France: How the Telecoms Lobby Makes Us Believe There Is No Problem With Electromagnetic Radiation

Fleur Pellerin, Minister for Digital Economy

This excellent investigative report on the French telecoms lobby clarifies the reasons for the watered-down version of the bill on electromagnetic waves which was recently passed by the French National Assembly and has now gone to the Senate for approval.

How lobbies make us believe there is no problem with electromagnetic waves
by Marie Astier, Reporterre, 23 January 2014

(translated from French by the Editor of this blog)

Today, the National Assembly is looking at a proposed bill on exposure to electromagnetic radiation produced by cell phones, Wi-Fi… A very weak proposal in a field where the weight of lobbies is particularly heavy. Investigative report.

Little by little, proof is accumulating. In 2011, the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified electromagnetic waves in the group of « agents possibly carcinogenic to humans. » In 2012, the BioInitiative Report, the result of a study of 1,800 publications on waves, concluded that « biological effects have been established » even at « very weak exposure levels ». In October 2013, in France, the benchmark report for decision-makers was updated by ANSES (National Agency for Food, Environmental, and Occupational Safety). It indicates that there is no proven effect of waves on human health… But nevertheless it recommends caution, notably limiting children’s exposure to cell phones.

Switzerland: 4.6 Million Inhabitants Will Receive Iodine

4.6 million inhabitants will receive iodine.
AR.G.with ats, Tribune de Genève, 23 January 2014

The Federal Council is drawing lessons from Fukushima. It is tripling the number of persons who will receive iodine. Vaud is concerned.

The preventive distribution of iodine in order to combat the effects of a nuclear accident will be considerably expanded in Switzerland. The Federal Council yesterday widened the perimeter of distribution to persons living within a radius of 50 kilometers from a nuclear plant, instead of the current 20 kilometers. The area includes Moudon and Yvonand but not Yverdon; 4.6 million persons will thus receive a stock of iodine tablets, three times the 1.2 million citizens currently concerned. The distribution will begin next fall. Who will take charge of this? “It will be done through the post,” says Daniel Dauwalder, spokesperson at the Federal Office for Public Health. How much will it cost? 30 million francs [$33.5 million], all to be borne by the operators of nuclear plants.

France: The Law on Electromagnetic Waves in 5 Questions

For cell phones, manufacturers will have to recommend use of hand-free kits. All advertising targeting children under 14 will be banned. Regarding children, the initial proposed bill of the ecologists aimed to ban Wi-Fi in all establishments for those under 6. But the Government voted an amendment restraining this measure to those under 3, that is, to childcare facilities. It will thus not concern nursery schools.

Regarding persons suffering from electrohypersensitivity, the government will have to provide the Parliament with a report dealing in particular with “the opportunity to create areas of limited electromagnetic radiation, notably in the urban environment”, as well as “taking into account the conditions” of their difficulties in the workplace.

[Translator's note:  We have translated "crêches et garderies" as "childcare facilities" and "écoles maternelles" as "nurseries".  According to the article on the same subject from Le Nouvel Observateur, publicity for tablets has been banned for those under age 14 (risking a fine of 75,000 euros) , as is already the case with cell phones, as well as advertising cell phones without headsets.  Operators must moreover propose headsets compatible with the size of a child's ears if the buyer requests this.  Reader, you may correct me regarding childcare facilities and nurseries/kindergartens!]

The Law on Electromagnetic Waves in 5 Questions
by Audrey Garric et Pierre Le Hir, Le Monde.fr, 24 January 2014 (translated from French by the Editor of this blog)

One year after « a first-class burial » in the eyes of the Ecologists, the Assembly adopted, on Thursday 23 January, a proposed bill of compromise to limit exposure to electromagnetic waves generated by wireless technologies – mobile phones, tablets, Wi-Fi.

Dr. Olle Johansson Talks About Electrohypersensitivity Symptoms and Protection

This very recent 7-minute video of Professor Olle Johansson, Department of Neuroscience, Karolinka Institute, Stockholm, talking about EHS and protection, is excellent.  

Electro Hypersensitivity Symptoms and protection (22 January 2014 - 7 min.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yij7UX7WjQ&feature=youtu.be

Nobel Laureate Dr. Devra Davis: If the Cell Phone Were a Drug, It Would Be Banned

Oncologist Dr. Devra Davis

Nobel laureate: If the cellphone were a drug, it would be banned
by Rahime Sezgin, todayszaman.com,

3 July 2011

Once carrying three cell phones with her, Nobel Prize-winning oncologist** Devra Davis gave up using them after conducting a study over the dangers of these devices.

She says we allow our brain cells to die every time we speak on the phone and stresses that if the cell phone were a drug, it would be banned because it entered our lives without having been tested.

Highlighting that people face a big problem due to cell phones, the American oncologist suggests there are ways to ease the negative effects of our mobile telephones. The simplest precaution is to keep the cell phone far from our bodies and use an earpiece while using them.

Some Owners of the Wrist-Worn Fitbit Activity Tracker Complain of Severe Skin Irritation

A photograph showing the wrist of Steven Adams, 31, of
Charleston, W. Va., which he said he took after wearing
his Fitbit Force for about a month.

Wearers of the Fitbit Force, a wrist-worn activity tracker that measures steps, stairs climbed, calories burned and sleep, are reporting severe skin irritation, including rashes, blisters and peeling skin.  Wearable devices, or so called wearables, with sensors that connect to a network or an app and collect data that can include sleep and heart rate, were hot items at last week's International CES, the annual technology trade show, in Las Vegas.

Some Fitbit Force Owners Complain Of Severe Skin Irritation
by Timothy Stenovec, timothy.stenovec@huffingtonpost.com, The Huffington Post, 13 January 2014

Some owners of the Fitbit Force, the company's latest wrist-worn activity tracker that measures steps, stairs climbed, calories burned and sleep, are reporting severe skin irritation, including rashes, blisters and peeling skin.

Some of these people, who have taken to Fitbit and Engadget online forums as well as to Twitter with complaints, have reported seeking medical care for injuries they say were caused by the band. Fitbit Force came out last fall and retails for $130.

Summary of the Risks of Cell Phone Use by Dr. Mercola

Following are extracts from Dr. Mercola’s excellent article on the risks of cell phone use. The article is available in Spanish (link at end of article).

Cell Phone Use Linked to Lower Grades, Anxiety, and Much Worse...
by Dr. Mercola, 19 December 2013

Mounting research raises tremendously important questions about the long-term safety of saturating ourselves in electromagnetic frequencies. As a result, at least a dozen countries around the world have begun to adopt a precautionary approach toward cell phone use and other wireless technologies.

For example, two years ago, a Council of Europe committee concluded that “immediate action was required to protect children” after examining the evidence.1 Russian officials have issued the recommendation that all children under the age of 18 should avoid using cell phones entirely. And the UK, Israel, Germany, India and Finland also urge citizens to err on the side of caution with respect to their children’s use of cell phones.

Most recently, Belgium adopted new cell phone regulations2 prohibiting the sale of mobile phones designed for, and marketed to children under the age of seven.3 The regulations take effect in March 2014. Retailers and internet marketers will also be required to disclose the specific absorption rate (SAR) of the phones they sell, and must display posters with recommendations for safer cell phone use.

U.S. Law Firm Representing Consumers in Cell Phone Radiation Lawsuits Applauds Groups' Call for New Cell Phone Radiation Standards

Re-posted:

Cell Phone Radiation Lawsuit News: Bernstein Liebhard LLP Applauds Groups’ Call for New Cell Phone Radiation Standards
New York, New York, PRWEB,  7 September 2013

View this excellent video on "cell phone cancer".

The Firm is actively filing cell phone radiation lawsuits on behalf of individuals who allegedly suffered brain tumors from cell phones

Bernstein Liebhard LLP, a nationwide law firm representing consumers in cell phone radiation lawsuits, (http://www.consumerinjurylawyers.com/cell-phone-radiation-lawsuit.html) applauds a new effort by a consortium of health and consumers groups to convince U.S. government regulators to revamp cell phone radiation standards. According to a statement issued on September 3rd, the Environmental Working Group and 11 other public interest organizations have written to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) urging them to update current protocols for wireless devices in order to better protect the health of children; update radiation standards to reflect actual patterns of use; and provide consumers with information about potential radiation exposure from specific phones and networks.*

Paul Brodeur, One of First Journalists to Write About the Adverse Health Effects of Microwave Radiation - Back in 1976

Paul Brodeur, the author of this book published
in 1977, was one of the first journalists to write
at length about the adverse health effects of
microwave radiation.

An evaluation of six major studies shows a possible association between wireless phone use and brain tumors. "What microwave radiation does in most simplistic terms is similar to what happens to food in microwaves, essentially cooking the brain."  Swedish scientists have determined that people who start using mobile phones before the age of 20 are experiencing more than a five-fold risk of developing malignant tumors of the brain, and a similar risk of developing tumors of the inner ear.

Excerpt from article "Paul Brodeur: I Never Said That Microwaves Take Nutrients Out Of Food, Despite 'American Hustle'"
by Christopher Rosen, The Huffington Post,

7 January 2014

Paul Brodeur's full statement to HuffPost [regarding the statement that he has written in a magazine that a microwave oven "takes all of the nutrition out of food"]:

In a piece entitled "17 Best Movie Moments of 2013" that appeared in the Huffington Post on January 6, 2014, Christopher Rosen, a senior entertainment editor, includes a trailer from the film "American Hustle,” which states that Paul Brodeur has written in a magazine that a microwave oven "takes all of the nutrition out of food." This is a serious error. I have never written in The New Yorker, where I was a staff writer for nearly forty years, or in any other magazine, or declared in any way that a microwave oven does any such thing. Indeed, I have publicly stated the opposite. (See People magazine, Vol. 9, No. 4, January 30, 1978.) However, I was the first journalist to write at length about the adverse health effects of microwave radiation (see The New Yorker, December 13 and 20, 1976, and books entitled The Zapping of America, W.W. Norton, 1977; Currents of Death, Simon and Schuster, 1989; and Secrets, A Writer in the Cold War, Faber and Faber, 1997.) I have also spoken publicly about the microwave radiation hazard.

Children's Use of Mobile Phones: Comparison of Use in Five Countries

“65% of children aged 8 to 18 have access to a mobile handset. Across the five countries, 12 is the most common age for a child to first own a mobile phone. However, there are significant variations by country; for example, in India and Japan it is more common for children to first own a phone when they are 15 years old, whereas in Chile, 10 is the most common age.” The discussion about safety issues includes topics on overuse of cell phones and inappropriate sites. There is no mention in this report of potential physical and mental health risks.

Following is a description of the report and the part of the Executive Summary on safer mobile use and the impact of mobile phone use on children’s lives.  The report in full is available here: Full report – English (PDF).  Executive summaries are available in English and Spanish (links at end of article).

Children’s use of mobile phones – An international comparison 2012
Published in 2013 by the GSM Association and the Mobile Society Research Institute within NTT DOCOMO Inc, Japan, in association with various telecoms operators, 13 May 2013

Children in a mobile world

Children around the globe are increasingly passionate users of mobile technology. Demonstrating a receptivity and enthusiasm that far exceeds those of their parents and teachers; they are embracing the opportunities provided by mobile phones in ways that could not have been predicted a decade ago.

Thyroid Cancer Rates on the Rise in Japanese Children, Experts Warn Residents to Evacuate Koriyama

Thyroid cancer rates on the rise in Japanese children, experts warn residents to evacuate
by L.J. Devon, Staff Writer, Natural News, 

8 January 2014

(NaturalNews) When Japanese Professor Toshihide Tsuda of Okayama University sat down with leaders from the Japanese Ministry of the Environment, talk about citywide evacuation near the Fukushima nuclear breakdown site began. Deeply concerned about rising thyroid cancer rates in Japanese children, these leaders believe that it's time to evacuate the city of Koriyama.

When the two spoke to Japanese government officials, their concerns were downplayed.
The Japanese government remains reluctant to evacuate the city, not wanting to scare citizens, but Professor Tsuda has begun urging residents to evacuate Koriyama anyway.

The epidemiology professor reports, "An incident rate of thyroid cancer on children in Fukushima are from several times to dozens times higher than usual. This is a rash of disease. There is a possibility [it will] increase more in [the] future and we need a countermeasure."

Mobile Phone Use in Children and Teens Translates to 5 Times Increase in Brain Cancer Rates

Mobile Phone Use in Children and Teens Translates to 5 Times Increase in Brain Cancer Rates
by April McCarthy, Guest Writer for Wake Up World,

6 January 2014

Research indicates children and teenagers are five times more likely to get brain cancer if they use mobile phones, and if today’s young people don’t reduce their use of wireless mobile devices, they may suffer an “epidemic” of the disease in later life.

In the United States, at least nine out of ten 16-year-olds have their own handset, as do more than 40 percent of primary schoolchildren.

Many scientists have claimed that the wave of mobile communications made popular in the last two decades will result in long-term health implications worldwide. An unprecedented level and frequency of tumor growth inside the human brain may be inevitable.

Health Effects of Chernobyl, 25 Years After the Reactor Catastrophe

"The genetic defects caused by Chernobyl will continue to trouble the world for a long time to come – most of the effects will not become apparent until the second or third generation.

"Even if the extent of the health effects is not yet clear, it can still be predicted that the suffering brought about by the nuclear disaster in Fukushima is, and will be, of a similar magnitude."

Following is the executive summary from this report, available here in full.
Health Effects of Chernobyl, 25 years after the reactor catastrophe

German Affiliate of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) and Society for Radiation Protection, April 2011

Authors:
Dr. rer. nat. Sebastian Pflugbeil, Society for Radiation Protection
Henrik Paulitz, IPPNW
Dr. med. Angelika Claussen, IPPNW
Prof. Dr. Inge Schmitz-Feuerhake, Society for Radiation Protection

Executive Summary

This paper evaluates studies that contain plausible indications of health damage caused by the Chernobyl catastrophe. The authors of this paper attach importance to the selection of methodically accurate and comprehensible analyses. Due to the already mentioned methodical difficulties, it is not our aim to present the “right” statistics in contrast to the obviously wrong ones given by the IAEA, since these can never be found. They can only supply us with indications as to the diversity and extent of the health effects we should be dealing with when we talk about the health effects of Chernobyl.

United States: Government Solicitation of Bids for Potassium Iodide Triggers Concerns of Fallout Danger

Government Solicitation of Bids for Potassium Iodide Triggers Concerns of Fallout Danger
Posted by: Rick Wells, 1st January 2014

A solicitation posted December 6th, on the Federal Business Opportunities website is seeking suppliers for 14 million doses of potassium iodide for delivery by February 1st, 2014. Quotes were due no later than Tuesday, December 23, 2013. An order of that nature, to be delivered in a relatively short period of time, could suggest that some recognition of a potential or existing hazard has taken place.

Potassium iodide offers protection in the aftermath of nuclear accidents by blocking radioactive iodine from being absorbed into the thyroid gland. The effects on from unprotected exposure to radiation or severe and life threatening.

The request specifies the form as “potassium iodide tablet, 65mg, unit dose package of 20s; 700,000 packages (of 20s).”

Current regulations do not require potassium iodide to be held in reserve for emergencies, although they recommend that states with populations within ten miles of a nuclear reactor maintain an adequate supply.

Chernobyl Fukushima Symposium: Arnoldshain, Germany, 4-7 March 2014

March 4th – 7th 2014: Chernobyl Fukushima Symposium with REAL independent experts
1st January 2014 by Mikkai, tekknorg



At this specialist symposium, doctors from Germany, America, Belarus, and other countries will share findings about the diseases as a result of the nuclear disasters at Chernobyl and Fukushima, and discuss medical treatment. This event is organized in cooperation with the Ecumenical Centre EKHN and the German section of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War , Physicians for Social Responsibility Association ( IPPNW / PSR) .

Contact: http://www.zentrum-oekumene-ekhn.de , E-MAIL martina.schreiber (at) zoe- ekhn.de

Venue:
Martin Niemöller House , AmEichwaldsfeld 3 (STREET), 61389 Schmitten / Arnoldshain (CITY), Germany

Dates:
Start: March 4th 2014 18:00 (6 pm)
End: march 7th .2014 13:00 (1 pm)

Target Audience: Physicians, scientists , environmentalists, and committed to initiatives that take care of the people from radiation- polluted areas in various ways.

Sign up until:   20 January 2014

The speakers will be translated into German and English.