF(2)alpha in pregnant,
but not in virgin rats. Intraperitoneal (i.p.) administration of angiotensin II, a
uteroplacental vasodilator, before microwave exposure prevented the reduction in
uteroplacental blood flow and the increased progesterone and PGF(2)alpha in
pregnant rats. Increased corticosterone and decreased estradiol during microwave
exposure were observed independent of pregnancy and pretreatment with angiotensin
II. These results suggest that microwaves (CW, 2 mW/cm(2), 2,450 MHz) produce
uteroplacental circulatory disturbances and ovarian and placental dysfunction during
pregnancy, probably through non-thermal actions. The uteroplacental disturbances
25
Immune Function Dr. Johansson
appear to be due to actions of PGF(2)alpha and may pose some risk for pregnancy.
Reported pregnancy losses in women (Lee, 2001; Li, 2001) and infertility (Magras
and Xenos, 1997) might be related to these laboratory findings.
Nasta et al. (2006), very recently examined the effects of in vivo exposure to a GSMmodulated
900 MHz RF field on B-cell peripheral differentiation and antibody
production in mice. Their results show that exposure to a whole-body average specific
absorption rate (SAR) of 2 W/kg, 2 h/day for 4 consecutive weeks does not affect the
frequencies of differentiating transitional 1 (T1) and T2 B cells or those of mature
follicular B and marginal zone B cells in the spleen. IgM and IgG serum levels are
also not significantly different among exposed, sham-exposed and control mice. B
cells from these mice, challenged in vitro with LPS, produce comparable amounts of
IgM and IgG. Moreover, exposure of immunized mice to RF fields does not change
the antigen-specific antibody serum level. Interestingly, not only the production of
antigen-specific IgM but also that of IgG (which requires T-B-cell interaction) is not
affected by RF-field exposure. This indicates that the exposure does not alter an
ongoing in vivo antigen-specific immune response. In conclusion, the results of Nasta
et al. (2006) do not indicate any effects of GSM-modulated RF radiation on the B-cell
peripheral compartment and antibody production.
Whole-body microwave sinusoidal irradiation of male NMRI mice, exposure of
macrophages in vitro, and preliminary irradiation of culture medium with 8.15-18
GHz (1 Hz within) at a power density of 1 microW/cm2 caused a significant
enhancement of tumor necrosis factor production in peritoneal macrophages
(Novoselova et al, 1998). The role of microwaves as a factor interfering with the
process of cell immunity must, thus, be seriously considered. Furthermore the effect
of 8.15-18 GHz (1 Hz within) microwave radiation at a power density of 1
microW/cm2 on the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) production and immune
response was tested by Novoselova et al. (1999). A single 5 h whole-body exposure
induced a significant increase in TNF production in peritoneal macrophages and
splenic T cells. The mitogenic response in T lymphocytes increased after microwave
exposure. The activation of cellular immunity was observed within 3 days after
exposure. The diet containing lipid-soluble nutrients (beta-carotene, alpha-tocopherol
and ubiquinone Q9) increased the activity of macrophages and T cells from irradiated
mice.
Obukhan (1998) has performed cytologic investigations designed to study bone
marrow, peripheral blood, spleen, and thymus of albino rats irradiated by an
electromagnetic field, 2,375, 2,450, and 3,000 MHz. Structural and functional
changes in populations of megakaryocytes, immunocompetent cells as well as of
undifferentiated cells, and of other types of cells that are dependent on the intensity of
irradiation.
The possibility of genotoxicity of radiofrequency radiation (RFR) applied alone or in
combination with x-rays was recently investigated in vitro using several assays on
human lymphocytes by Stronati and colleagues (2006). The chosen specific
absorption rate (SAR) values are near the upper limit of actual energy absorption in
localized tissue when persons use some cellular telephones. The purpose of the
combined exposures was to examine whether RFR might act epigenetically by
reducing the fidelity of repair of DNA damage caused by a well-characterized and
26
Immune Function Dr. Johansson
established mutagen. Blood specimens from 14 donors were exposed continuously for
24 h to a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) basic 935 MHz signal.
The signal was applied at two SAR; 1 and 2 W/Kg, alone or combined with a 1-min
exposure to 1.0 Gy of 250 kVp x-rays given immediately before or after the RFR. The
assays employed were the alkaline comet technique to detect DNA strand breakage,
metaphase analyses to detect unstable chromosomal aberrations and sister chromatid
exchanges, micronuclei in cytokinesis-blocked binucleate lymphocytes and the
nuclear division index to detect alterations in the speed of in vitro cell cycling. By
comparison with appropriate sham-exposed and control samples, no effect of RFR
alone could be found for any of the assay endpoints. In addition RFR did not modify
any measured effects of the x-radiation. In conclusion, this study has used several
standard in vitro tests for chromosomal and DNA damage in Go human lymphocytes
exposed in vitro to a combination of x-rays and RFR. It has comprehensively
examined whether a 24-h continuous exposure to a 935 MHz GSM basic signal
delivering SAR of 1 or 2 W/Kg is genotoxic per se or whether, it can influence the
genotoxicity of the well-established clastogenic agent; x-radiation. Within the
experimental parameters of the study in all instances no effect from the RFR signal
was observed.
Tuschl et al. (1999) recorded a considerable excess of recommended exposure limits
in the vicinity of shortwave diathermy devices used for medical treatment of patients.
Different kinds of field probes were used to measure electric and magnetic field
strength and the whole body exposure of medical personnel operating shortwave,
decimeter wave and microwave units was calculated. To investigate the influence of
chronic exposure on the immune system of operators, blood was sampled from
physiotherapists working at the above mentioned devices. Eighteen exposed and
thirteen control persons, matched by sex and age, were examined. Total leucocyte and
lymphocyte counts were performed and leucocytic subpopulations determined by
flow cytometry and monoclonal antibodies against surface antigens. In addition, to
quantify subpopulations of immunocompetent cells, the activity of lymphocytes was
measured. Lymphocytes were stimulated by mitogen phytohemagglutinin and their
proliferation measured by a flow cytometric method. No statistically significant
differences between the control and exposed persons were found. In both study groups all
immune parameters were within normal ranges.
Despite the important role of the immune system in defending the body against
infections and cancer, only few investigations on possible effects of radiofrequency
(RF) radiation on function of human immune cells have been undertaken. One of
these is the investigation by Tuschl et al. in 2005 where they assessed whether GSM
modulated RF fields have adverse effects on the functional competence of human
immune cells. Within the frame of the multidisciplinary project "Biological effects of
high frequency electromagnetic fields (EMF)" sponsored by the National Occupation
Hazard Insurance Association (AUVA) in vitro investigations were carried out on
human blood cells. Exposure was performed at GSM Basic 1950 MHz, an SAR of 1
mW/g in an intermittent mode (5 min "ON", 10 min "OFF") and a maximum Delta T
of 0.06 degrees C for the duration of 8 h. The following immune parameters were
evaluated: (1) the intracellular production of interleukin-2 (IL-2) and interferon (INF)
gamma in lymphocytes, and IL-1 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha in
monocytes were evaluated with monoclonal antibodies. (2) The activity of immunerelevant
genes (IL 1-alpha and beta, IL-2, IL-2-receptor, IL-4, macrophage colony
stimulating factor (MCSF)-receptor, TNF-alpha, TNF-alpha-receptor) and
27
Immune Function Dr. Johansson
housekeeping genes was analyzed with real time PCR. (3) The cytotoxicity of
lymphokine activated killer cells (LAK cells) against a tumor cell line was determined
in a flow cytometric test. For each parameter, blood samples of at least 15 donors
were evaluated. No statistically significant effects of exposure were found and there is
no indication that emissions from mobile phones are associated with adverse effects
on the human immune system.
Irradiation by pulsed microwaves (9.4 GHz, 1 microsecond pulses at 1,000/s), both
with and without concurrent amplitude modulation (AM) by a sinusoid at discrete
frequencies between 14 and 41 MHz, was assessed for effects on the immune system
of Balb/C mice (Veyret et al, 1991). The mice were immunized either by sheep red
blood cells (SRBC) or by glutaric-anhydride conjugated bovine serum albumin (GABSA),
then exposed to the microwaves at a low rms power density (30 microW/cm2;
whole-body-averaged SAR approximately 0.015 W/kg). Sham exposure or
microwave irradiation took place during each of five contiguous days, 10 h/day. The
antibody response was evaluated by the plaque-forming cell assay (SRBC
experiment) or by the titration of IgM and IgG antibodies (GA-BSA experiment). In
the absence of AM, the pulsed field did not greatly alter immune responsiveness. In
contrast, exposure to the field under the combined-modulation condition resulted in
significant, AM-frequency-dependent augmentation or weakening of immune
responses.
Finally, in addition, classical allergy reactions, such as chromate allergy, has been studied
by Seishima et al. (2003). The background for the study was an earlier case report about a
patient with allergic contact dermatitis caused by hexavalent chromium plating on a
cellular phone. The new study described the clinical characteristics and results of patch
tests (closed patch tests and photopatch tests were performed using metal standard
antigens) in 8 patients with contact dermatitis possibly caused by handling a cellular
phone. The 8 patients were 4 males and 4 females aged from 14 to 54 years. They each
noticed skin eruptions after 9-25 days of using a cellular phone. All patients had erythema,
and 7 had papules on the hemilateral auricle or in the preauricular region. Three of 8
patients had a history of metal allergy. Chromate, aluminium and acrylnitrile-butadienestyrene
copolymer were used as plating on the cellular phones used by these patients. The
patch test was positive for 0.5, 0.1 and 0.05% potassium dichromate in all 8 patients. The
photopatch test showed the same results. One patient was positive for 2% cobalt chloride
and one for 5% nickel sulfate. Based on these data, it is important to consider the
possibility of contact dermatitis due to a cellular phone, possibly caused by chromate,
when the patients have erythema and papules on the hemilateral auricle or in the
preauricular region.
VII. Electromagnetic fields and health
Since the formation of life on Earth, as we know it, more than 3.5 billion years ago,
the only real source of radiation, apart from Earth’s static geomagnetic field, has been
the sun. All living organisms that have evolved and not been able to cope with it are
either gone or have adapted to it in one of several ways. Living under-ground, only
being active during night, living in the deeper waters (1 meter or deeper) in oceans
and lakes, under the foliage of jungle trees, or - as all day-active organisms have –
developed a skin (or, for plants, a cortex) containing a pigment (animals and plants
have very similar ones) that will shield some heat and some sunshine…but not very
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Immune Function Dr. Johansson
much. Any fair-skinned Irish or Scandinavian person learns very early to avoid even
the rather bleak sun up-north, because – if not – you will easily get a nasty sunburn.
Later on, that sunburn will develop into a postinflammatory hyperpigmentation, with
it’s cosmetic values, however, well before it you will get a strong alarm signal in the
form of a redness of the skin.
When considering other frequencies, the pigment does not furnish any protection at
all, something mankind has found out during the last 100 years. Cosmic rays,
radioactivity, X-rays, UVC, UVB and now even UVA are considered, together with
radar-type microwaves to be very, or even extremely, dangerous to your health. You
are translucent to exposures such as power-frequent magnetic fields as well as mobile
phone and WI-FI microwaves, but this does not mean that they are without possible
effect, through thermal or non-thermal mechanisms.
Is it possible that we can adapt our biology to altered exposure conditions in less than
100 years, or do we have to have thousands of years for such an adaptation? And, in
the meantime, what kind of safety standards must we adopt if the current public safety
limits are not sufficiently protective of public health?
The World Health Organization (WHO) has acknowledged the condition of
electrohypersensitivity, and published a 2006 research agenda for radio-frequency
fields (see Addendum to Chapter 12 on the Swedish Government response to persons
with Electrosensitivity). The WHO recommends that people reporting sensitivities
receive a comprehensive health evaluation. It states: "Some studies suggest that
certain physiological responses of EHS individuals tend to be outside the normal
range. In particular, hyperactivity in the central nervous system and imbalance in the
autonomic nervous system need to be followed up in clinical investigations and the
results for the individuals taken as input for possible treatment." Studies of
individuals with sensitivities ought to consider sufficient acclimatization of subjects
as recommended for chemical sensitivities, as well as recognition of individuals’
wavelength-specific sensitivities. Reduction of electromagnetic radiation may
ameliorate symptoms in people with chronic fatigue.
Off-gassing of electrical equipment may also contribute to sensitivities. Different
sorts of technology (e.g. various medical equipment, analogue or digital telephones;
flat screen monitors and laptop computers or larger older monitors) may vary
significantly in strength, frequency and pattern of electromagnetic fields. One
challenging question for science is to find out if, for instance, 50- or 60-Hz ELF pure
sine wave, square waves or sawtooth waveform, ELF-dirty (e.g. radiofrequencies on
power lines), ELF-modulated radiofrequency fields, continuous wave radiofrequency
radiation and particularly pulsed radiofrequency signals are more or less bioactive,
e.g. as neurotoxic and/or carcinogenic environmental exposure parameters. (see
Chapter 8 on Disruption by Modulation).
29
Immune Function Dr. Johansson
VIII. Conclusions
• Both human and animal studies report large immunological changes with exposure
to environmental levels of electromagnetic fields (EMFs). Some of these exposure
levels are equivalent to those of e.g. wireless technologies in daily life.
• Measurable physiological changes (mast cells increases, for example) that are
bedrock indicators of allergic response and inflammatory conditions are stimulated by
EMF exposures.
• Chronic exposure to such factors that increase allergic and inflammatory responses
on a continuing basis may be harmful to health.
• It is possible that chronic provocation by exposure to EMF can lead to immune
dysfunction, chronic allergic responses, inflammatory responses and ill health if they
occur on a continuing basis over time. This is an important area for future research.
• Specific findings from studies on exposures to various types of modern equipment
and/or EMFs report over-reaction of the immune system; morphological alterations of
immune cells; profound increases in mast cells in the upper skin layers, increased
degranulation of mast cells and larger size of mast cells in electrohypersensitive
individuals; presence of biological markers for inflammation that are sensitive to
EMF exposure at non-thermal levels; changes in lymphocyte viability; decreased
count of NK cells; decreased count of T lymphocytes; negative effects on pregnancy
(uteroplacental circulatory disturbances and placental dysfunction with possible risks
to pregnancy); suppressed or impaired immune function; and inflammatory responses
which can ultimately result in cellular, tissue and organ damage.
• Electrical hypersensitivity is reported by individuals in the United States, Sweden,
Switzerland, Germany. Denmark and many other countries of the world. Estimates
range from 3% to perhaps 10% of populations, and appears to be a growing condition
of ill-health leading to lost work and productivity.
• The WHO and IEEE literature surveys do not include all of the relevant papers
cited here, leading to the conclusion that evidence has been ignored in the current
WHO ELF Health Criteria Monograph; and the proposed new IEEE C95.1 RF public
exposure limits (April 2006).
• The current international public safety limits for EMFs do not appear to be
sufficiently protective of public health at all, based on the studies of immune
function. New, biologically-based public standards are warranted that take into
account low-intensity effects on immune function and health that are reported in the
scientific
30
Immune Function Dr. Johansson
IX. Acknowledgements
Supported by the Karolinska Institute, the Help Foundation (Hjälpfonden) and the
Cancer and Allergy Foundation (Cancer- och Allergifonden).
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(=Description of symptoms as well as occurrence of IgE and positive Phadiatop
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morphological study. To be submitted.
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Appendix 8-A Some legal aspects of the functional impairment
electrohypersensitivity in Sweden
In Sweden, electrohypersensitivity (EHS) is an officially fully recognized functional
impairment (i.e., it is not regarded as a disease). Survey studies show that somewhere
between 230,000 - 290,000 Swedish men and women, out of a population of
9,000,000 people, report a variety of symtoms when being in contact with
electromagnetic field (EMF)-sources.
The electrohypersensitive persons have their own handicap organisation; The Swedish
Association for the ElectroSensitive; http://www.feb.se (the website has an English
version). This organisation is included in the Swedish Disability Federation
(Handikappförbundens SamarbetsOrgan; HSO). HSO is the unison voice of the
Swedish disability associations towards the government, the parliament and national
authorities and is a cooperative body that today consists of 43 national disability
organisations (where The Swedish Association for the ElectroSensitive is 1 of these
43 organisations) with all together about 500,000 individual members. You can read
more on http://www.hso.se (the site has an English short version). The Swedish
Association for the ElectroSensitive gets a governmental subsidy as a handicap
organization according to SFS 2000:7 §2 (SFS = The Swedish Governmental
Statute-Book). EHS persons' right to get disablement allowances has been settled in
The Swedish Supreme Administrative Court, i.a. in the judgement "dom 2003-01-29,
mål nr. 6684-2001".
Swedish municipalities, of course, have to follow the UN 22 Standard Rules on the
equalization of opportunities for persons with disabilities ("Standardregler för att
tillförsäkra människor med funktionsnedsättning delaktighet och jämlikhet"; about the
UN 22 Standard Rules, see website:
http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/enable/dissre00.htm). All persons with disabilities
shall, thus, be given the assistance and service they have the right to according to the
Swedish Act concerning Support and Service for Persons with Certain Functional
Impairments (LSS-lagen) and the Swedish Social Services Act (Socialtjänstlagen).
Persons with disabilities, thus, have many different rights and can get different kinds
of support. The purpose of those rights and the support is to give every person the
chance to live like everyone else. Everyone who lives in the Swedish municipalities
should be able to lead a normal life and the municipalities must have correct
knowledge and be able to reach the persons who need support and service. Persons
with disabilities shall be able to get extra support so that they can live, work, study, or
do things they enjoy in their free time. The municipalities are responsible for making
sure that everyone gets enough support. Everyone shall show respect and remember
that such men and women may need different kinds of support.
In Sweden, impairments are viewed from the point of the environment. No human
being is in itself impaired, there are instead shortcomings in the environment that
cause the impairment (as the lack of ramps for the person in a wheelchair or rooms
electrosanitized for the person with electrohypersensitivity). This environment-related
impairment view, furthermore, means that even though one does not have a
scientifically-based complete explanation for the impairment electrohypersensitivity,
and in contrast to disagreements in the scientific society, the person with
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Immune Function Dr. Johansson
electrohypersensitivity shall always be met in a respectful way and with all necessary
support with the goal to eliminate the impairment. This implies that the person with
electrohypersensitivity shall have the opportunity to live and work in an
electrosanitized environment.
This view can fully be motivated in relation to the present national and international
handicap laws and regulations, including the UN 22 Standard Rules and the Swedish
action plan for persons with impairments (prop. 1999/2000:79 "Den nationella
handlingplanen för handikappolitiken - Från patient till medborgare"). Also the
Human Rights Act in the EU fully applies.
A person is disabled when the environment contains some sort of impediments. It
means that in that moment a man or woman in a wheelchair can not come onto the
bus, a train, or into a restaurant, this person has a disability, he or she is disabled.
When the bus, the train or the restaurant are adjusted for a wheelchair, the person do
not suffer from his disability and are consequently not disabled. An
electrohypersensitive person suffers when the environment is not properly adapted
according to their personal needs. Strategies to enable a person with this disability to
attend common rooms such as libraries, churches and so on, are for instance to switch
off the high-frequency fluorescent lamps and instead use ordinary light bulbs.
Another example is the possibility to switch off - the whole or parts of - the assistive
listening systems (persons with electrohypersensitivity are often very sensitive to
assistive listening systems).
In the Stockholm municipality - were I live and work as a scientist with the
responsibility to investigate comprehensive issues for persons with
electrohypersensitivity - such persons have the possibility to get their home sanitized
for EMFs. It means for example that ordinary electricity cables are changed to special
cables. Furthermore, the electric stove can be changed to a gas stove and walls, roof
and floors can be covered with special wallpaper or paint with a special shelter to stop
EMFs from the outside (from neighbours and mobile telephony base stations). Even
the windows can be covered with a thin aluminum foil as an efficient measure to
restrain EMFs to get into the room/home. If these alterations turn out not to be
optimal they have the possibility to rent small cottages in the countryside that the
Stockholm municipality owns. These areas have lower levels of irradiation than
others. The Stockholm municipality also intend to build a village with houses that are
specially designed for persons who are electrohypersensitive. This village will be
located in a low-lewel irradiation area. [One of my graduate students, Eva-Rut
Lindberg, has in her thesis project studied the "construction of buildings for persons
with the impairment electrohypersensitivity". The doctoral thesis will be presented
during the Autumn.]
Persons with electrohypersensitivity also have a general (legal) right to be supported
by their employer so that they can work despite of this impairment. For instance, they
can get special equipment such as computers that are of low-emission type, that highfrequency
fluorescent lamps are changed to ordinary light bulbs, no wireless DECT
telephones in their rooms, and so on.
Some hospitals in Sweden (e.g. in Umeå, Skellefteå and Karlskoga) also have built
special rooms with very low EMFs so that persons who are hypersensitive can get
38
Immune Function Dr. Johansson
medical care. Another example is the possibility for persons who are
electrohypersensitive to get a specially designed car so that the person can transport
himself/herself between his/her home and their workplace.
Recently, some politicians in the Stockholm municipality even proposed to the
politicians responsible for the subway in the Stockholm City that a part of every
trainset should be free from mobile phones; that the commuters have to switch of the
phones in these selected parts to enable persons with electrohypersensitivity to travel
with the subway (compare this with persons who have an allergy for animal fur
whereupon people consequently is prohibited to have animals, such as dogs or cats, in
selected parts of the trainset).
In addition, when the impairment electrohypersensitivity is discussed it is also of
paramount importance that more general knowledge is needed with the aim to better
adapt the society to the specific needs of the persons with this impairment. The
Swedish "Miljöbalk" (the Environmental Code) contains an excellent prudence
avoidance principle which, of course, most be brought into action also here, together
with respect and willingness to listen to the persons with electrohypersensitivity.
Naturally, all initiatives for scientific studies of the impairment
electrohypersensitivity must be characterized and marked by this respect and
willingness to listen, and the investigations shall have the sole aim to help the persons
with this particular impairment. Rule 13 in the UN 22 Standard Rules clearly says that
scientific investigations of impairments shall, in an unbiased way - and without any
prejudice - focus on cause, occurrence and nature and with the sole and explicit
purpose to help and support the person with the impairment.
A unique conference recently was held in Stockholm in May, 2006. The theme for the
conference was "The right for persons with the impairment electrohypersensitivity to
live in a fully accessible society". The conference was organized by the Stockholm
City municipality and the Stockholm County Council and dealt with the most recent
measures to make Stockholm fully accessible for persons with the impairment
electrohypersensitivity. Among such measures are to offer home equipment
adjustments, ban mobile phones from certain underground cars as well as certain
public bus seats, and through electrosanitized hospital wards. The conference was
documented on film.
39

2009-09-29T15:20:00.000+01:00

2009-09-29T11:31:00.000+01:00

BAUBIOLOGIE MAES / Institut für Baubiologie + Ökologie IBN STANDARD
The Building Biology Survey according to the
STANDARD OF BUILDING BIOLOGY TESTING METHODS
SBM-2008
The Standard gives an overview of the physical, chemical and biological risks encountered in sleeping areas, living spaces, workplaces and properties. It offers guidelines on how to perform specific measurements and assess possible health risks. All testing results, testing instruments and procedures are documented in a fi-al written report. In case potential problems are identified, an effective remediation strategy is developed.
n
The individual subcategories of the Standard describe critical indoor environmental influences. With its pro-fessional approach, it helps identify, minimize and avoid such factors within an individual’s framework of achievability. It is the Standard’s goal to create indoor living environments that are as exposure-free and na-tural as practicable, this holistic approach is accomplished by taking all subcategories into account and im-plementing all available diagnostic possibilities. Testing, assessment and remediation strategies focus main-ly on the building biology experience, precaution and achievability. Any risk reduction is worth striving for.
Between 1987 and 1992, BAUBIOLOGIE MAES developed the Standard of Building Biology Testing Methods, the accompanying Building Biology Evaluation Guidelines for Sleeping Areas and additional testing details on behalf and with the support of the Institut für Baubiologie und Ökologie Neubeuern IBN. Scientists, medical doctors and colleagues also offered their support. The Standard was issued for the first time in May 1992. The most current Standard SBM-2008 is the seventh edition and was published at the beginning of 2008. Since 1999 a 10-member expert commission assists in maintaining and updating the Standard, including the Guidelines and specific testing protocols. The current members of the commission are as follows: Dr. Dipl.Chem. Thomas Haumann, Dipl.Ing. Norbert Honisch, Wolfgang Maes, Dipl.Ing. Helmut Merkel, Dr. Dipl.Biol. Manfred Mierau, Uwe Münzenberg, Rupert Schneider, Peter Sierck, Dipl.Chem. Jörg Thumulla, Dr.Ing. Martin H. Virnich.
A FIELDS, WAVES, RADIATION
AC ELECTRIC FIELDS (Low Frequency, ELF/VLF)
1
Sources: AC voltage in electrical installations, cables, appliances, outlets, walls, floors, beds, high-tension and other power lines...
Measurement of low frequency electric field strength (V/m) and human body voltage (mV) as well as identification of dominant frequency (Hz) and prominent harmonics
AC MAGNETIC FIELDS (Low Frequency, ELF/VLF)
2
Sources: AC current in electrical installations, cables, appliances, transformers, motors, overhead and ground cables, power lines, railways...
Measurement and data logging of low frequency magnetic flux density (nT) from power grid or railway system as well as identification of dominant frequency (Hz) and prominent harmonics
3 RADIOFREQUENCY RADIATION (High Frequency, Electromagnetic Waves)
Sources: cell phone technology, RF transmitters, broadcast, trunked radio systems, line-of-sight systems, radar, military, cordless phones...
Measurement of high frequency electromagnetic power density (μW/m²) as well as identification of do-minant RF sources and low frequency signals (pulse, periodicity, modulation…)
4 DC ELECTRIC FIELDS (Electrostatics)
Sources: synthetic carpeting, drapes and textiles, vinyl wallpaper, varnishes, laminates, stuffed toy animals, TV or computer screens...
Measurement of electrostatic surface potential (V) as well as discharge time (s)
5 DC MAGNETIC FIELDS (Magnetostatics)
Sources: steel components in beds, mattresses, furniture, appliances, building materials; DC current in street cars, photovoltaic systems...
Measurement of geomagnetic field distortion as spatial deviation of magnetic flux density (μT, metal/ steel) or temporal fluctuation of magnetic flux density (μT, current) as well as compass deviation (°)
RADIOACTIVITY (Gamma Radiation, Radon)
6
Sources: building materials, stones, tiles, slags, waste products, devices, antiques, ventilation, terrestrial radiation, location, environment…
Measurement of equivalent dose rate (nSv/h, %) as well as radon concentration (Bq/mP3P)
GEOLOGICAL DISTURBANCES (Geomagnetic Field, Terrestrial Radiation)
7
Sources: currents and radioactivity in the earth; local disturbances caused by faults, fractures, underground water courses...
Measurement of earth's magnetism (nT) and earth's radiation (ips) and its prominent disturbances (%)
SOUND and VIBRATION (Airborne and Solid Sound)
8
Sources: traffic noise, air traffic, train traffic, industry, buildings, devices, machines, motors, transformers, sound bridges...
Measurement of noise level, sound, infrasound, ultrasound, oscillations and vibrations (dB, m/s²)
B INDOOR TOXINS, POLLUTANTS, INDOOR CLIMATE
FORMALDEHYDE and other Toxic Gases
1
Sources: varnishes, glues, particle board, wood products, furnishings, devices, heating, gas leaks, combustion, exhaust fumes, environment...
Measurement of toxic gases (μg/m³, ppm) such as formaldehyde, ozone and chlorine, urban and in-dustrial gases, natural gas, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and other combustion gases
SOLVENTS and other Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC)
2
Sources: paints, varnishes, adhesives, synthetics, building materials, particle board, furniture, coatings, cleaners...
Measurement of volatile organic compounds (μg/m³, ppm) as acrylates, aldehydes, aliphates, alkanes, alkenes, alcohols, amines, cycloalkanes, esters, ethers, glycols, halogens, hydrocarbons, isocyanates, ketones, cresols, phenols, siloxanes, terpenes and other aromatic or organic compounds (VOC)
PESTICIDES and other Semi-Volatile Organic Compounds (SVOV)
3
Sources: wood, leather and carpet protections, adhesives, plastics, sealers, coatings, moth-proofing agents, pest-control agents...
Measurement of semi-volatile organic compounds (mg/kg, ng/m³) as biocides, insecticides, fungici-des, wood preservatives, pyrethroids, fire retardants, plasticizers, PCBs, PAHs, dioxins
HEAVY METALS and other Similar Toxins
4
Sources: wood preservatives, building materials, building moisture, PVC, paints, glazes, plumbing pipes, industry, toxic waste, environment...
Measurement of inorganic substances (mg/kg) such as heavy metals and metal compounds, salts
PARTICLES and FIBERS (Fine Particulate Matter, Nanoparticles, Asbestos, Mineral Fibers...)
5
Sources: aerosols, airborne particles, dust, smoke, soot, building and insulating material, ventilation and air-conditioning, toner, environment...
Measurement of dust, number and size of particles, asbestos and other fibers (/l, μg/m³, /g, %)
INDOOR CLIMATE (Temperature, Humidity, Carbon Dioxide, Air Ions, Air Changes, Odors...)
6
Source: moisture damage, building materials, ventilation, heating, furnishings, breathing, static electricity, radiation, dust, environment...
Measurement of air and surface temperature (°C), air humidity and material moisture (r.h., a.h., %), oxygen (vol.%), carbon dioxide (ppm), air pressure (mbar), air movement (m/s) and air ions (/cm³) as well as air electricity (V/m), identification of odors and air exchange rate
C FUNGI, BACTERIA, ALLERGENS
MOLDS and their Spores and Metabolites
1
Sources: moisture damage, thermal bridges, construction defects, building materials, remediation mistakes, air-conditioning, environment...
Measurement and identification of molds that can or cannot be cultured, their spores and fragments (/m³, /dm², /g) as well as their metabolites (MVOC, mycotoxins...)
YEASTS and their Metabolites
2
Sources: moist areas, hygiene problems, food storage, garbage, appliances, water purification systems, sanitary plumbing systems...
Measurement and identification of yeasts (/m³, /dm², /g) and their metabolites
BACTERIA and their Metabolites
3
Sources: moisture damage, waste water damage, hygiene problems, food storage, garbage, water purification, sanitary plumbing systems...
Measurement and identification of bacteria (/m³, /dm², /g, /l) and their metabolites
DUST MITES and other Allergens
4
Sources: dust mites, their feces and metabolites, mold growth, hygiene, house dust, pets, building moisture, ventilation, environment...
Measurement and identification of mite number and feces, pollen, grasses, animal hair (/m³, /g, %)
Additional measurements, inspections and surveys are also part of the Standard e.g. light quality, illumi-nance level and UV exposure, potable water quality testing for toxic and microbial contamination, testing of building materials, furniture and other furnishings as well as for home and wood pests, also consulting and lanning services for respective projects as well as consulting and support during construction.
p
The Standard also includes the Building Biology Evaluation Guidelines for Sleeping Areas, which have been developed specifically for long-term risks and the sensitive time of regeneration or sleep, as well as additio-al testing conditions and explanations, which specify and describe the methods and analyses in more detail.
n
The Standard of Building Biology Testing Methods SBM-2008 was translated from German into English by Katharina Gustavs in June 2008.
BAUBIOLOGIE MAES Schorlemerstr. 87 41464 Neuss Telefon 02131/43741 Fax 44127 www.maes.de
© IBN Holzham 25 83115 Neubeuern Telefon 08035/2039 Fax 8164 www.baubiologie.de

2009-09-08T12:06:00.003+01:00

Low energy bulbs create high levels of dirty electricity when they are working but if you break one watch out!

2009-07-01T19:34:00.000+01:00

Dirty Electricity explained

Electromagnetic Fields caused by Electrical Transients
"How does the noise on electrical wiring get onto my body?"
By understanding how electrical transients are generated and propagated, we can then understand how these phenomenon cause invisible fields that surround everything in their vicinity to varying levels of intensity.
What are transient voltages?
"Transients", are actually "Transient Voltages". More familiar terms may be "surges" or "spikes". Basically, transients are momentary changes in voltage or current that occur over a short period of time.
Where do Transient voltages come from?
Transients can be generated internally, or they can come into a facility from external sources. The least common of the two are externally generated transients. They've been described as "electronic rust".
External sources:
Lightning is the most well known of the externally generated transients. Most lightning transients are not actually the result of direct lightning strikes....they are most often "induced" onto conductors as lightning strikes near the power line. The large electric fields generated during a discharge can couple into the power system, creating induced transients. A cloud-to-cloud discharge can generate a 70 Volts per meter electric field. On a 1/2-mile length of transmission line this is equal to a 56,000-volt transient, and it didn't even touch the power line wires!
Poor or loose connections in the distribution system can also generate transients. They may be caused by high winds, which can blow one power line into another or blow tree limbs into the lines causing arcing.
Another common source, not well known, is neighbouring businesses or residences. If you share a transformer with other users, any transient activity generated on his premises will be seen at your electrical main. Remember, you are both physically connected at the secondary side of the power distribution transformer.
Internal Sources:
The vast majority of transients are produced within your own facility or residence. The main culprits are device switching, static discharge, and arcing.
Each time you turn on, turn off, load, or unload an inductive device, you produce a transient. Inductive devices are those devices that use "magnetic mass" to function. Examples of inductive loads are motors, transformers, relays and power supplies, etc. The inductive "kick" from a small motor turning on can produce a transient in excess of 1,000 volts. A motor with a faulty winding, commutator, or other insulation fault can produce a continuous stream of transients exceeding 600 volts! Even transformers can produce a large transient, particularly when energizing. Interestingly enough, this isn't produced the way many people think (from the sudden load on the system), but is a result of the collapse of the magnetic field upon energizing the transformer.
Arcing can generate transients from a number of sources. Faulty contacts in breakers, switches, and contactors can produce an arc when voltage jumps the gap. When this gap is "jumped" the voltage rises suddenly and the most common effect is an oscillatory-ring-type transient. Faulty connections and grounds can produce arcing.
How Do Transients "Travel"?
The common aspect of all these internally generated voltages is your electrical distribution system. Your facility or home wiring is designed to transmit electricity with the least impedance possible so that maximum efficiency is maintained. This same efficiency works to transfer the transients produced throughout your facility with minimal obstruction.
All of the electric interfaces are physically bonded together via protective earth system. Transient activity "seen" at one interface is easily transmitted to all other interfaces within your system, dependent upon transient frequency and magnitude.
What are the effects of transient activity?
These rapidly changing transients set up fluctuating invisible electromagnetic fields that radiate from the electrical system and wiring. The larger the transient, the higher the strength and density of the surrounding fields. It is these fields that "induce" a charge into nearby bodies and surfaces of objects in their vicinity, and this induced charge is believed to be biologically harmful to living organisms.
What are Electromagnetic Fields?
There are two types of field that are set-up, the Electric field and magnetic field. These are two interrelated aspects of a single object, called the electro-magnetic field. They are generated by moving electron charge otherwise known as a flow of current. The energy, which is the rate of flow of current, in the transient is related to the strength of the field.
Electric Field
The term electric field is used for a single vector field, denoted E-field. In physics, the space surrounding an electric charge or in the presence of a time-varying magnetic field has a property called an electric field. This electric field exerts a force on other electrically charged objects.
The SI unit of electric field is newtons per coulomb (N/C−1) or, equivalently, volts per metre (V/m−1).
Magnetic Field
The term magnetic field is used for two different vector fields, denoted B-field and H-field, although there are many alternative names for both. To avoid confusion, we use B-field and H-field for these fields, and use magnetic field where either or both fields apply.
Magnetic Field Strength (H)
The strength of the field depends on the current and the area of the wire loop.
The SI unit of magnetic field strength is expressed as Amperes per metre (A/m).
Magnetic Flux Density (B)
The Magnetic Flux is the rate of flow of magnetic energy across or through an area or surface.
The SI unit of magnetic flux density is the Tesla, (T).
How Do We Reduce These Fields?
The best way to reduce the electromagnetic fields is by eliminating them at source. However, we can’t stop external sources such as lightening strikes, and we wait while technology gradually improves emissions from internal sources from electrical devices. In the interim, we can eliminate many electrical transients using techniques such as filtering and shielding. Thus, if we reduce the electrical transient activity and the size of the individual transients, then we can effectively reduce the potentially harmful fields generated by them.
Micropulse filters located around the electrical system will effectively reduce transient activity.

2009-07-01T11:36:00.000+01:00

Wireless Technologies Cause Harm to Children and Adults, Legislators and Journalists Are Told

Washington, D.C., June 30, 2009; Today The National Institute for Science, Law and Public Policy (“NISLAPP”) mailed a report on the health hazards of wireless technologies to Governors, Members of Congress, President Obama and his Administration, as well as to thousands of health and environmental journalists.
Legislators and journalists are being urged to learn about the health consequences of microwave radiation exposure from cell phones, neighborhood antennas, wireless networks, wireless routers, DECT portable phones, and the potential health consequences of further chronic exposures from wireless broadband and new wireless utility technologies.
The National Institute for Science, Law and Public Policy is encouraging all to become engaged with this important public health issue impacting adults and children, as well as animals and nature.

Co-authored by Dr. Magda Havas, Assoc. Professor of Environmental and Resource Studies at Trent University in Canada, and Camilla Rees, Founder of www.ElectromagneticHealth.org, “Public Health SOS: The Shadow Side of the Wireless Revolution” reviews the independent science on the health hazards of wireless radiation and offers recommendations to the public on how to live more safely in a wireless world.....

READ MORE: (http://sn.im/l5qf d)
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2009-06-30T09:46:00.001+01:00

The mayor of the second largest city in Calvados is going to remove the wi-fi network from local schools.
HEROUVILLE-SAINT-CLAIR (AFP) — The town council of Hérouville-Saint-Clair (Calvados-Normandy) is going to remove the wi-fi network (wireless Internet) in its schools before the end of the year, it announced on Monday, four days after the launch of the "Radiation Round Table" in Paris.
"We are going to apply the precautionary principle. Our job is to protect people's health," declared the mayor Rodolphe Thomas during a press conference. In this new town of 24,000 inhabitants situated on the outskirts of Caen, the wi-fi network has provided local schools with a wireless connection to the Internet, via the town hall. The dozen sites concerned will now have independent Internet access. In addition the Council are going to finance ten or more measurements of electromagnetic fields in the town, at a total cost of 4-5000 euros, added Laurent Mata, chief deputy mayor in charge of sustainable development. The intention is to change or relocate certain antennas if the radiation is too intense. "We'll take them to court" if the phone companies refuse to do this, affirmed M. Mata.
The mayor of Hérouville-Saint-Clair, Rodolphe Thomas
In September Hérouville Saint-Clair is going to launch a campaign about the precautions to take to protect oneself from radiation, aimed at the general public, the telecom operators and the landlords "who receive 1500-2500 euros per month for the rent of the roof where the relay antenna is installed", according to M. Mata. He estimates that overall these plans will cost the town 15,000 euros. Criirem (Centre for research and independent information on electromagnetic radiation), which claims to be the only independent organisation taking measurements of electromagnetic fields, has indicated that about 20 town and city councils in France have asked them to carry out assessments of this kind.
A relay antenna installed on the roof of an apartment building in Hérouville-Saint-Clair (Calvados) 27 04 2009