Industry Canada Wi-Fi Case Study:Why do the radiation levels look so low?

$ndustry Canada serves the $ndustry. Its mandate is: “to help make Canadian $ndustry more product$ve and compet$t$ve in the global economy”. Health concern is not its priority. http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/icgc.nsf/eng/h_00018.html

Industry Canada conducted a “WiFi case study” in May 2012. This study has been cited by pro-WiFi parties to advertise “WiFi safety” in schools. However, we have found that this study does not provide any meaningful data applicable to the kind and level of radiation which children are subject to in a classroom situation.

Here is the study: http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/smt-gst.nsf/vwapj/Wifi-e.pdf/$FILE/Wifi-e.pdf 

• There is NO near-field measurement of the user's exposure level from a downloading/uploading laptop. Remember: Children in schools use laptops, ipads and hand-held wireless devices in DIRECT contact with their bodies. In the Industry Canada report, there was no clear description of the user's distance from the laptop. They wrote: "RF exposure levels for one laptop connected to AP2 in uploading mode at a preselected measurement location with the tri-axis antenna positioned at a height of 1.25 metres". Their diagram on page10 shows that those preselected measurement locations (named P1-P12) do not correspond to users' seating locations.

• The only near-field measurement presented was 20cm from an AP (router) and the numbers were high.
  E.g. 8b) RF exposure levels from 5150 to 5350 MHz with the tri-axis antenna positioned at 20 cm from AP1:
  "Average measurement" was 6.679538% of SC6. At this frequency range the SC6 limit is 50 W/m2, i.e. 5000 µW/cm2. The measurement recorded was, therefore, 339.769 µW/cm2 ! The maximum measurement was 10.585600% of SC6 limit, i.e. 529.28 µW/cm2 .
  * See Biological Effects recorded in scientific studies from power density levels of 0.0000000001 μW/cm2 and up: http://www.hese-project.org/hese-uk/en/niemr/power_density_effects.pdf
• When this case study report referred to measurements during the uploading/downloading of a certain number of laptops (page 36-37; 5b, 6b, 7b), there was only one preselected measurement location – P7, which was in the middle of the room, not close to ANY particular user (see diagram on page 10).
• On page 14 it is written: "3b) Spatial- and time-averaged RF exposure levels from 2.4 to 5.825 GHz at the location with the highest levels found from 1b and 2b. Health Canada’s Safety Code 6 states that for situations in which the exposure intensity varies significantly with time within a period of 6 minutes, time-averaging values must be calculated from multiple measurements. Safety Code 6 also states that spatial averaging (from a nine-point matrix) over the projected surface area (flat plane) equivalent to the head and the body region of a person shall be measured if the localized values vary by more than 20%."
  Not only did Industry Canada average out the time exposure, they also averaged out the "spatial" exposure. First of all, the points on that nine-point matrix might not be the points where the microwave beams hit, and if one or two points happen to be where the beams go through, that high level of measurement will be "averaged" down by the other matrix points which have no contact to the beams. This is similar to describing the force of a car that has crashed into another object in the following ways:

1. Reporting the speed of the car as an average speed over 6 minutes - a combined average speed of the top speed (150 km/hr when the car crashed) and the 0 km/hr speed while the car was stationary.
2. Reporting the force that the impacted object received, by averaging the force received over a 9-point matrix, including matrix points where the object had actual contact with the crashing car (strong force) AND the points where the object had no contact with the crashing car (zero force).

The resulting published figures will look extremely low but unfortunately, DO NOT represent the actual level of radiation that students are subject to.
Most important of all, the data obtained from this case study refer to Health Canada's Safety Code 6 (should be renamed: Danger Code 6). Health Canada's SC-6 is based on short-term acute exposure, and is only concerned about whether the exposure causes a rise in the person's body temperature. (Imagine the health authority announcing that cigarette smoking poses no harm until it rots your teeth. It is that irrelevant.) SC6 is an outdated and obsolete guideline which ignores all the science that has demonstrated biological effects resulting from pulsed RF microwave exposure at much, much lower levels than official thresholds. Health Canada also has no data of long-term health effects resulting from chronic, cumulative exposure, such as what is now imposed on school children for 6 hours a day, 5 days a week, for decade+ in public education.
Another irrelevant study which the Chief Medical Officer and School Boards erroneously use to demonstrate the “Safety” of WiFi: http://www.safeinschool.org/2012/04/bc-chief-medical-officer-dr-perry.html

Posted By SafeinSchool.Org

PLEASE COME to Greater Victoria SD61 WiFi Committee Meeting - Wed Oct 17 at 4:30pm

Scientists plead with Victoria School District to Protect Children from Wireless Technology in Schools

Yet another qualified expert has written the Victoria School Board re Wi-Fi technology (microwave radiation) and the extreme risk it poses to children’s health. This technology has NEVER been proven safe and its ubiquitous use in schools clearly uses children as guinea pigs for this type of all day exposure.  Parents have the right to say NO to this 2b carcinogen for their children. Safer hard wired solutions are already found in most schools and do not emit microwave radiation at close proximity 6 hours daily, 5 days a week!

Please, for the protection of all our children, listen to what the Scientists all over the world are saying about the very real threat in our schools.

Join us on Wednesday, October 17th,  4:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the Victoria School Board Office, 556 Boleskine Road and to show the Wi-Fi Committee that we are saying NO to Wi-Fi Transmitters in our schools and YES to Safer Hard Wired Solutions ! 

Tammy Jeske and Janis Hoffmann
Parent Advocates for Safe Schoolsparentsforsafeschools@gmail.com

Dr. David O. Carpenter, M.D Worries About the Biological Effects of Wireless Technology in Schools http://www.defenderpad.com/growing-concern-of-the-wifi-radiation-impact-on-children/

Toronto Sun: Physician Group adds weight to warnings of Wi-Fi in School (Oct 5, 2012):

http://www.torontosun.com/2012/10/05/physician-group-adds-weight-to-warnings-of-wi-fi-in-schools

Dr. Martin Blank (Columbia University): 2012 Letter to Victoria WiFi Committee.
http://goo.gl/fTYw6


Dr. David O. Carpenter (State University of New York): Letter to WiFi Committee of SD61.
http://goo.gl/NPO8N


Dr. Magda Havas (Trent University): Open Letter to Parents, Teachers, School Boards regarding WiFi Networks in Schools.
http://goo.gl/zG8sU


Dr. Olle Johansson (Karolinska Institutet): Letter to Board of Education, Greater Victoria School District 61.
http://goo.gl/2A2dN

WiFi and Cellphone Radiation: Fast Track to Humanity's Genetic Dead End

Generation X'd Out:
An end to the human race as we've known it?

Babies born to GENERATION X-RAY may be on the fast track to humanity's genetic DEAD END.

By Amy Worthington

Scientists warn that a pregnant woman using a cell phone, with or without a headset or bluetooth device, could cause her to place the transmitting phone near her abdomen, exposing her baby to dangerous levels of microwave radiation. Both the pelvic structure and amniotic fluids promote the deep penetration of microwaves, which can be easily absorbed by the fetus.

The term "Generation X-ray" refers to youth addicted to communicating and recreating with wireless devices - cell phones, PDAs, WiFi computers and music/gaming equipment. These wireless devices emit high-frequency microwave radiation, recently demonstrated by European researchers to efficiently inflict the same horrific damage on human cells as X-radiation.

Surveys reveal that the average American child under 18 now spends several hours a day irradiating himself with his cell phone "toy." Meantime, Swedish scientists report that children and teens who use cell phones are up to five times more likely than non-users to suffer glioma brain cancer. Gliomas are among the most difficult to treat and deadly of human cancers. Children who use cordless household phones have over four times the risk of developing brain tumors. The far-reaching health hazards to children and teens from wireless technology are well-documented in part one of this Idaho Observer series: Generation X-ray: Child Victims of Technological Abuse. While the European Parliament and governments around the world are calling for stricter limits on wireless exposure for kids, Gen X-ray continues to ride the down escalator towards disintegrating health and premature death.

Most tragically, because our young people have received no official warning from U.S health agencies, they unknowingly micro-cook their sperm, ova and fetuses with a radiation known to be just as mutagenic and teratogenic as gamma wave radiation from nuclear fallout. The science is clear. Babies born to the hard-core wireless generation will suffer a high probability of genetic corruption from their very seed.

 ...

DNA is the crux of the matter

For the sake of human survival, mankind must quickly master this critical fact: modern wireless technology is capable of causing the genetic destruction of humans as a species. Microwave radiation used for wireless communications and surveillance is extremely injurious to human DNA. It is therefore also destructive to both the human genome and the epigenetic chemical switches which control expression of the genes. Below is visual proof, as determined by the **REFLEX** studies, published in 2004 by the European Commission.

- Slide one (top left) shows a normal healthy cell under magnification. This cell is a bright energetic little orb with its DNA and other genetic materials safely inside the cell membrane. It represents the cells of healthy, non-irradiated children of generations past.

- Slide two (top right) shows a living cell exposed to 1600 chest X-rays. This cell is shrunken and has lost its energetic brightness. Trailing behind it are its genetic guts, spilling through the cell membrane as little particles that look like a comet trail against the dark background. These DNA fragments are called micronuclei, typical mutations from excessive X-rays, or from gamma waves of nuclear detonation.

- Slide three (bottom) shows a cell exposed to 24 hours of cell phone radiation. This cell's comet tail of micronuclei splat is identical to that of ionizing X-ray damage. The microwave frequency used by REFLEX scientists to micronucleate this cell was 1.8 gigahertz (1800 megahertz), comparable to 1.9 gigahertz frequency blasting from both personal wireless communications devices and the base stations which service them.

Besides the REFLEX work, there are an additional 17 published scientific papers documenting abnormal changes in DNA exposed to cell phone radiation and other frequencies in the microwave bands.3 Microwave radiation-defined as electromagnetic waves ranging from 300 million hertz to 300 billion hertz-brutalizes human cells by vibrating tissues at incredible speeds. The fragile molecules and chemical bonds of DNA cannot withstand being whipped back and forth at millions or billions of times per second. Microwaving the DNA could be described as a cellular version of **shaken baby syndrome.**

...

A history lesson is valuable here

Since the Cold War, the U.S. government has known that microwaves are genetically hazardous. Beginning in 1953 and continuing intermittently for about three decades, the Russian Soviets used microwaves to covertly attack the U.S. embassy staff in Moscow, Russia. The ongoing irradiation campaign affected about 1,800 employees and 3,000 dependents housed at the embassy during this period.35

The Russians targeted the U.S. embassy with 2.4 to 4.1 gigahertz, a range within the same realm of frequencies blasting from America's wireless cell phones, in-house cordless phones, wireless computers, WiFi systems and cell towers. The Russians mainly used a power density of around 5 to 18 microwatts per square centimeter (5-18 uW/cm2).

In the mid 1970s, a Johns Hopkins medical team under direction of Dr. Abraham Lilienfield was commissioned by the U.S. State Department to study the health effects of the Moscow irradiation on our embassy staffers. The draft report documented numerous symptoms of radiation poisoning, including immune system disorders, high white blood cell counts, chronic fatigue, blurred vision, cataracts and muscle aches. Information on cancer was deliberately withheld from the Lilienfield team, but it was later reported that cancer incidence among embassy staff was four times normal.37

Most individuals among the irradiated staff were protected by the stone structure of the embassy building and therefore they received an estimated average of only 0.19 uWatts/cm2. Nevertheless, reproductive problems among the irradiated Moscow personnel included abnormal red and white blood cells, above average chromosomal aberrations, higher than normal rates of miscarriage plus pregnancy complications.38 Embassy staff with blood abnormalities were advised not to conceive children until six months after their somatic levels had returned to normal in a non-irradiated environment.39

Read more: http://www.opednews.com/articles/Microwave-Technology--An-by-davidmorrison-081208-202.html

Victoria School Board Trustee Speaks out on WiFi and Children, Calls for Precaution.

October 17: SD61 WiFi K-5 and the Precautionary Principle by Diane McNally, Victoria School Board Trustee (Oct 10, 2012):
 
Trust us. It’s perfectly safe.

I’m thinking of Health Canada, WHO (World Health Organization), and Dr. Perry Kendall, BC Provincial Health Officer. (For more on WHO and Kendall’s way of thinking, see this month’s Focus Magazine article “Will a flu shot keep you healthy? “ by Alan Cassels. About more than the flu shot, the article explores the often less than transparent way health policy is developed. Regarding WHO and the declared H1N1 “pandemic”, the committee that made the decision and thus caused billions to be spent on vaccine orders was “stacked with scientists who had ties to drug companies”. WHO is obviously a compromised and far from impartial agency.)

And remember these: Thalidomide. Vioxx. Fen-Phen. Asbestos. Electroshock. DDT. X-raymachines in children’s shoe departments. All “safe” – and the list is a lot longer – until they weren’t.

On October 17, School District 61′s Wifi Committee will reconvene after a long hiatus for one meeting only, apparently. GVTA teachers’ non-attendance at the meetings during job action has been pointed to as the reason for the long break. However, the Greater Victoria Teachers’ Association submitted a member ratified final document in January 2011, supporting the Precautionary Principle.

The Precautionary Principle states that if an action or policy has a risk of causing harm, in the absence of scientific consensus that the action or policy is harmful, the burden of proof that it is not harmful falls on those taking the action. In some legal systems, as in the law of the European Union, the application of the Precautionary Principle has been made a legal requirement.

The Toronto Sun reported on October 5, 2012: “Schools should not install wireless Internet systems because the technology is linked to learning disabilities, headaches and immune system deficiencies, according to an international association of physicians.The American Academy of Environmental Medicine, which is holding a conference on the brain and nervous system this week in Florida, says safer alternatives should be used instead of Wi-Fi.”

The Swiss Government has issued cautions in regard to wireless radiation emitted by baby monitors, cell phones, laptops, and tablets.

I am committed to implementation of the Precautionary Principle in SD61 in regard to WiFi in K-5 schools, as neighbouring Saanich School District has done after reviewing the research – no wifi K-5 for student use in Saanich Schools....

Read more: http://lined-paper.com/category/wifi/
 
A simple and important Video explaining Wi-Fi technology for parents, teachers and administrators
Oct 1, 2012
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=vJWFHYBGCSQ


Physician group adds weight to warnings of Wi-Fi in schools
Oct 5, 2012, Toronto Sun.
http://www.torontosun.com/2012/10/05/physician-group-adds-weight-to-warnings-of-wi-fi-in-schools

 
Italian consumer group warns of Wi-Fi health risks on trains
10 October 2012, CET News
"A survey conducted by Italian consumers association Condacons, conducted on Frecciarossa trains from Trenitalia and high-speed NTV trains, claims that Wi-Fi connections on trains represent a threat to the health of passengers. Exposure to magnetic and electromagnetic waves on Italian trains equipped with the internet system 'exceeds the limits set by law'. Electromagnetic waves detected on Frecciarossa exceeded the limit by 588 percent and on the Italo trains the situation is even worse, with an excess of 6,800 percent. Condacons has subsequently presented a complaint to prosecutors in Milan, Turin, Bologna, Florence and Rome."
http://www.telecompaper.com/news/italian-consumer-group-warns-of-wi-fi-health-risks-on-trains

What do Experts say about WiFi and Children?

(1) Safe School 2012: Report by doctors, doctor's associations and international scientists calling for the protection of children against the health effects of Wi-Fi and cellphone radiation. A must-read by parents and teachers!

http://wifiinschools.org.uk/resources/safeschools2012.pdf

(2) Dr. Dariusz Leszczynski - Research Professor at STUK (Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority, Finland): 

As a member on the May 2011 Expert Panel of the World Health Organization's International Agency on the Research of Cancer (IARC) which classified RF-EMF as a 2B Possible Carcinogen to Humans, Dr. Leszczynski wrote on Washington Times,

"In summary, IARC classification:

· justifies implementation of the Precautionary Principle [Editor: this means we should take preventive measures NOW.]

· confirms existence of non-thermal effects that can cause health risk [Editor: this debunked Health Canada's theory that electromagnetic radiation only causes thermal effects, i.e.rise in body temperature.]

· indicate that current safety standards are insufficient to protect health of the users” [Editor: Health Canada's standards, which follows ICNIRP standards, is outdated, obsolete, and inadequate for protecting our children's health. ]

http://betweenrockandhardplace.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/23-implications-of-iarc-classification-that-are-not-spoken-aloud.pdf

(3) The Austrian Medical Association:

"Wi-Fi environments will lead to high microwave exposure for students and teachers which might increase the burden of oxidative stress. Oxidative stress might slow down the energy production especially in brain cells and may lead e.g. to concentration difficulties and memory problems in certain individuals. The Austrian Medical Association recommends Wi-Fi free school environments."

http://wifiinschools.org.uk/resources/safeschools2012.pdf

(4) Israel's Deputy Health Minister Yaakov Litzman implored Education Minister Gideon Sa’ar to immediately suspend the installation of wireless Internet in schools due to the hazards of electromagnetic radiation.

http://www.timesofisrael.com/stop-wi-fi-in-schools-deputy-health-minister-implores/

(5) Russian National Committee on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (RNCNIRP): "Electromagnetic radiation from Wi-Fi creates an additional burden for the child brain, whose body is in a state of development and the formation of mental activity. During this period, children are most susceptible to adverse environmental factors (WHO, publication number 3, April 2003)... [RNCNIRP] recommend the usage of wired networks in schools and educational institutions, rather than a network using wireless broadband systems, including Wi-Fi."

http://www.emfacts.com/2012/06/wi-fi-recommendations-from-the-russian-national-committee-on-non-ionizing-radiation-protection-rncnirp/

(6) Switzerland's Physicians for the Environment (MfE): " the risk of cancer for this type of [wireless] radiation is thus similar to that of the insecticide DDT, rightly banned... From the medical point of view, it is urgent to apply the precautionary principle for mobile telephony, wifi, power lines, etc.” 

http://www.aefu.ch/typo3/fileadmin/user_upload/aefu-data/b_documents/Aktuell/M_120322_NIS.pdf

(7) The American Academy of Environmental Medicine: "Adverse health effects, such as learning disabilities, altered immune responses, headaches, etc. from wireless radio frequency fields do exist and are well documented in the scientific literature. Safer technology, such as using hard-wiring, must be seriously considered in schools for the safety of those susceptible individuals who may be affected by this phenomenon. "

http://aaemonline.org/wifischool.html

(8) The American Academy of Pediatrics:

The American Academy of Pediatricians (AAP) represents “60,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists, and pediatric surgical specialists".
"Children are disproportionately affected by environmental exposures, including cell phone radiation.  The differences in bone density and the amount of fluid in a child’s brain compared to an adult’s brain could allow children to absorb greater quantities of RF energy deeper into their brains than adults.  It is essential that any new standards for cell phones or other wireless devices be based on protecting the youngest and most vulnerable populations to ensure they are safeguarded through their lifetimes... Many more people, especially adolescents and young adults, now use cell phones as their only phone line, and they begin using wireless phones at much younger ages.  Despite these dramatic changes in mobile phone technology and behavior, the FCC [same standard as Health Canada] has not revisited the standard for cell phone radiation exposure since 1996... the current exposure limits may not reflect the latest research on RF energy, and that current mobile phone testing requirements may not identify maximum RF energy exposure. "
http://kucinich.house.gov/uploadedfiles/aap_support_letter_cell_phone_right_to_know_act.pdf

(9) UK EM Radiation Research Trust: 

“Previous Chairman for the UK Health Protection Agency and previous Chief Scientific Advisor to Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair’s government appeared on a National TV investigation on wifi and stated that he could not rule out the possibility that there may be biological effects, adding that this means there may be changes in cognitive function and indications that there may be cancer inductions along with molecular biology changes within the cell. ”

http://citizensforsafetechnology.org/Letter-to-Dr-Perry-Kendall,19,2531

(10) S. Foster MSW, Advisor, Radiation Research Trust (U.S.): 

"I organized a brain study of firefighters, men who are considered to be the strongest of the strong among us, in California in 2004. They had been exposed to a cell tower beaming across their working/sleeping quarters for 5+ years. Each of the men who had their brains scanned showed a hyper-excitability of the neurons, or brain cells. This is considered to be a precursor to early cell death and potentially early onset Parkinson's, ALS, and Alzheimer's. Now, 8 years later, two of the men have had psychotic breaks with reality and all are suffering from memory impairment. All the men tested in 2004 had tremors, and some were still in their 20's. ”

http://citizensforsafetechnology.org/Letter-to-Dr-Perry-Kendall-Provincial-Health-Officer-of-BC-re-WiFi,19,2512

(11) Girish Kumar - Professor, Electrical Engineering Department, I.I.T. Bombay, India: 

“I have been following the development regarding radiation hazards of Wi-Fi in Schools.

I have attached my Presentation on Cell Tower Radiation Hazards and Solutions. Finally, Govt. of India has adopted 1/10th of radiation norms from Sep. 1, 2012. However, we are pursuing them to adopt 1/1000th of ICNIRP Guidelines.

Wi-Fi radiation is in the frequency range of 2.4 to 2.5 GHz and microwave oven frequency is 2.45 GHz, in which food is heated/cooked. Human body consists of 70% liquid and brain contains 90% liquid.”

(12) Prof . Olle Johansson
Department of Neuroscience, Experimental Dermatology Unit, Karolinska Institute, Sweden: 

"The Precautionary Principle shifts the burden of proof from those suspecting a risk to those who discount it... Too many times, 'experts' have claimed to be experts in fields where actually the only expert comment should have been: "I/we just do not know". Such fields were e.g. the DDT, X-ray, radioactivity, smoking, asbestos, BSE, heavy metal exposure, depleted uranium, etc., etc., etc., where the "no risk"-flag was raised before true knowledge came around. Later on, the same flag had to be quickly lowered, many times after enormous economic costs and suffering of many human beings. Along those lines, it is now (regarding "the protection from exposure to electromagnetic fields" issue) very important to clearly identify the background and employment (especially if they sit, at the same time, on the industry's chairs) of every 'expert' in different scientific committees..."

http://goo.gl/mQAq6

http://goo.gl/4pPLO

(13) Dr. Andrew Goldsworthy, BSc, PhD
Honorary Lecturer, Imperial College London
Scientific Advisor, European Space Agency
Scientific Advisor, Bio Electromagnetic Research Initiative
Scientific Advisor, The Radiation Research Trust:
"The chilling possibility to emerge from this is that the biological effects of electromagnetic fields can be transmitted in the bloodstream and exposure in any part of the body could have an effect all over the body, not just the parts that are directly exposed. Nowhere in the body is safe from the effects of the radiation. No part of the body should be exposed to it. As someone who has studied the effects of electromagnetic radiation on animals and humans for many years, my advice is for all schools that have Wi-Fi equipment to remove it immediately, replace it with cable, and disable the Wi-Fi on any laptops that they wish to retain (quite easy to do given the schools have existing operating Ethernet systems)."
 
(14) Robert A Baan PhD, The IARC Monographs IARC, The World Health Organization:
"the classification 2B, possibly carcinogenic, holds for all types of radiation within the radiofrequency part of the electromagnetic spectrum, including the radiation emitted by base-station antennas [cellphone towers], radio/TV towers, radar, Wi-Fi, smart meters, etc. "

(15) Health Canada:
"... encourages parents to reduce their children's RF exposure from cell phones since children are typically more sensitive to a variety of environmental agents. As well, there is currently a lack of scientific information regarding the potential health impacts of cell phones on children."

(16) John Wargo, Ph.D., Professor of Environmental Risk and Policy, Yale University:
“The scientific evidence is sufficiently robust showing that cellular devices pose significant health risks to children and pregnant women. The weight of the evidence supports stronger precautionary regulation by the federal government. The cellular industry should take immediate steps to reduce emission of electromagnetic radiation (EMR) from phones and avoid marketing their products to children.”

WiFi in Schools:CTV Disguised Infomercial as Investigative Report

CTV, is professional ETHICS part of your journalism?

Industry-funded and industry-affiliated infomercial was disguised as credible science by Bell Canada's CTV News in their investigation on Wi-Fi radiation in schools. This piece is a poor attempt to offer false security to the public by using a flawed protocol and skewed data.

It does not appear that CTV has researched or disclosed any conflict of interest with their expert, Mr. Karl Reardon who conducted the testing.

Mr. Reardon is/was:

• A former Director and General Manager of Motorola
• A current industry consultant (Planetworks and Radiowize) with close financial ties to the telecommunication industry
• Collecting paycheques from consultation on cell tower installations
• Author of a celltower guidebook for the Municipal Engineers
• Holder of seven US and EU patents on wireless and data technology
• Chief Technology Officer of Wireless Image whose sole business is the sale of mobile advertising solutions for cellphones.

Did CTV not bother to conduct proper "investigation" on your expert's conflict of interest before presenting this one-sided, crippled testing to stroke the backs of the wireless industry?

This might only be a quick story for your program, but this is an important issue to parents for the health of numerous children. To parents who have electrosensitive children, this is even a matter of whether the child can attend school or not.

Instead of engaging an engineer who makes his money from the wireless industry, Bell Canada's CTV should have interviewed experts who understand the low-level effects of non-ionizing microwave radiation on human cells, such as Dr. Martin Blank, Dr. Leif Salford, Dr. Henry Lai, Dr. Andrew Goldworthy, Dr. Magda Havas, and Dr. Olle Johansson among others.

CTV: Flawed Testing & Skewed Dataon Wi-Fi Danger in Schools

It's a shame that CTV – owned by Bell Canada, used a flawed testing protocol to misinform the public about the “low” level of Wi-Fi radiation, in the name of “investigative journalism”.

CTV's reporter, Jon Woodard, requested to speak to parents about this issue and we provided a contact for him, with whom he had made the arrangement to conduct an interview. That parent was informed that the interview was canceled only late today when he tried to reach the reporter.

Perhaps this is just a "programme story" to CTV. To us, parents, this is an important issue about the health of our children. To parents with electrosenstive children, it is a matter of whether the child can attend school at all. 

We strongly protest against this PR piece being presented as “news”.

Conflict of interest does not only exist at the CTV/Bell level, but also the party conducting the measurements. CTV engaged Planetworks which is a consultant firm serving industry clients. Planetworks is a vendor involved regularly in celltower rental contracts.

Measuring two schools with Wi-Fi and two different schools without Wi-Fi is a sloppy way to compare. The schools are located in different neighbourhoods.
The proper way is to measure a number of schools with (a) Wi-Fi on, (b) downloading data/video with 20-30 devices in the room at the same time to represent classroom scenario, (c) measure both the nearfield level - user contact with the devices, and (d) the farfield - ambient levels. Then measure in the SAME schools with the Wi-Fi and all wireless devices (including cordless phones) turned off.

Walking around the school with the RF meter is NOT an accurate way to measure. This kind of measurement does not represent real world usage. Children are using laptops/tablets/smartphones in direct contact with their bodies, either in their hands or on their laps against their abdomens and reproductive organs. This walkaround measurement does not reflect the real radiation level which children are exposed to.

The “scientific studies” which Canadian health agencies cite are even more unrealistic, measuring laptop radiation at 50 cm, 1 meter or other “further distances”. This is done to report a lower reading of microwave radiation and is an example of skewing the data.

Comparison between inside and outside the school is irrelevant:

In May 2011 the World Health Organization's IARC (International Agency on Research of Cancer) has classified cellphone/WiFi radiation as 2B Possible Carcinogen. In October, 2011, Health Canada asked parents to reduce children's radiofrequency exposure since "children are typically more sensitive to a variety of environmental agents" and "there is currently a lack of scientific information regarding the potential health impacts of cell phones on children". Just because this type of microwave radiation can be found outside schools does not mean it is safe.
Homes and schools are the two places where children spend the most amount of time. Parents have the choice to take measures to reduce children's exposure to microwave radiation at home by using wired computers which offer the same educational benefits with better security and speed. However, in schools funded by public money and with a captive audience, children are now FORCED to use wireless laptops and tablets which bear long-term health risks, and they are given no choice to avoid this exposure. Reducing exposure at home and in schools will reduce the majority of cumulative exposure for children.

What do cigarette smoke, asbestos, PCB and DDT have in common?

At one time, all were approved for human consumption, only to have been found harmful to human health later. Safety standards can be slow to change, leading to irreparable harm to human health.

School Districts are constantly complaining about the lack of funding. They should use the funding to improve existing wired networks instead of spending additional money on wireless technology.

See this white paper written by BC ERAC (Educational Resource Acquisition Consortium) which represents BC School Districts' IT Departments.

Members list: http://www.bcerac.ca/about/member-list.aspx

Wireless Networking for K-12 Education in BC - July 2007

http://www.bcerac.ca/docs/WirelessNetworkinginK-12.pdf

" the majority of school buildings have some or most teaching and administrative areas serviced by wired network connections... with sophisticated router and switching capability for managing traffic and security."

" wireless technologies are not able to provide the type of data speed experienced with wired connections, typically running at 100Mbps or faster. Thus wireless is still not an obvious replacement for a wired environment."

" Many of the risks associated with wireless... Reliability, slow speed of connections, interference from other devices, cost, security, manageability, compatibility, scalability and consistency of technology implementation."

Reporting “average measurements” is a sneaky way to skew data. See these videos: http://www.safeinschool.org/2012/01/ipad-iphone-wi-fi-radiation-and.html Wi-Fi signals spike every few seconds (at levels higher than cellphone transmission). They stop and go, emitting in bursts. Therefore, by averaging the figures, the resulting numbers look ridiculously low. This is similar to telling people that driving at 120 km/hr is not dangerous because when averaging with the time the car stopped at the red light, the "average speed" was only 20 km/hr.
Reporting only as a % of Health Canada's Danger Code 6 (misnamed as Safety Code 6).
By reporting a percentage, most of the public would not know how the figure converts to actual units and how it compares to other countries like Switzerland, Luxembourg and China, whose national maximum exposure limits are actually hundred to thousands times more stringent than our “danger” standard. The Canadian guideline is outdated and obsolete, protective of corporations' unrestrained wireless expansion but not protective of human health, especially children. http://goo.gl/4pzyE The European Parliament and the Council of Europe have passed repeated resolutions calling their member states NOT to use Wi-Fi. The truth is, even the lowest national exposure limit is already a million times higher than cosmic background radiation. Human bodies are simply not developed for the constant artificial pulse-modulated radiation from cellphone and Wi-Fi, which is being rapidly deployed all around us. Human bodies conduct electricity and absorb such radiation. Schools are imposing this human conduction on our children without parental informed consent.

Russia is among the earliest countries to have started research on microwave radiation. This week, Russia is calling for the replacement of Wi-Fi with wired networks in schools, out of health concern.

The following is the announcement by Professor Yuri Grigoriev, Chairman of Russian National Committee on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection, and member of the WHO's International Advisory Committee on “EMF and Health”.

19th June 2012.  Translation from the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CemiJ-yIA4&feature=youtu.be

Programme of the Russian Committee on the protection from non-ionising
radiation with regard to the need to introduce strict regulations on the use
of Wi-Fi in kindergartens and schools.

'I have already been informed that pushy parents are already trying to get
this installed in kindergartens... Everybody sees Moscow... '

Mobile network connections are very popular amongst children of various
ages.  The duration of conversations on mobile phones is higher for children
compared to the adult population.  At the same time electromagnetic fields
and radio frequencies are irradiating the brain every day.
Furthermore, children are constantly subjected to electromagnetic radiation
and radio frequencies from the base stations round the clock.

The problem of preserving the health of children subject to the developing
conditions of wireless radio communications is referred to as a priority by
the World Health Organization.

Electromagnetic radiation from Wi-Fi presents an additional burden to a
child whose body is in a state of development and whose mental activities
are in the formative stage.  During this period children are most
susceptible to negative environmental factors.

WHO, Publication 3, April 2004

Furthermore it is necessary to highlight that the current regulations were
developed without taking into consideration this additional influence of
electromagnetic fields.  We don¹t have these regulations yet.

Our Committee believes it is necessary to:

Firstly, draw the attention of the RF Ministry of Health and of all of the
other organizations responsible for the safety of the population, including
children, to the regulations regarding the use of Wi-Fi in kindergartens and
schools, and to increase the sanitary and epidemiological control over
the use of Wi-Fi, and the development of the relevant regulatory framework.

Secondly, to recommend the use of wired networks and not networks using
wireless broadband access systems, including Wi-Fi, in schools and
educational establishments.

Toronto Hospital recognizes Electro-magnetic Hyper-sensitivity

Toronto Hospital is First to Recognize Symptoms from Wireless Radiation

TORONTO, June 18, 2012 /CNW/ - Women's College Hospital says family doctors must learn to detect the symptoms of exposure to wireless radiation.

The hospital released a statement saying the symptoms include disrupted sleep, headaches, nausea, dizziness, heart palpitations, memory problems, and skin rashes. These symptoms are now labelled Electro-magnetic Hyper-sensitivity, or "EMS".

"Health-care practitioners need to better understand EMS so they can help their patients," said Dr. Riina Bray, medical director of the hospital's Environmental Health Clinic.

Dr. Bray says the world is becoming dominated by wireless internet, cell phones and cell towers, and there can be a broad range of health impacts.

The hospital's Environmental Health Clinic has begun holding educational workshops on the subject for doctors.

Last year the World Health Organization placed microwave radiation from wireless internet and cell phones on an official Cancer watch-list. Since then several schools have removed their wifi systems and the Catholic teacher's union in Ontario has called for a moratorium on wifi installations in classrooms.

For further information:  

http://www.womenscollegehospital.ca/news-and-events/connect/the-effects-of-invisible-waves

EHS Electrohypersensitivity (ES, Electrosensitivity) Physiologically Explained at last by Health Research in France

L’intolérance électromagnétique élucidée (2011)

In 2002, World Health Organization (WHO) Director General Gro Harlem Brundtland told journalists that microwaves emitted by cellphones made her sick, even if the phone was only turned on and hidden in a pocket or purse located up to four meters away. Nonetheless, the World Health Organization stated in 2005 that electrosensitivity symptoms may be of psychosomatic origin, a claim that French oncologist Dominique Belpomme says is refuted by recent discoveries.

French researchers recently demonstrated that electromagnetic fields (EMFs) substantially alter the physiology of the blood and brain of electrosensitive people and that the impact on these biological markers increases and decreases according to the intensity of EMF exposure.

“We know with certainty that electromagnetic hypersensitivity is not psychosomatic”, Dr Dominique Belpomme stated in a [November 2010] telephone interview. “EMFs provoke major effects in the brain. The most important of these is the opening of the blood-brain barrier. This allows mercury, organochlorines and other pollutants to enter the brain, where they cause various neurodegenerative diseases. ”

20 new patients per week

A professor of oncology at Paris-Descartes University, Dr. Belpomme is President of the French Association for Research in Therapeutics Against Cancer (www.artac.info), which has shifted in the prevention from 2004. Since May 2008, his team has studied what he coined the Electromagnetic Intolerance Syndrome (SICEM in French). “I have 450 patients and see up to 20 new cases every week, including children who have headaches, impaired memory, concentration or language. We have the largest cluster of electrosensitive patients in Europe. This is a major public health concern.”

The SICEM [EHS] is an extreme reaction to low-level exposure to 50/60 Hz electric and magnetic fields emitted by electrical cables and devices as well as radio frequencies (10 MHz to 300 GHz including microwave) from wireless devices and antennas.

”In Sweden, electrohypersensitivity
 (EHS) is an officially fully recognized functional impairment, explains Swedish dermatologist and EHS expert Olle Johannson. Thus, the first step for a person in Sweden with a functional impairment is to contact the municipality’s special civil servant for disability issues, as well as the various handicap organizations and authorities, to achieve accessibility measures of various types with the sole aim to have an equal life in a society based on equality according to the The UN Convention on Human Rights for Persons with Functional Impairments, www.un.org.”

People with EHS are often incorrectly referred in psychiatry while many experts such as Belpomme say the first treatment they require is reducing or eliminating their exposure to EMFS. Their symptoms (neurological, cardiovascular, dermatological, muscular, etc.) are sometimes so serious that they must shield themselves with special clothing, curtains as well as grounded paints and vapor barriers. Others move into forests, caves or other remote locations if they are unable to find a low-EMF environment where their symptoms can recede or  disappear.

Dr. Belpomme’s team has developed a diagnostic method based on blood tests and a special brain scan (pulsed Doppler echography) to visualize blood flow. “These patients clearly have vascular disorders in the brain, said the oncologist. In addition, our biological tests show that 30% of them have high levels of histamine, 50% have too much stress proteins, most have low levels of melatonin (an potent anti-cancer hormone), and 30% have levels of antibodies and proteins that are signs showing thermal shock and brain damage.” He adds that half of his patients suffer from Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) and that MCS and EHS share the same brain abnormalities.

The oncologist explained that there are three distinct levels of sensitivity to pollutants. First, there is intolerance, caused by polymorphism. “This means that we are all different. For example, 30% of the population is most at risk of developing cancer.”

Second, there is the susceptibility factor demonstrated by Swedish oncologist Lennart Hardell who studied 16 families who were electrosensitive because of shared genetic factors. There are also active susceptibility factors, “such as dental amalgam that behave like antennas capturing airwaves”, explains Belpomme.

Finally, electromagnetic hypersensitivity appears in two stages. “The first phase is induced by exposure to a specific EMF frequency, either an acute or chronic exposure, such as talking on a cell phone 20 minutes every day. The first signs of hypersensitivity are pain and a heat sensation in the ear. In the second phase, the disease sets in. That’s when you become intolerant at all frequencies.”

Experienced researchers

ARTAC’s scientific council is chaired by virologist Dr. Luc Montagnier, 2008 co-Nobel Prize winner for discovery of the AIDS-causing human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). And its research coordinator is nutrition specialist, Dr. Philippe Irigaray, one of five international experts recently appointed by Quebec’s Health Research Fund to select the most promising research projects in environmental cancer prevention. Dr. Irigaray stresses that the human brain contains magnetosomes, iron oxides that behave like magnets. Electrosensitivity may depend on their quantity, which varies from one individual to another.

ARTAC researchers are currently preparing five scientific papers on electrosensitivity. “It requires a lot of time", said Dr Belpomme. "They will be published in a year or two. But independent and immediate action is needed to reduce people’s overexposure to EMFs.”

In France, an estimated 5% of the population is already electrosensitive, and the proportion is constantly increasing with the ever-growing popularity of wireless technologies. “Studies show that 10 to 50% of the population may become very intolerant to EMFs over the next 25 to 50 years, Dr Belpomme said. I have two cases of multiple sclerosis triggered after overuse of cellphone, three cases of breast cancer – two relapses after exposure to EMFs and daily use of computers – and proof is building up against Autism and Alzheimer’s disease whose risk is much higher than for cancer. Causal links with electromagnetic fields are highly possible.”

Dr Belpomme said he has relieved some EHS patients by administering medication to tone-up the nervous system and antihistamines to close the blood-brain barrier.

No causal link, says WHO

In 2005, the World Health Organization published Fact Sheet No 296 entitled Electromagnetic hypersensitivity. It stated : ”Well controlled and conducted double-blind studies have shown that symptoms were not correlated with EMF exposure… The symptoms are certainly real and can vary widely in their severity… Further, EHS is not a medical diagnosis, nor is it clear that it represents a single medical problem. 

Physicians: Treatment of affected individuals should focus on the health symptoms and the clinical picture, and not on the person’s perceived need for reducing or eliminating EMF in the workplace or home. This requires:

• a medical evaluation to identify and treat any specific conditions that may be responsible for the symptoms,
• a psychological evaluation to identify alternative psychiatric/psychological conditions that may be responsible for the symptoms,
• an assessment of the workplace and home for factors that might contribute to the presented symptoms. These could include indoor air pollution, excessive noise, poor lighting (flickering light) or ergonomic factors. A reduction of stress and other improvements in the work situation might be appropriate.”

Bull, said Dr. Dominique Belpomme. “This is a political backwardness that has nothing to do with science. WHO will be forced to revise its judgment in the upcoming months. It is a societal denial that does not take into account the current knowledge which is constantly building up. ” [read Microwave News's coverage of conflicts of interest at WHO]
According to this oncologist, the causal link between exposure to magnetic fields and leukemia is no longer in doubt. “When we increase the dose, the rate of leukemia increases. Dozens of laboratory toxicological studies have demonstrated this most clearly, in vitro as well as in animals.”

For her part, Ontario researcher Magda Havas of Trent University said EHS studies with negative results have major biases. “The researchers assumed that reactions to EMFs are immediate, while there is often a delay between exposure and response. People are not switches that can be turned on and off. These studies incorrectly insinuate that if you can not feel anything, it can’t harm you. We know very well that we can’t detect the taste of arsenic, lead, DDT nor asbestos, but they are all toxic.”

Editor: Dr. Lennart Hardell, "It is a wrong satement that we have studied familiar EHS. Instead we measured persistent organic pollutants."

Original text in French: http://maisonsaine.ca/wp-content/uploads/sicem_demystifie.pdf
Translated: http://www.emfacts.com/2012/01/electromagnetic-intolerance-elucidated/
http://www.robindestoits.org/_a1661.html