The Freiburg Appeal on the health risks of radio-frequency radiation was published on this blog in early 2013. Swiss medical associations, apart from MfE, probably do not know it exists. We welcome readers' comments on how to make it more visible to physicians, health authorities and the general public in Switzerland.
The Swiss medical doctors' association, Physicians in Favor of the Environment (MfE) issued an article on their site on 26 November 2012, encouraging the signature of the Freiburg Appeal of 2012 on the health risks of radio-frequency radiation from wireless technologies.
The Swiss medical doctors' association, Physicians in Favor of the Environment (MfE) issued an article on their site on 26 November 2012, encouraging the signature of the Freiburg Appeal of 2012 on the health risks of radio-frequency radiation from wireless technologies.
Here is the message from the Freiburg Appeal site: The full text of the Appeal follows.
International
Doctors´ Appeal 2012
10 Years
after the Freiburg Appeal:
Radio-frequency
Radiation Poses a Health Risk. Physicians Demand Overdue Precaution.
Ten years ago, physicians of the Freiburg Appeal called
on their colleagues, the public, and the politicians and health officials in
charge because they were deeply concerned about the health of their
fellow citizens. This Doctors´Appeal, in which they strongly
warned about the dangers of wireless radiation, was translated into many
languages and supported by more than 1000 physicians and more than 36,000
people worldwide.
Over the
past decade, the evidence of serious risks has been increasing and
accumulating worldwide. As physicians, we observe a clear increase in
health symptoms when radio-frequency exposure levels increase with regard to
distance and time—especially in the case of heavy cell phone use, and in the
vicinity of DECT cordless phones, Wi-Fi, and cell towers—including problems
falling asleep and staying asleep, chronic fatigue, headaches, migraine,
vertigo, tinnitus, unhealthy blood pressure levels and arrhythmias,
concentration and memory problems, learning and behavioral disorders, a more
frequent incidence of ADHD among children. And numerous studies of independent
scientists have now confirmed many of these observations made by physicians.
In the wake
of the Freiburg Appeal, twelve other doctors‘ appeals requested overdue
precautionary action in response to this worrisome situation—but so far in
vain. The signatories of those appeals could rely on a professional Code
of Ethics that requires a physician to participate in maintaining the
natural basis of life regarding human health. The authors of this
International Doctors’ Appeal are guided by the same Code and today ask for
your support.
We
encourage you to sign the attached appeal and ask you to forward this
appeal as well as our information portal to other colleagues.
International
Doctors´ Appeal 2012
10 Years
after the Freiburg Appeal:
Radio-frequency
Radiation Poses a Health Risk. Physicians Demand Overdue Precaution.
More than
1000 physicians signed the “Freiburg Appeal” in 2002. It was translated into
many
languages.
As many as 36,000 people from all over the world support its warning about the
dangers of
radio-frequency radiation. Today—ten years later—we as physicians and
scientists
call again
on our colleagues and the wider global community, but also on all politicians
around the world.
I.
Evidence:
Despite all
warnings, more and more new wireless technologies are introduced into our daily
lives: cell phone networks, TETRA, LTE, cordless phones, Wi-Fi, baby monitors,
wireless meters, digital radio and TV, and many others. All of these wireless
technologies interfere
with the
biophysical organization of life with increasing layers and densities of
electromagnetic fields.
Human, animal, and
plant life is controlled by naturally occurring electromagnetic fields and
signals. With their
extremely low to very high frequencies, technical electromagnetic fields can
interfere strongly with cell communication and metabolism. Initially, the body’s
natural healing capacity, in its attempt to maintain homeostasis, will correct
imbalances through finely tuned control mechanisms. Prolonged electromagnetic
stress, however, may lead to a chronic impairment of this important homeostatic
response and result in disease.
Scientific
studies repeatedly demonstrate that electromagnetic fields can impair
self-regulation and cause adverse biological impacts, including: increased permeability
of the protective blood-brain barrier,changes in brain wave activity,
unbalanced release of neurotransmitters
and hormones (especially the increase in stress hormones), immune system
impairment, damage to genetic material, and lowered fertility, to name only a
few of the well-established examples. Oxidative
cell stress—a major cause of many diseases—has been shown to be a central
effect mechanism of radiation exposure.
A
number of pressing mental health disorders appear to be increasing at a
worrisome rate, including depression, burnout syndrome as well as sleep,
anxiety, and panic disorders. This is also evident for a number of other
diseases: stroke in younger people, degenerative neurological disorders (e.g.
early onset of dementia syndromes), headaches, tinnitus, autism, learning disorders,
concentration problems, and behavioral disorders (ADHD) Empirical observations
suggest that the increase in radio-frequency radiation exposures counts among
the crucial environmental factors that are responsible for a steady increase in
allergies, skin problems, pain syndromes, susceptibility to infections, high
blood pressure, cardiac arrhythmias, metabolic disorders, and multi-system
disorders.
Observable
patterns of temporal and spatial relationships between the onset of these
symptoms and disorders and the start of an exposure to electromagnetic fields
(e.g. in the vicinity of a newly installed cell tower or after heavy cell phone
use) suggest that they are causally related. The association between cell phone/cordless
phone use and a clear increase in brain tumors has been repeatedly documented
in the scientific literature.
Children
and adolescents are most vulnerable. After leukemia, brain tumors are the
second most common cancer in children. In Europe the cancer rate among
adolescents has increased 1.5 percent each year. In England frontal and temporal lobe tumors
in children rose significantly from 1999 to 2009. And children increasingly
display addictive behavior in the use of their cell phones and other online
devices. Numerous appeals and resolutions, therefore, call for the special
protection of children and adolescents, as, for instance, the European
Environment Agency did in the fall of 2011.
The number
of those who suffer from electrohypersensitivity is steadily growing. In those
who are affected, severe symptoms to electromagnetic fields can develop immediately
or hours after the exposure to technical electromagnetic fields. Sweden has
recognized electrohypersensitivity
as a functional impairment. The European Parliament has called on itsmember
states “to follow the example of Sweden,” and U.S. State Governors have raised
public awareness about the serious consequences of electrohypersensitivity. The
Austrian Medical
Association has released a guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of
EMF-related health problems and illnesses.
Health care
professionals worldwide make observations that are consistent with and
increasingly confirmed by scientific findings. Adverse effects of
electromagnetic fields and the fundamental impairment of biologicalcontrol
mechanisms can occur well below current exposure limits and have been
demonstrated, in someinstances for decades. The international BioInitiative Working
Group (2007) documented a broad range of health risks based on more than 1500
scientific studies. Since then
numerous studies have confirmed the worrisome results and shown that current
exposure limits that only consider damage caused by thermal effects are inadequate.
The World Health Organization (WHO) classified RF radiation as possibly
carcinogenic in May 2011 based
on the increased risk of brain tumors among those who heavily use their cell
phones for many years. And market-leading manufacturers of cell phones corroborate
the association when they justify their patent applications with the argument
of cancer risk.
In numerous
appeals and resolutions over the past years, a growing number of expert
scientists and physicians have pointed to the health risks associated with
radio-frequency radiation exposures. In 2008 the Russian Radiation Protection
Committee RNCNIRP gave a warning about the serious and irreparable consequences
of electromagnetic radiation especially for children, and again in 2011,
intensified its warning. The
European Environment Agency called for urgent precautionary action in 2009. The
European Parliament repeated this call also in 2009.
In a unanimous resolution in 2011, the
European Council demands abandoning wireless communication policies that are
seen as unsustainable in their current form.
II. Appeal:
As
physicians and scientists, we hereby call on our colleagues; on the leaders of
federal,
state, and
local governments; but also on the wider community to take action and implement
the following precautionary strategies, which also include fundamental human rights:
1. Protect
the inviolability of the home by minimizing radio-frequency exposure levels,
which penetrate through the walls of one’s own home.
2. Ensure
considerably lower radio-frequency radiation exposures as well as exposure
limits that reliably protect humans and nature from adverse biological effects of
electromagnetic fields. Any further expansion of wireless technologies is
irresponsible.
3. Prefer
wired solutions for home use and public institutions, especially at preschools,
schools, colleges, universities, nursing homes, and hospitals.
4. Cutback
and reprogram continuously emitting devices such as cordless phones, wireless
Internet access (Wi-Fi), and wireless smart meters so that they only operate
and emit radio-frequency radiation on demand when being used.
5. Provide
special protection for children and adolescents: Children below the age of 8
should not use cell phones and cordless phones; children and adolescents
between the ages 8 and 16 should also not use cell phones or only use them in
the case of an emergency. Devices for mobile and wireless communication for
children and adolescents may not be advertised.
6. Attach
clearly visible warning labels and safety guidelines for lowering the radiation
exposure on cell phones and other wireless devices, including instruction manuals.
An important reminder: do not carry a cell phone right next to your body when
it is turned on.
7. Identify
and clearly mark protected zones for electrohypersensitive people; establish
public areas without wireless access or coverage, especially on public
transport, similar to smoke-free areas for nonsmokers.
8. Promote
the development of communication technologies and electricity use that is more
compatible
with health. Prefer wired solutions for home use and public facilities. Expand
fiber-optic networks as the foundation of a modern, sustainable, and performance-based
technology that meets the ever-increasing demand for higher data transmission
rates.
9. Provide
government funding for industry-independent research and education that do not
dismiss strong scientific and medical findings of potential risks, but rather
work to clarify those risks.
At the same
time, we also call on everyone who cares about health and the environment: Make wise consumer choices and thus help
reduce exposure levels. Favor wired communication technologies. Inform yourself
and pass this knowledge on to your family, neighbors, friends, and politicians.
Get involved and make a difference so that the protection of human health and
the environment is not left to and limited by commercial interests.
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