Wireless Radiation Safety: 2019 Year in Review

Wireless Radiation Safety: 2019 Year in Review

saferemr.com, 26 December 2019

The three top wireless safety stories in 2019 were ...

1) widespread public opposition to the rollout of 5G;
2) revision of national and international radio frequency radiation exposure limits, and
3) cell phones that exceed the safety limits.

5G Deployment

The fifth generation of cellphone technology, 5G, was launched this year with fanfare and considerable hype. Hundreds of scientists and medical doctors opposed the rollout of this new technology due to the absence of safety testing.

Thousands of wireless safety advocates in the U.S. and many other nations have organized opposition to the deployment of this technology which requires installation of millions of “small cell” antennas.

In addition to microwaves, in many countries 5G for the first time will expose the population and environment to millimeter waves from cell antennas in their neighborhoods as well as a new generation of wireless devices.

Devra Davis. 5G: The Unreported Global Threat. Medium, May 18, 2019.

A Ridiculous Article in the WSJ: "Do You Protect Your iPhone?"

A ridiculous article in the WSJ? 
by Meris Michaels, Editor, "Towards Better Health", 26 December 2019

"Do You Protect Your iPhone? It's a Case Study that Divides Americans"
wsj.com, 22 December 2019

https://www.wsj.com/articles/do-you-protect-your-iphone-its-a-case-study-that-divides-americans-11577037328

1. "Protecting your iPhone?"  Is this more important than protecting yourself from exposure to the radiofrequency (RF)/ electromagnetic radiation it emits?  This would be the more responsible message that media should be sending to people.

2. One of the photos in the article does not set a good example of how to reduce exposure to the RF radiation emitted by these devices:  an iPhone held against the ear of a user.

Class action suits have recently been filed against Apple.  When Apple submitted its application to the FCC to market its iPhone7 it included a radiation statement, suggesting users carry it at least 5 mm from the body to ensure exposure levels remain at or below as-tested levels.
See "FeganScott Law Firm Confirms PhoneGate: New FCC-Accredited Lab Results Show Apple and Samsung Smartphone RF Radiation Levels Exceed Federal Limit"

3 of Top 4 Most Talked about Articles in JAMA Pediatrics Assessed Effects of Screen Time on Children or Adolescents

In 2019, three of the top four most talked about articles in JAMA Pediatrics assessed the effects of screen time on children or adolescents.
Dr. Joel Moscowitz, saferemr.com, 24 December 2019

(Access to full texts of articles available below via links.)

1) "Association of Screen Time and Depression in Adolescence"

"To our knowledge, the present study is the first to present a developmental analysis of variations in depression and various types of screen time. This study indicated that adolescents’ social media and television use should be regulated to prevent the development of depression and to reduce exacerbation of existing symptoms over time."

Association of Screen Time and Depression in Adolescence

2) "Associations Between Screen-Based Media Use and Brain White Matter Integrity in Preschool-Aged Children"

Sounding the Alarm About Wireless Radiation and 5G

Sounding the Alarm About Wireless Radiation and 5G
By the Children’s Health Defense Team, 20 December 2019

Science on the health risks of wireless radiation has been accumulating for decades. Heedless of the dangers, government and the telecommunications (“telecom”) industry continue to propagate wireless technologies and infrastructure, helped along by captive regulatory agencies and successful efforts—including legislative—to silence public debate about health effects.

At the same time, media campaigns and apps designed to addict the public—and especially children—have been effective in generating consumer enthusiasm. As a result, the wireless transformation has been hugely profitable. Wireless devices now outnumber Americans, and a majority of the population prefers mobile phones to “other popular products and activities” such as chocolate and dating. Since the fourth generation of wireless/cellular technology (4G) rolled out in 2010, there has been a 73-fold increase in mobile data use.

Captured Agency: How the Federal Communications Commission Is Dominated by the Industries It Presumably Regulates

Captured Agency: How the Federal Communications Commission Is Dominated by the Industries It Presumably Regulates - book review
by Norm Alster, 2015 - Published by: Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics Harvard University
Click here for full text of book.

Ever wonder who really runs Washington? Ever have the sense that the agencies which are supposed to regulate industry actually report to it? Ever get angry that Washington lawmakers and regulators seem more interested in protecting corporations than in protecting public health?

If so, you will want to read this fascinating account of how corporate technology interests have won inordinate access to—and power over—a major regulatory agency. The Federal Communications Commission sits at the heart of a bipartisan Washington web of institutional corruption that has for many years championed corporate interests, typically at public expense. Echoing industry, the FCC has ignored the growing evidence that wireless technologies pose serious health risks. It has indirectly taxed consumers billions to pay for the pet projects of tech executives and lobbyists. FCC policies have enabled cable companies to charge the highest rates in the world while forcing consumers to pay for channels they don’t want.

How can all this happen in a system where elected representatives approve and supervise regulatory officials? An online survey conducted for this project suggests that corporate interests have a huge ally in public ignorance of their most damaging (but obscure) triumphs and tactics.

https://alumni.columbia.edu/content/captured-agency-how-federal-communications-commission-dominated-industries-it-presumably

FCC says tests find cellphones comply with federal limits on radiofrequency radiation

FCC says tests find cellphones comply with federal limits on radiofrequency radiation
By Joe Mahr, Chicago Tribune, Dec 20, 2019

Responding to a Tribune investigation that found some popular cellphone models measured above federal limits for radiofrequency radiation, the Federal Communications Commission said this week that its own testing found all eight models it evaluated were in compliance.

The testing commissioned by the Tribune, conducted according to federal guidelines at an accredited laboratory in California, examined 11 cellphone models from four manufacturers. The phones were purchased new. Among other findings, the Tribune reported that all four Apple iPhone 7s tested yielded results exceeding the federal limit.

At the time, Apple disputed the results and said the lab used by the newspaper did not test the phones the same way it does.

Cell Phones are Not Tested Touching the Body: FCC Tests are Rigged.

Cell Phones are Not Tested Touching the Body: FCC Tests are Rigged. 

(8 mn., 20 December 2019)

Environmental Health Trust

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgL-VlR1Nuw

Are 5G-Enabled “Smart Ambulance” Tests Contributing to Multiple Deaths of UK Ambulance Workers?

Are 5G-Enabled “Smart Ambulance” Tests Contributing to Multiple Deaths of UK Ambulance Workers?
by Alison Main, takebackyourpower.net, 20 December 2019

As new 5G-enabled “smart ambulances” rush to the hospitals, we ask if they are also rushing patients and paramedics directly into a health crisis.

Futurists rejoice! It’s the dawn of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, where all your sci-fi dreams can and will come true. Or so the telecom industry would like you to believe. 5G is poised to revolutionize… well, everything. From video streaming to virtual gaming, the future is supposedly at hand.

We are being sold that healthcare is one of the top economic sectors to benefit from 5G technologies, from physician-to-physician consultations to at-home monitoring to video-based telemedicine. China has already conducted its first robot-assisted remote surgery (on animals) using Huawei’s 5G-network technologies. Chicago’s Rush University has teamed up with AT&T to become one of the first 5G test hospitals in the United States. And across the world, emergency response teams are testing 5G technologies to develop the “smart ambulance” and the “data-empowered paramedic” in order to revolutionize and transform patient care.

But what if 5G healthcare is its own health emergency?

Environmental Health Trust Newsletter

Click on the link here to access the latest newsletter from the Environmental Health Trust: 

"Major Breaking News on 5G and Cell Phones" :

https://ehtrust.org/about/

Articles include:

- "The High Risk of Wireless Tech in Schools"

- "French Authorities: Cell Phones Should be Tested at Body Contact"

- "Hospital Launches Initiative to Minimize Wireless Radiation Exposure to Children"

- "Worldwide Governments and US States Take Action on 5G"...

Dozens Of US Doctors & Scientists Ask Trump For A Moratorium On 5G Amid “Serious Impacts To Humans, Bees, Trees And Wildlife”

Dozens Of US Doctors & Scientists Ask Trump For A Moratorium On 5G Amid “Serious Impacts To Humans, Bees, Trees And Wildlife”POSTED BY: JACOB WOLINSKY, valuewalk.com, DEC 11, 2019

alcangel144 / Pixabay

A broad coalition of scientists, doctors and advocates sent a National 5G Resolution letter to President Trump demanding a moratorium on 5G until potential hazards for human health and the environment have been fully investigated by scientists independent from the telecom industry. The 5G Resolution was developed during the first three-day US medical conference fully dedicated to this topic, Electromagnetic Fields Conference on Diagnosis and Treatment, which convened in Scotts Valley, California in September.

The letter references the published scientific studies demonstrating harm to human health, bees trees and the environment from current wireless technology and posits that 5G will both increase exposure and add in new technology never safety tested for long-term exposure.

Cell Phone Radiation Damages DNA in Mice: Are Humans At Risk, Too?

Cell Phone Radiation Damages DNA in Mice: Are Humans At Risk, Too?
by Denise Mann, MS, Reader's Digest, Updated: Dec. 13, 2019

(Major U.S. media magazine: Total circulation (2018): 3,025,518)

A new study showed cell phone radiation caused DNA damage in rats and mice. Experts tell us what this means for us humans, who are using our phones more than ever.

Ivan Smuk/Shutterstock

Most Americans (96%) have a cell phone these days and we check it 52 times a day on average, with 75% of us admitting to rarely or seldom turning it off. That all adds up to a lot of time spent with our phones. So a recent animal study from the National Toxicology Program (NTP) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services showing that cell phone radiation caused significant increases in DNA damage in lab mice and rats is raising questions once again about what cell phone radiation might be doing to humans.

DNA damage in rats and mice

Geneva: Workshop on Electrosmog - 25 January 2020

Two workshops on electrosmog, one in English (25 January), one in French (18 January), will be presented in January 2020, by Linda Orr-Easo, of Beatha. 

Electrosmog: WiFi, mobile phones, Smart Meters, etc.

What are the risks to our health and the measures we can take?

Description:

An informative and practical workshop, based on real examples. We will cover the key risk factors, the possible health symptoms, and will provide suggested measures to reduce our risk. We will focus on simple, concrete actions that we can integrate into our daily lives, without entering into highly technical aspects.

When 6th graders can access rape porn on their smartphones, school becomes toxic

When 6th graders can access rape porn on their smartphones, school becomes toxic
No 11-year-old should have to deal with, or even know, about things like this.
By Destiny Herndon-De La Rosa, Opinion/Commentary, dallasnews.com/, 12 Decenber 2019

On a recent Sunday afternoon, my daughter and I were driving to the grocery store when she said from the back seat, “I’m having this weird feeling. It’s like I feel guilty, but I haven’t done anything wrong.”

We were passing a Catholic Church when she said this, so I jokingly told her I could drop her off for confession. She reminded me we’re not Catholic. Then I told her how her sister used to write me notes when she had something weighing on her.

GBM Incidence Rates Relatively Steady in U.S. and Canada Unlike the Doubling Seen in England

GBM Incidence Rates Relatively Steady in U.S. and Canada
Unlike the Doubling Seen in England
microwavenews.com, 13 December 2019

The incidence of glioblastoma multiforme, GBM, the most aggressive type of brain tumor, though rising slowly over the last 20 years, has not jumped up in the U.S. and Canada, as it has in England and a number of other northern European countries, according to a new analysis of national brain tumor registry data.

Between 1995 and 2015, GBM rates went up 10% in the U.S. and 26% in Canada. In contrast, the increase in England over the same period was 110%.

United States: Supreme Court Rejects Cell Phone Industry Challenge To Berkeley Ordinance

Supreme Court Rejects Cell Phone Industry Challenge To Berkeley Ordinance
Op-Ed by Dr. Devra Davis, ibtimes.com, 10 December 2019

The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a free-speech challenge brought by the CTIA, telecom industry trade group, against a Right to Know law issued by the Berkeley California City Government that requires cell phone retailers to inform customers that phones emit radiation that can exceed limits when close to the body. Previously, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court en banc upheld the Berkeley ordinance concluding that the public health issues at hand were “substantial” and that the “text of the Berkeley notice was literally correct.”

In 2011 and again in 2015 I testified on behalf of the Berkeley citizens in this case. Four years later, this monumental moment is a sweet victory for the fearless Town Council, its hard-working citizens, advisors like the unintimidatable Joel Moskowitz, Ellie Marks, Lloyd Morgan and Harvard Law Professor Lawrence Lessig who argued the case pro bono. Lessig helped craft the elegantly drafted law after an earlier effort by San Francisco fell victim to industry legal machinations.

United States: Berkeley's Cell-Phone Health Warning Survives Supreme Court Challenge

Message from Dr. Joel Moscowitz, Director of the Center for Family and Community Health at the School of Public Health, UC Berkeley:

"In a major victory for consumer rights and public health, the U.S. Supreme Court today rejected a free speech challenge filed by the CTIA--The Wireless Association against the City of Berkeley's "cell phone right to know law" which the Berkeley City Council unanimously adopted in 2015. Thus, the ruling by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that the law is constitutional enables the city to continue to enforce the law which requires cell phone retailers to notify prospective customers about cell phone manufacturers' safety guidelines to ensure consumer safety."

Text of ordinance:

"The City of Berkeley requires that you be provided the following notice: 

To assure safety, the Federal Government requires that cell phones meet radio frequency (RF) exposure guidelines. If you carry or use your phone in pants or shirt pocket or tucked into a bra when the phone is ON and connected to a wireless network, you may exceed the federal guidelines for exposure to RF radiation. Refer to the instructions in your phone or user manual for information about how to use your phone safely.”


Berkeley’s cell-phone health warning survives Supreme Court challenge
by Bob Egelko, sfchronicle.com, Dec. 9, 2019

The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a telecommunications industry challenge Monday to Berkeley’s requirement that cell-phone retailers warn customers about the possible radiation dangers of holding the phones close to their bodies.

(Photo:) This July 10, 2019, photo shows an Associated Press reporter holding a phone showing the Facebook Messenger app in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Photo: Jeff Chiu / Associated Press

United States: Ericsson Agrees to Pay Over $1 Billion to Resolve FCPA Case

“Ericsson’s corrupt conduct involved high-level executives and spanned 17 years and at least five countries, all in a misguided effort to increase profits,” said Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Such wrongdoing called for a strong response from law enforcement, and through a tenacious effort with our partners in the Southern District of New York, the SEC, and the IRS, today’s action not only holds Ericsson accountable for these schemes, but should deter other companies from engaging in similar criminal conduct.”

Ericsson Agrees to Pay Over $1 Billion to Resolve FCPA Case
Ericsson Subsidiary Pleads Guilty to FCPA Violations

U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, Press Release, 6 December 2019

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (Ericsson or the Company), a multinational telecommunications company headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, has agreed to pay total penalties of more than $1 billion to resolve the government’s investigation into violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) arising out of the Company’s scheme to make and improperly record tens of millions of dollars in improper payments around the world. This includes a criminal penalty of over $520 million and approximately $540 million to be paid to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in a related matter. An Ericsson subsidiary pleaded guilty today for its role in the scheme.

United States: FeganScott Law Firm Confirms PhoneGate: New FCC-Accredited Lab Results Show Apple and Samsung Smartphone RF Radiation Levels Exceed Federal Limit

FeganScott Law Firm Confirms PhoneGate: New FCC-Accredited Lab Results Show Apple and Samsung Smartphone RF Radiation Levels Exceed Federal Limit
Equipe Phonegate 8 Dec 2019

We are relaying the press release just published by the law firm Fegan Scott. We observe with great interest that they now use the term “PhoneGate” in the title of their release.

SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Dec 6, 2019–

National consumer-rights law firm FeganScott consolidated its two proposed class action suits against Apple (AAPL) and Samsung Electronics (SSNLF) after independent testing from a Federal Communications Commission-accredited laboratory confirmed that radio-frequency (RF) radiation levels from popular Apple and Samsung smartphones far exceeded federal limits when the devices are used as marketed by the manufacturers.

Beth Fegan, managing partner of FeganScott and the attorney representing the consolidated suit, which was filed after the firm hired the industry-recognized lab, says that smartphone manufacturers must take responsibility for misleading consumers about the levels of RF radiation emitted by their smartphones when used against or in close proximity to the user’s skin.

United States: 5G Coming to Your Neighborhood?

5G Coming to Your Neighborhood?

by Sharon Buccino, nrdc.org (Natural Resources Defense Council), 6 December 2019

Here's What You Need to Know

The next generation of wireless technology—5G—is dramatically different from previous versions. The 5G technology will enable more data to be carried more quickly, but in many places relies on low waves of the electromagnetic spectrum. As a result, its signal does not travel as far requiring the construction of thousands of new cells to repeat the wireless signals to make 5G work. As companies like AT&T, Verizon and Sprint construct these new small cell wireless facilities in communities across the country, citizens are organizing to ensure this infrastructure is built in a way that protects their health and quality of life. As communities face a flood of applications for this new wireless infrastructure, many want to know what laws and regulations govern 5G. Here’s some information that may help. 

 
Q: Who is responsible for setting health standards for new cell towers and other wireless infrastructure?

United States: FCC Says 5G Doesn’t Pose New Cellphone-Radiation Threats

WSJ article on FCC's decision not to change current exposure limits. At end of article, you will find extracts from "TR Daily: FCC Maintains Existing RF Exposure Limits" by Paul Kirby, reprinted with the permission of the TR Daily.

FCC Says 5G Doesn’t Pose New Cellphone-Radiation Threats
Agency maintains existing limits on radiation exposure from cellphones, network equipment
By Sarah Krouse, wsj.com, Dec. 5, 2019 

Federal safety limits for cellphone-radiation exposure have
been a matter of debate. Photo: Justin Lane/EPA/Shutterstock

The Federal Communications Commission has decided to allow the rollout of new 5G wireless networks without making changes to federal safety limits for cellphone-radiation exposure.

The U.S. telecommunications regulator voted unanimously this week to keep in place standards for how much exposure to the radio-frequency energy cellphones and antennas emit is safe. The standards cover consumer devices and the infrastructure used on cell towers and rooftops.

The FCC said it found no basis for changing current exposure limits and took to heart the Food and Drug Administration’s comments that the weight of scientific evidence hadn’t linked cellphones to health problems.

Siting Cell Towers Needs Careful Planning

Siting cell towers needs careful planning

Date:December 3, 2019

Source:Michigan Technological University

Journal Reference:
J.M. Pearce. Limiting liability with positioning to minimize negative health effects of cellular phone towers. Environmental Research, 2019; 108845 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2019.108845

Summary:The health impacts of radio-frequency radiation (RFR) are still inconclusive, but the data to date warrants more caution in placing cell towers. An engineering team considers the current understanding of health impacts and possible solutions, which indicate a 500-meter (one third of a mile) buffer around schools and hospitals may help reduce risk for vulnerable populations.

No one can overengineer like an engineer. So introducing a little more caution into an existing engineering process is nothing much to ruffle feathers. A new paper published in Environmental Research offers insight on how to include simple precautionary approaches to siting cell towers.

Phonegate: [Press release] Users warned about 3 French mobile phone models from 3 manufacturers

This warning most certainly concerns users who have purchased these 3 models from the brands BlackBerry, Doro and Selecline in other European countries.

[Press release] Users warned about 3 French mobile phone models from 3 manufacturers
Equipe Phonegate 5 Dec 2019

Our analysis of the National Frequencies Agency (ANFR) database revealed that 3 smartphone models controlled in 2018 and 2019 by ANFR and announced as having a “compliant” trunk specific absorption rate (SAR) were tested more than 5mm from the skin. This is confirmed by the extract from the database below. We therefore wrote to ANFR in August 2019 to inform them of this apparent anomaly in view of the test results and ask for explanations.

Unscrupulous application of the principle of anteriority of the law

Swiss govt working group suggests more investments in 5G network, monitoring effects of radiation on health

Swiss govt working group suggests more investments in 5G network, monitoring effects of radiation on health
telecompaper.com, 2 December 2019

The mobile communications and radiation working group of the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment has published a report on the expansion of 5G and its impact on health. The report noted that the consequences on health of radio frequencies under the limits established in the regulation on protection against non-ionising radiation (NISV) have not been consistently proven. At the same time, science and practice have given different opinions on the effects that occur below the values.

To supply a "good quality" 5G network, the working group said one option would be to build another 26,500 antennas. Their construction would take 20 to 30 years and cost CHF 7.9 billion, with CHF 2.1 billion going on operation of the network over five years.

U.S. Phonegate? Cell Phone Safety Guidelines Exceeded in Study…Lawsuit Follows

U.S. Phonegate? Cell Phone Safety Guidelines Exceeded in Study…Lawsuit Follows
mdsafetech.org (Physicians for Safe Technology), 29 November 2019

FCC Safety Guidelines Were Exceeded in Chicago Tribune Cell Phone Tests

The Chicago Tribune recently investigated cell phone safety by testing 11 models of popular cell phones, both according to the manufacturers recommended distance from the head (5 to15 mm), as well as in a manner consistent with how they are used, i.e. close to the head. The accredited lab found that with some of the phones the levels exceeded the FCC guidelines both at recommended positions and in close proximity to the body. A class action lawsuit was filed against Apple and Samsung by a group of lawyers in California, Illinois and Iowa who state the manufacturers “intentionally misrepresented” the safety of these phones. The attorneys argue that numerous scientific publications show that radiofrequency radiation exposure affects living organisms at levels well below international guidelines. These RF guidelines are based only on heating of tissues, not demonstrated complex biological effects. Dr. Lennart Hardell points out in his research that increased usage of both cell phones and cordless phones, which emit fairly similar radiation levels, is associated with brain tumors. If the lawsuit is found valid will this be the Phonegate of the United States?

French Phonegate: 2017

Phonegate Health Scandal: We are asking, along with 6 other organizations, to be received by the Government

Phonegate health scandal: we are asking, along with 6 other organizations, to be received by the Government

by Phonegate Team, 27 Nov 2019 - translation

On November 8, 2019, Marianne magazine published on its website our open letter to Ministers Agnès Buzyn, Elisabeth Borne and Bruno Le Maire signed with six other associations working to protect public health. Since then there has been complete silence and our request has not received any response from the ministers concerned.

The signatory associations, including Alerte Phonegate, therefore decided to write to them collectively on 26 November 2019 to ask them to receive us urgently, in any case before the scheduled meeting with mobile phone manufacturers (date not yet made public).

We hope to be heard this time and in the meantime we are counting on you to help us increase the pressure by signing our petition to protect the health of mobile phone users.

Read the letter:

Protection of the health of users overexposed to mobile phone waves: the appeal from our associations to the government!

Switzerland: Shame on Roger Federer for Advertising in Favor of 5G Technology!

The Swiss tennis champ, Roger Federer, has been advertising in favor of 5G technology.  We sent him this letter last year.  He never replied.

Dear Mr. Federer,

We are extremely disappointed that you have accepted to participate in advertising in favor of 5G technology.

You have small children and should be aware that this technology will be adding to the health effects of radiofrequency radiation (RFR) already being emitted by previous technologies, 2G, 3G, 4G. Children, with their smaller, developing bodies, are especially vulnerable to this type of radiation.

Your advertising is also in direct contradiction to the democratic vote of the Swiss Parliament – and the voice of the people - last year not to raise limit values of mobile phone antennas as a requirement for the launch of 5G.

The presence of billions of connected objects will make us more stressed, vulnerable to cybercrime, disconnected and poisoned by RF radiation. Health services will be under pressure to cope with a pandemic of diseases resulting from increased exposure. The economy will be affected by rising health costs and lost productivity at work.