EMF's Natural Versus Man-made in the Non-ionizing Spectral Region

In less than a century very few people realize how much and how quickly we have changed the non-ionizing electromagnetic environment we live in. Most of the changes have happened in the last 30 years. Now, all living things are subject to million of times more radiation than 50 years ago. For billions of years, the electromagnetic environment was virtually "silent" in the spectral region below visible light which was the most abundant source of electromagnetic energy. We will never be able to experience this peaceful world again Nature's sources of oscillating low frequency EMFs are few and extremely weak; the only sources are the sun, distant radio stars and other cosmic RF sources, and the terrestrial sources originating from lightning primarily in the tropics. Even the sun can not be considered a strong source of energy in the non-ionizing spectral region, making natural ambient levels so low that the possibilities of biological or even health effects are negligible [ref.1]. We will never experience that "quiet" world again. The greatest changes have all come after World War II with a trend towards the use of higher energy radio waves for long-distance communication and electronic devices of all types. Since then nearly every human action has involved an electrical appliance, and today we are all awash in a sea of artificial electromagnetic energies living species have never experienced before. The human species has changed its electromagnetic exposures more than any other aspect of the environment. For example, with the explosion in radio and TV broadcasting stations, radio telephone networks, cordless phones and cell phones, the density of radio waves and microwaves around us is now many millions of times higher than the natural levels in the same spectral region. Fig. 10: Exponential growth in background non-ionizing radiation. Grave concern was expressed by the European Parliament after a series of hearings on the matter of RF/MW frequency EMF health effects (Resolution B3-0280/92): "Thus in the frequency range 100 kHz to 300 GHz, 50 years ago it was scarcely possible to measure 10 pW/cm2 (10-12 W/cm2) on the ground in our countries. Today, depending on the location, values one million to one thousand million times higher are recorded because of the explosion of telecommunications". The same applies to ELF fields produced by the dozens of electrical appliances owned by each household in the industrialized world and the power lines feeding those devices. Industrialized countries in North America , Western Europe and China emit so much ELF energy that it can be sensed by satellites in space. Perhaps even more important than the increase in EMF densities, most man made EMFs differ in one important aspect from natural EMFs: man made sources radiate constant, regular oscillations or pulses of electromagnetic energy with distinct properties, whereas natural sources of EMFs are oscillating at random with mixed, irregular frequencies and amplitudes. For example, AC powered devices emit highly regular, sinusoidal ELF fields at a constant amplitude and frequency of 50 Hz (Europe) or 60 Hz (North America), and digital cell phones expose the heads of users to pulses of microwave, with carrier wave frequencies of around 900 or 1800 megahertz and modulation frequencies of 11, 22, 50 or 217 Hz. To watch a video on the dangers of EMF's go to http://www.emfnews.org/chipcategory.html .

Can Radiation from Cell Phones Damage DNA in Our Brains?

The March issue of the University of Washington alumni magazine, Columns, features a well-deserved tribute to Henry Lai and his colleague, N.P. Singh, who have demonstrated that low-level microwave radiation can lead to an increase in DNA breaks in the brain cells of rats (available online). The headline of the piece tells the story: “Wake-Up Call: Can Radiation from Cell Phones Damage DNA in Our Brains? When a UW Researcher Found Disturbing Data, Funding Became Tight and One Industry Leader Threatened Legal Action.” The article later identifies that “industry leader” as George Carlo who ran Wireless Technology Research (WTR) on behalf of the CTIA, the trade association of the cell phone industry. Of course, most people, except those on the industry payroll, now concede that WTR was misnamed. Something like “Whatever Happens Do As Little Research As Possible and Take As Long As Possible Not To Do It” would have been far more appropriate (even though it’s hard to make an elegant acronym out of all that). One important fact is left out of the story —for reasons that will become apparent in a moment. The piece begins with Lai recollecting how, back in 1994, someone had tried to stop his DNA-microwave work by calling the National Institutes of Health and alleging that Lai was misusing his research grant by carrying out unauthorized experiments. After Lai explained what he was up to, the NIH was satisfied that nothing was amiss. Lai was allowed to go back to work, though he lacked the funds to do as much he would have liked. The snitch is not named in the article but should be revealed. It was Bill Guy, who had received three degrees from the University of Washington, including his doctorate, and then spent much of his professional life at its Department of Bioengineering. No wonder the alumni magazine was squeamish about identifying him. For more than ten years, Guy and Lai had worked together at the university’s Bioelectromagnetics Research Lab. They were coauthors on close to 20 research papers. But that did not stop Guy from trying to sabotage Lai’s research. At the time he made the call to Mike Galvin of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Guy was one of two key advisors to George Carlo, and was helping him map out the strategy for CTIA’s $25 million cell phone-health research project. Separately, he was also a consultant to the CTIA. Guy would stay on the WTR payroll for another three years. Guy is a former president of the Bioelectromagnetics Society and the recipient of the d'Arsonval Award, its highest honor. Despite a lifetime in RF research, despite the fact that he chaired the committee that wrote the 1982 ANSI RF exposure standard, despite the fact that he chaired the committee of the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements that wrote the council's 1986 (and its most recent) report on RF biological effects, Guy’s first impulse on hearing about some important new experimental finding that questioned the safety of a product that would soon be responsible for exposing more than a billion people to a constant stream of RF radiation was to blow the whistle and try to impugn Lai. Does anyone still believe that the mobile phone industry ever made an honest attempt to get to the bottom of the cell phone safety question?

Cell Phone Text Message Leads Mother to Kidnapped Daughter

LUGOFF, S.C. - A text message sent by a kidnapped 14-year-old to her mother led to her rescue Saturday, when police found her in a hand-dug, booby-trapped bunker. ADVERTISEMENT Elizabeth Shoaf's message also led investigators to name a suspect in her Sept. 6 abduction — police were searching a wooded area where the girl was found for 37-year-old Vinson Filyaw, said Kershaw County Sheriff Steve McCaskill. Shoaf was found by deputies about a mile from her home in a 15-foot deep hole in the side of a hill that was covered with plywood. The bunker had a hand-dug privy with toilet paper, a camp stove and shelves made with cut branches and canvas. McCaskill said the girl appeared to be unharmed but was taken to Kershaw County Medical Center for evaluation. Police have not interviewed her, saying they would leave her alone until she's ready to talk. "We're just glad that she's alive and she's safe and that she will be home with us," her aunt, Geraldine Williams, told WLTX-TV in Columbia. "She's a good girl. ... We never believed that she ran away." Investigators say Filyaw may have posed as a police officer when he met Shoaf. The unemployed construction worker also is wanted on an unrelated sexual assault charge. "He dug this pit and this child was in this pit," McCaskill said. "He is linked to her disappearance and he's got to answer for that." The sheriff said the girl was walked around in the woods by her captor until she became disoriented. In the bunker, she was threatened with handmade grenades and a flare gun. The sheriff said the text message the girl sent to her mother came from Filyaw's cell phone and deputies began looking for him Friday night. Investigators used cell towers to determine a general location of the phone used to send the message. "That was the first break," McCaskill said. McCaskill said the girl cried out as searchers approached the bunker where she was found. "She was standing at the mouth of the bunker with the door open," sheriff's Capt. David Thomley told WLTX-TV in Columbia. He said Shoaf was not tied up and was very coherent. The bunker was protected by a booby-trap, the sheriff said. Police tracking hounds were brought in to aid in the search for Filyaw, and helicopters with spotlights circled overhead as night fell. A $5,000 reward was offered for information leading to his capture. Filyaw was considered armed and dangerous. Deputies have been searching for Filyaw for months on an unrelated charge of criminal sexual conduct against a 12-year-old girl, McCaskill said. Officers tried to arrest Filyaw at his home earlier this week, but he had an elaborate escape plan, involving a tunnel dug from his bedroom to a shed, the sheriff said. "When deputies came to serve the warrant, he was able to escape, going under the mattress, going under the trailer and hiding and eluding the arrest," McCaskill said. This is the second case this year in South Carolina involving an abducted teenage girl taken to an underground hideout. Kenneth Hinson of Hartsville is charged with kidnapping two 17-year-old girls March 14 and taking them to a closet-sized dungeon behind his home. Authorities said the girls freed themselves and walked to safety, and Hinson was captured after a four-day manhunt.

Electromagnetic Biology and Medicine

Vol. 25: 189-191, 2006. The authors are Örjan Hallberg and Gerd Oberfeld. You will need to access the journal to get the full copy. Letter to the Editor: Will We All Become Electrosensitive? Örjan Hallberg*1 and Gerd Oberfeld2 1Hallberg Independent Research, Trångsund, Sweden. 2Public Health Department Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria. Dear Editor, Each year an increasing number of people claim to suffer from electrosensitivity (see, e.g., compilation of references given in Table 1), also known as being electrically hypersensitive (EHS). There are also other diseases, such as fibromyalgia and burn-out syndrome, that have symptoms similar to those exhibited by people suffering from electrosensitivity. (Table 1) In Sweden, electrosensitivity is recognized as a handicap, but there is still controversy surrounding the diagnosis of the disease. The mainstream view by governmental and medical authorities is that this handicap is a psychological phenomenon with no basis in physical or medical mechanisms (Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare, SNBHW, 1995), whereby perpetuating the misconception that only a small fraction of the population is concerned about electrosensitivity or the proximity of new radio transmission masts. The number of reported cases of electrosensitivity has been steadily increasing since it was first documented in 1991. Data presented here are estimates and are based on large sample inquiries where different sets of questions have been used. To determine whether the statistics indicate a sub-population of electrosensitivity or if the total population is at stake, we plotted reported prevalence estimates over time in a normal distribution diagram (Table 1 and Figure 1). Contrary to the views of mainstream medical authorities, Figure 1 shows that the group of electrosensitive people around the world, including Sweden, is not just a small fraction that deviates from the rest of the healthy population. Instead, it points at the possibility that electrosensitivity will be more widespread in the near future. The extrapolated trend indicates that 50% of the population can be expected to become electrosensitive by the year 2017. Data presented here were collected in Austria, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States.

Court delivers blow against mobile masts

Court delivers blow against mobile masts Ruling cites public health risk Original article: http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_politics_100010_ 18/07/2006_72201

Ten mobile telephone antennas, eight of which are in Athens, must be removed as they pose a threat to public health, the Athens Appeals Court ruled yesterday.

The ruling rebuffs an appeal by an unidentified mobile operator for the suspension of a decision by the National Telecommunications and Post Commission (EETT) to remove the poles. In justifying its ruling, the court cited "urgent concerns regarding the protection of public health.?

All 10 antennas in question had been hidden in chimneys, electric boilers and other appliances to thwart residents and authorities. Eight of the 10 antennas are located on top of apartment blocks in districts of Athens including Halandri, Vyronas, Ilioupolis and Kallithea. The other two are located at the airports of Iraklion, in Crete, and Kos. Only one of the antennas, in Kallithea, had been operating with a license but it will also be taken down.

"It is not only one (mobile phone) company that is to blame here,? EETT Vice President Nikos Koulouris told Kathimerini. "The unlicensed erection of antennas is common practice. EETT has also decided to take down antennas put there by other companies,? he said, adding that the commission usually finds out about illegal antennas through residents´ complaints.

"We refuse to become the guinea pigs of (mobile) firms,? Nikos Krassakis, a member of the Sepolia committee lobbying for the removal of antennas told Kathimerini. "Our main concern is not whether the antennas are legal or not but how much of a threat they are to our health.? Krassakis said his group´s protests had led to the removal of two antennas and the decision to stop the erection of a third.

"(The ruling) is a very positive decision, a blow against the unaccountability of (mobile) firms, but is not enough. We need a more collective approach,? Loukas Margaritis, a professor at Athens University, told Kathimerini. "Scientifically, there is no doubt that radioactivity is a health risk, even within the limits imposed by legislation,? he said. He added that a solution would be to relocate the antennas to the outskirts of towns, and set them at much higher levels to lessen the impact of emissions.

Cell phone signals excite brain waves...

Cell phone signals excite brain, study finds Mon Jun 26, 2006 12:30am ET WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Cell phone emissions excite the part of the brain cortex nearest to the phone, but it is not clear if these effects are harmful, Italian researchers reported on Monday. Their study, published in the Annals of Neurology, adds to a growing body of research about mobile phones, their possible effects on the brain, and whether there is any link to cancer. About 730 million cell phones are expected to be sold this year, according to industry estimates, and nearly 2 billion people around the world already use them. Of these, more than 500 million use a type that emits electromagnetic fields known as Global System for Mobile communications or GSM radio phones. Their possible effects on the brain are controversial and not well understood. Dr. Paolo Rossini of Fatebenefratelli hospital in Milan and colleagues used Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation or TMS to check brain function while people used these phones. They had 15 young male volunteers use a GSM 900 cell phone for 45 minutes. In 12 of the 15, the cells in the motor cortex adjacent to the cell phone showed excitability during phone use but returned to normal within an hour. The cortex is the outside layer of the brain and the motor cortex is known as the "excitable area" because magnetic stimulation has been shown to cause a muscle twitch. The researchers stressed that they had not shown that using a cell phone is bad for the brain in any way, but people with conditions such as epilepsy, linked with brain cell excitability, could potentially be affected. "It should be argued that long-lasting and repeated exposure to EMFs (electromagnetic frequencies) linked with intense use of cellular phones in daily life might be harmful or beneficial in brain-diseased subjects," they wrote "Further studies are needed to better circumstantiate these conditions and to provide safe rules for the use of this increasingly more widespread device." Medical studies on cell phone use have provided mixed results. Swedish researchers found last year that using cell phones over time can raise the risk of brain tumors. But a study by Japan's four mobile telephone operators found no evidence that radio waves from the phones harmed cells or DNA. The Dutch Health Council analyzed several studies and found no evidence that radiation from mobile phones was harmful.

Simcoe cellphone tower to be moved; Neighbours complaint of illness

Simcoe cellphone tower to be moved; Neighbours complaint of illness Cheryl Bauslaugh

www.brantfordexpositor.ca

Wednesday, June 07, 2006 - 01:00

Local News - Norfolk councillors have decided to get rid of a cellphone tower in the centre of Simcoe that residents say is a health risk.

After hearing from more than 20 people in an often emotional five-hour debate Tuesday, council voted to move recently installed Rogers Wireless Inc. antennae on the Simcoe water tower - even though it could cost the county an estimated $300,000.

"I'm proud to be a resident of Norfolk County," said Dan Currie, who first raised the issue in February, shortly after the antennae were installed.

"Council was receptive and concerned about the welfare of its citizens," said Currie, who has been unable to live in his century home on Union Street because of symptoms such as nausea, headaches, fatigue and dizziness that he says are caused by the cell tower.

"I was fine before the antennae went up and I'm fine when I'm not at home," he told council.

Students in the senior law class at Simcoe Composite School did a survey of residents in the area - which is close to Elgin Avenue School and Norfolk General Hospital - and discovered several more residents with similar symptoms.

To date, 17 people have reported recurring illnesses since the cell tower was installed.

No evidence

Staff said there's no conclusive evidence linking radio frequency waves with illness. And they noted that the cell tower meets federal health and safety regulations in regard to exposure levels.

But Mayor Rita Kalmbach said she'd rather err on the side of caution when it comes to people's health.

"When I hear people say they only get sick at home, when they're close to the tower, I have to believe there's something to this," she said.

"I believe we have to do what is right and good. But it is going to cost all the people of Norfolk County considerable money."

Just how much money isn't clear. When Kalmbach asked a Rogers representative about the possibility of getting out of the lease before the March 31, 2008, expiry date, Jack Hills said that will be up to the company's lawyers to decide.

He was also non-committal about the possibility that Rogers might voluntarily move its cell tower to another site.

"It's not our policy," he said, adding that the tower is operating within guidelines set by Health Canada and Industry Canada.

"The alleged fear can be mitigated by the guidelines."

Hills also noted that Rogers has many other telecommunications towers that are close to hospitals and schools. Some, in fact, are on top of schools.

However, Magna Havas, an environmental scientist at Trent University, told council that Canada's guidelines aren't as stringent as those in other countries. She cited studies that show an increased risk of cancer, as well as symptoms such as headaches, insomnia and nausea, when people live within 400 metres of a cell tower.

"I think there's enough evidence to cause a concern. I recommend not allowing antennae within 400 metres of schools, homes or buildings where people work."

Havas said she is particularly concerned about the risk to students at Elgin because children are more vulnerable to developing cancer than adults.

Council directed staff to begin negotiating a way out of the lease agreement as soon as possible. County manager Bill Allcock said that process will begin this week but he's not sure how long it will take before the cell tower finds a new home - or what the cost will be to taxpayers. He said Rogers will have to find an alternate location before the antennae can be removed.

Coun. Roger Geysens voted in favour of moving the cell tower but he warned that this might be the start of similar requests from other county residents who live near cell towers.

"I certainly don't want to put children at risk but there's not very many places in Norfolk County where you're not gong to be within 400 metres of some residents.

"I think we're asking for some very difficult times." ID- 62763

Cell Towers in The Air?

Paul Korzeniowski Tue Jun 6, 7:00 PM ET

Americans' appetite for cell phone service appears insatiable. But expanding cellular coverage with new cell towers can be a problem. The towers are big, expensive and often seen as a blight on the landscape.

A startup firm named Space Data is working on a creative solution to the problem. The company is putting cell towers in weather balloons stationed in the stratosphere.

While the technology is in a nascent stage, it has the potential to help carriers extend cell phone coverage -- without the hassles of conventional towers.

"Cell coverage is still not ubiquitous because it can be difficult to deploy cell towers in some areas," said Allen Nogee, an analyst at In-Stat/MDR. "Approaches such as using weather balloons may help them reach more areas."

Looking Beyond Towers

Building a conventional cell tower can be problematic for a couple of reasons.

Cell towers are expensive, costing from $100,000 to more than $1 million to set up. They also present logistical problems, such as clearing local regulations and finding suitable placement.

Space Data uses standard weather balloons, which cost about $50 each, to carry special purpose cell towers. These towers are small -- 10 cubic inches -- and light -- less than 12 pounds. The balloons travel 20 miles above the earth, well above commercial airliner pathways. Because of their highflying position, the devices cover a larger area -- from 50 miles to 500 miles -- than traditional cell towers.

So far, Space Data has concentrated on the oil industry. It's launched balloons in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas and New Mexico that help companies track their vehicles and monitor the production of their oil wells and pipelines. In addition, the company is working with the U.S. military on potential strategic uses of the technology.

Using the balloons for regular cell service could be a harder sell. But it might make sense in certain areas, analysts say.

"Now that carriers have deployed cell stations throughout metropolitan areas, they are searching for ways to reach more remote locations, like Montana, as well as camp sites and parks," said Neil Strother, an analyst at market research firm NPD Group.

While the new approach should be less expensive and eliminate many of the zoning hoops carriers face, it raises new logistical issues. There are questions about how well the systems will perform in bad weather and how effectively carriers can track the balloons and ensure that they stay on track.

"The biggest problem is keeping the cell tower aloft," said Ira Brodsky, president of market research firm Datacomm Research.

After they're launched, the balloons swell from six feet to 30 feet in diameter as they gain altitude. The balloons eventually rise so high that they are out of transmission range. Later on, they disintegrate in the atmosphere.

Before that happens, the cellular carrier wants to salvage the cell tower. So the balloons are equipped with a mechanism to jettison the cell tower and have it fall slowly and safely to earth via a parachute.

Tracking Them Down

Each tower is outfitted with a global positioning system so the flight can be tracked. After the towers land, the carriers send runners to retrieve them so they can be used again. How many of the cell towers will be lost or damaged during their balloon rides is unknown.

There are other challenges, such as the battery life of the devices. The current systems are outfitted with batteries that last eight to 10 hours.

The upshot: Carriers would need to be constantly launching and recovering their cell towers. This represents a large ongoing expense. It's estimated that a firm would have to spend $100,000 to $300,000 annually to support this service.

The approach is expected to take root first in areas that are far off main highways or away from cities.

"The areas that still lack cell coverage are spread out and sparsely populated," said In-Stat's Nogee.

The joys of living under roof top antennas!

Testimonial of Dalan MCaren 22 Jan 2000

From Robert Reidlinger

In September of 98,I moved into a 21-storey government subsidized building for seniors. The apartment that was my placement is on the 20th floor. I immediately began experiencing symptoms of a dizzy-off -balanced feeling, headaches which were constant, sever insomnia, profuse nosebleeds, sweating and a feeling like I was cooking, I wasn't able to concentrate, I would often find myself throughout the day feeling "out-of-it"- not remembering . I felt drained out and more than half dead. I had anxiety attacks and breathlessness, felt agitated, restless and my joints hurt and my eyes were sore.

I would awaken most often around 3 AM very suddenly feeling "cooked"anxious and like I had to go out. My chest felt pressured and I would either lay there untill morning with all these things going on, or often I just get up and walk the steets where I would feel refreshed, calm and clear headed.

At first I put it down to stess from a difficult year with a major move .But, in November of 98, my sister and her husband sent me a plane ticket to visit them for a month in Toronto area, I felt good there ...slept wonderfully, had lots of energy, was clear headed, focussed, no memory problems and felt normal, tranquil and very cheerful.

I returned in December and immediately the nosebleeds and all the symptoms returned. I continued suffering the above symptoms (plus many other ones) until I went away for 6 weeks in the summer to Vancouver Island to visit my father. Again I felt normal with lots of energy and focus inspite of it being a stessful time with my father being ill and in hospital.

I returned and again -all the symptoms. By this time I had become aware of the effects of microwave towers and telecomunications instalations through a magazine artical and also through talking to a repairman from the cable(TV) provider. He had come because I was having a lot of interference with my TV.

I then began to pay attention to the fact that on the next floor but one-on the roof top of the building I am in, there are at least 25 telecomunications towers, transmitters microwave transmitters and the top of the building looks like a porcupine!

I myself was becoming increasingly more distressed now with occasional bouts of rage, feeling at times like I was going crazy and had lost control of my brain. I was having daily bouts of crying for no apparent reason and yet as soon as I would leave the apartment, I feel fine.

Then again this past 3 months I went away twice. Once for a month back east again and the last time from 10th Dec. 99 to 06 Jan.2000.

Upon returning on the 06 Jan. , within moments of being on the upper 20th floor I felt dizzy-off- balance feeling and within 12 hrs I have suffered 2 profuse nose bleeds and couldn't sleep at all.

It is my opinion and experience that since Christmas the frequency of use of these transmitters has increased. It feels like like the walls are buzzing and I have had very little sleep. I am having to walk the streets at night and visit other people's homes during the day in order to write letters or do anything that requires concentration.

Last week, I had 2 visitors on separate days. Both within a minute or so of being in my apartment said they felt blocked in their heads, began experiencing headahes that "dead feeling". They mentioned they felt agitated and restless and could hear the buzzing ,high pitch vibration and had to leave before a half hour was up. I certainly confirmed that wasn't "just me" Both telephoned me later and said that within 5 minutes of leaving they felt back to normal.

I am truly exhausted of this. I only hope that first of all I can find another place to live that is affordable because I am on a disability pension hence being in government housing-secondly that I can even" get-it-together"enough to pack up and move.

I hope my story helps in some way.

PS: I am a retired school teacher ,a massage therapist and an exceptional artist. I haven't been able to do any art since I moved in to this place.

Yours Truly Dalana MCaren

I have written permision from Dalana to publish this story . Regards Robert Riedlinger

Brain tumour cases prompt uni building closure

Brain tumour cases prompt uni building closure

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) has launched a second health and safety investigation in just five years, after seven staff members from the University’s Bourke Street campus were diagnosed with brain tumours. Five of the cases are not malignant. The top floors of the Tivoli building are set to be closed. All the staff involved have worked on those floors of the business faculty for up to 10 years. Workers on the floors, who include administration staff and lecturers, have been relocated while the investigation takes place. RMIT spokesman Steve Somogyi says some telecommunications transmitters have raised concerns. “However they have been there for quite some time, so they were there when the original investigation in 2001 was conducted, so we do not rule in or rule out any conclusions at this stage until the experts who are doing their studies give us their report,” he said. It is believed there is a mobile phone transmitter on the roof of the building. Tertiary Education Union state secretary Matt McGowan says at least five of the cases are not malignant, and there is no concern for students at this stage. “The majority of the staff who’ve been impacted have been there for 10 years, and this has come up after something like 10 years worth of service,” he said. “So we don’t believe it’s something that would impact on students, who are in and out of the building once every now and then.”

As for the phone tower cancer fears at the Melbourne Australia RMIT building I have to suggest that it is premature to point the blame at the cell phone towers on top of the RMIT building. The TV aerial shots of the building roof show the antennas mounted on a very tall and substantial equipment building immediately above the top floor where the majority of people with brain tumours worked. As my understanding is that the microwave transmissions go out horizontally and not directly down it is unlikely the cell phone antenna emissions have any significant role in possible EMR exposures to the people in the floor below.

Besides the equipment to power the antennas the equipment building would most likely house the air-conditioning equipment, elevator lift motors (generating transients) and possibly a building electrical sub-station, as well as lots of electrical cabling in the ceiling of the top floor.

So people working on the top floor underneath the equipment building are very likely getting a good dose of ELF "dirty electricity" with high voltage transients, harmonics, and RF all riding on the 50 Hz power supply. So perhaps this is more of a headache for the power utility guys than the Telcos!

As far as an ELF connection with brain tumours there is the 1994 study By Theriault et al, from McGill University. The initial analysis of the data collected from three electric utilities found that workers who had the greatest exposures to magnetic fields had twelve times the expected rate of astrocytomas, a type of brain tumour, based on a small number of cases.

Following a message I sent out on the bioelectromagnetics list on the RMIT building controversy, several comments were posted that are quite relevant to the case and dispute the understanding that being directly underneath a cellphone antenna facility means the RF/MW levels are minimal. As one technician said to me just yesterday: "If you have a cell phone antenna on the roof of a building, the safest place to be is below".

From Charles Claessens:

"Christian Bornkessel did some measurements in Germany and found that beneath (also inside houses and under) mobile phone masts, there was substantial HF radiation, and in the order of the Swiss immision values." Download the report at: http://www.milieuziektes.nl/Pagina112d.html

And from Jean-Pierre Lentin:

"This a the familiar "misconception" (or blatant lie) propagated by the cell phone operators. In my experience as a science writer specialising in bio-electromagnetics, I've been told many times by certified experts (sometimes working for the phone companies - but recently retired) that every time they had to measure emissions from cell phone relays on the floor below (supposedly the "safest place"), exposition was much higher than predicted by calculations. The causes are unclear - under-estimation of secondary lobe, reflections by metallic structures or other synergistic effects, but the fact is clear : the floor below is definitely not a safe place !"

Pylon cancer fears put 7 billion blight on house prices

From Katharina Gustavs / Eileen O'Connor:

Telegraph 29 April 2006 (United Kingdom) Pylon cancer fears put £7bn blight on house prices By Nic Fleming, Medical Correspondent (Filed: 29/04/2006)

Up to £7 billion will be wiped off property values if the

Government accepts the advice of experts that homes

should no longer be built near overhead power lines

because of possible links with childhood leukaemia.

About 130,000 houses could lose between 10 per cent and a quarter of their re-sale price if ministers take the advice of a committee set up by the Department of Health.

Research continues into whether pylons are responsible for increased cases of leukaemia

A draft of a report by the committee, seen by The Daily Telegraph, states that building houses within 230ft of high voltage power lines and 115ft of lower voltage lines should be banned.

The confidential document, written by John Swanson, the scientific adviser to the National Grid, considers the option of compulsorily buying all 75,000 homes in England and Wales that are affected.

But a more recent paper, written last month, sets out the group's preferred option - an end to the building of houses near overhead lines and a ban on new power lines being built near existing homes.

The draft report acknowledges that implementing this as a policy could wipe a quarter off the value of 25,000 homes within 230ft of 400kv and 275kv overhead transmission lines and some 10 per cent from the value of 55,000 houses within 460ft of them.

It also admits there could be a reduction of 15 per cent in the value of 50,000 homes within 100ft of the lower voltage 132kv power lines.

The documents are the work of the Stakeholder Advisory Group on Extremely Low Frequency Electromagentic Fields (Sage). This committee was set up by the DoH in October 2004 following the publication of a report by Dr Gerald Draper, of the Oxford childhood cancer research group.

Dr Draper suggested that children under 15 living near high voltage power lines could have a 69 per cent increased risk of getting leukaemia.

Some scientists pointed out that while the research found a statistical association, it did not establish a causal link and they rejected the findings.

Sage includes representatives of the DoH, the National Grid, the Health Protection Agency, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

Academics from the University of Bristol and Nottingham Trent University are also members, as well as a number of campaigners from groups committed to highlighting what they believe are the potential dangers of electromagnetic fields.

Nicholas Ashe, of Property Vision, a leading firm of country house and estate buying agents, said the potential loss of value to properties could be even greater than Sage's working group predicts.

He said: "The higher the value of the house, the greater the impact. We are talking about reductions of up to 50 per cent.

"For the kind of country house we find for clients, the majority of the market would be wiped out and properties could become almost unsaleable.

"It would have the same affect as building a road nearby or the property being under a new flight path."

The draft Sage report, dated last November, acknowledges that power lines already have an impact on property values, with a home in a rural location within 165ft of a National Grid transmission line losing 15 per cent of its value.

It considers potential policy options if the Government were to decide that no one should be allowed to live within 230ft of power lines.

These include the compulsory purchase and demolition of all houses near the lines.

"This section considers the more modest policy of applying this prospectively, ie stopping any new homes from being built near power lines but not doing anything directly with existing homes."

near power lines but not doing anything directly with existing homes.

It considers potential policy options if the Government were to decide that no one should be allowed to live within 230ft of power lines.

These include the compulsory purchase and demolition of all houses near power lines.

"However one possible consequence of this prospective-only policy is that it nonetheless causes devaluation of existing properties."

The report lists four scenarios for the loss of value caused by the Government adopting Sage's preliminary advice. This amounts to between £3 billion and £7 billion.

The report will be presented to the Government in June along with another report on new advice on electrical wiring within the home.

It states that whether home and landowners could claim compensation from electricity companies will depend partly on the contractual arrangements between the parties, and whether the Government introduces compulsory or voluntary measures.

Whatever happens, it seems likely that the overall costs will ultimately be borne by consumers.

A spokesman for the National Grid said: "We are not going to disclose any details until the firm conclusions of the group are published this summer." ================================================== Telegraph 29 April 2006

Questions remain over pylon dangers By Nic Fleming, Medical Correspondent (Filed: 29/04/2006)

Despite taking seven years to complete, Dr Gerald Draper's investigation into the links between childhood leukaemia and high-voltage power lines was by no means conclusive. The research, published in full by the British Medical Journal last summer, looked at more than 29,000 children with cancer, including 9,700 with leukaemia, born between 1962 and 1995, and a control group of healthy youngsters in England and Wales.

Dr Draper and colleagues, from the Childhood Cancer Research Group at Oxford University, recorded the distance between the children's addresses at birth and the nearest high-voltage power line. They found that 64 children with leukaemia lived within 650ft of the line, and 258 lived between 650ft and 1,950ft away.

By comparing with control groups, they concluded that those within 650ft were around 69 per cent more likely to develop leukaemia, and those living between 650ft and 1,950ft away were 23 per cent more likely to develop the blood cancer, when compared to those living further away from power lines.

Around 500 children under 15 are diagnosed with leukaemia, cancer of the blood, every year in Britain and around 100 die.

Dr Draper estimated that, of the 400-420 cases that occur in England and Wales, about five might be associated with living in proximity to high voltage power lines.

The first suggestion of a link between EMFs and childhood leukaemia came from US researchers Nancy Wertheimer and Ed Leeper.

Eddie O'Gorman, the chairman of the charity Children with Leukaemia, said: "Planning controls must be introduced to stop houses and schools being built close to high-voltage overhead power lines."

While the researchers found a clear trend between the distance at which children were born from power lines and the risk of leukaemia, they could find no explanation for the finding. Some scientists have suggested magnetic fields produced by the lines could be to blame. However, the study found a raised risk beyond 650ft - a distance at which magnetic fields from power lines are at or below background levels.

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) has said this could mean at least some of the increased risk of leukaemia could be associated with factors other than EMFs.

The HPA responded to Dr Draper's study by suggesting that a "precautionary approach". Dr Michael Clarke, scientific spokesman for the HPA, said: "There is no hard evidence of a risk, but there is a hint of one. We formally suggested that the Government should consider precautionary measures."

The Department of Health said: "The Department of Health commissioned and funded the biggest ever study of its kind into cases of childhood cancer in proximity to high voltage power lines. This showed a statistical association, but no casual link.

"We have set up a group to consider the evidence and whether there is a need to develop precautionary measures. Ministers will consider the group's recommendations when they report." ====================================================== Telegraph 29 April 2006

Case study: £1m home 'blighted by cables' cannot be sold for half the price By Nigel Bunyan (Filed: 29/04/2006)

Dermot Finnigan has suffered greatly from the blight of a power cable.

Four years ago his home, set beside a golf club in Sale, Greater Manchester, was worth upwards of £1 million.

Today it is so compromised by the erection of a 40kva pylon that he cannot sell it even at a huge loss. A potential buyer agreed in February to pay £495,000, but pulled out of the deal on Wednesday following publication in The Daily Telegraph of the latest report linking power lines to childhood leukaemia.

An estate agent is charging £4,000 "up-front" simply to continue marketing the property, while his bank will not risk a £50,000 loan so he can meet domestic bills.

National Grid Transco disputes Mr Finnigan's claim that the huge structure encroaches on his land, while the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive, which sees the pylon as integral to its hopes of extending the city's Metrolink system, refuses to even discuss valuation.

The impasse means Mr Finnigan, 51, a former demolition contractor, and his wife, Janet, 49, are trapped in the four-bedroom home they regarded as their slice of "countryside in the city".

At the same time, his enforced retirement because of cancer means the couple have only minimal income.

"This is a classic David and Goliath scenario, except we are up against two Goliaths," he said yesterday.

"GMPTE have passed it on to the National Grid and the National Grid are in denial.

"They say we are ineligible for compensation because the cables overhang a few centimetres beyond our boundary. They are wrong and we have a 1956 ordnance survey plan to prove it. They have a moral responsibility to compensate us."

The latest report means there will be a lot more people who find themselves in a similar position.

The Finnigans bought a 10-acre site at Fairways Farm, close to the M60, in 1984. They planted 3,000 trees and built a house.

"For more than 10 years it was perfect, an absolute delight to live here," said Mr Finnigan. "But in May 2002 we were served with a compulsory purchase order made on behalf of GMPTE.

"We were told they wanted us out by Christmas, but weren't given either a price or any possible recourse.

"Fifteen months later the CPO was removed. We were told the pylon was going up at New Farm, next door to us, but that we would still be compensated. But instead of putting it up in place of the two houses there they built it at a different spot and gave the houses to Sale Golf Club.

"They seem to have moved it to one side in order to avoid compensating us."

The Finnigans' problems have been made worse by the removal of hundreds of trees - to facilitate the pylon - that screened their home from the noise of the motorway.

"Ninety per cent of buyers are put off by the pylon; the rest by the noise," he said.

National Grid Transco insisted that neither the old nor the new route of the power lines crossed Mr Finnigan's land.

GMPTE said it took the case "very seriously". But despite being sympathetic to Mr Finnigan's situation, it said he was not legally entitled to compensation. ======================================================= Telegraph 29 April 2006

The power game (Filed: 29/04/2006)

? The National Grid was set up in 1926

? The first pylon was built in Edinburgh in 1928

? The 3,000-mile grid was completed in the New Forest in 1933, It was nationalised in 1947

? National Grid operates the electricity network across the UK, but only owns the grid in England and Wales. The rest belongs to Scottish Power, Scottish and Southern Energy and Northern Ireland Electricity

? The National Grid network across England and Wales is 4,660 miles long and contains 22,000 pylons ================================================

Headaches, nosebleeds from TETRA

Health controversy grows as spread of telecoms masts continues apace

MICHAEL RUSSELL on the debate over the proliferation of the TETRA microwave communications system, due to go live in Skye and Lochalsh next week

Wild salmon and sea trout returned in near-record numbers to the Snizort River in north Skye last year in what has

Chris Butterfield suffers from a rare condition called electro-­sensitivity. Put simply, the Fife-based photographer is allergic to mobile phone technology, specifically the microwave signals which let the rest of us talk, text and cook.

As allergies go, this is about as bad as it gets. Skin rashes, headaches, disorientation and nosebleeds are what 30-year-old Chris has to contend with whenever he passes a base station mast, or when someone nearby uses the latest whizzbang 3G phone. It all makes for a very un­comfortable and difficult life. A trip to the shops or a walk in the country can suddenly turn into a very painful experience.

Naturally his mother, Liz, wants to help. Last month she visited the offices of the Free Press to place an advert seeking accommodation on Skye. “There are wide open spaces in the Highlands where there are no masts,” she explained. “Chris is ­looking for somewhere he can live without being afraid to go for a drive or a walk.”

Fife to Skye is a long drive, es­pecially for someone who herself suffers from ME. Evidently a son’s health is more important than a ­mother’s discomfort. She spent a few days house-hunting, placed the advert, then went back to Leven to wait for the good news.

What she got, however, was bad news. Now she and Chris will be staying put, at least for the time being. The Highlands and Islands, it transpires, are no longer the safe haven sought by mother and son. They know what to blame for that.

As of this month, Northern Constabulary started switching on its new “Airwave” system of microwave communication, promising police officers unprecedented access to data, encrypted security and inter-force capability.

Activating a vast network of Airwave antennae across Northern Constabulary’s eight area commands means a lot more masts, and a lot more radiation, for people like Chris Butterfield to dodge. The roll-out started in Lochaber at the beginning of this month, and is due to end when Skye and Lochalsh “goes live” next week.

According to Northern Con­stabulary, the whole Integrated Communication Development Programme — of which Airwave is the central element — has cost £4.5 million. Nationally, almost £3 billion of taxpayers’ money has been spent to date on putting the basic Airwave system in place, so the Government is expecting big things from it. The rush to complete the national roll-out as soon as possible was driven by Gordon Brown’s decision four years ago to sell all the police frequencies to an expectant mobile phone industry desperate to recoup the huge amounts spent on 3G technology. But many global players, both commercial and military, also want Airwave up and running because of its own intrinsic value.

Already various upgrades and add-ons, many with future military applications, are coming on the ­market. American telecoms giant Motorola — which dominates the UK Airwave market —launched the next generation of masts just three months ago. Arms giants Thales, EADS and Northrop Grumman also offer Airwave products and services. Inevitably, the cost is bound to increase over the course of the 15-year contract. This is a world-first, after all.

Over the last five years around 3,500 Airwave antennae, most of them site-sharing with other oper­ators and thus free from the usual planning constraints, have been put up nationwide. Northern Constabulary Chief Constable Ian Latimer initially said the force needed 287 Airwave sites to cover the Highlands and Islands. That figure now stands at 150, raising concerns about how full coverage can be achieved with fewer masts. All the UK’s 51 police forces are committed to Airwave, and this makes thousands of electro-sensitives like Chris nervous. They are not alone.

Since the system was piloted in Lancashire in 2000, there has been a steady stream of complaints from both users (police officers) and communities near to transmitters. Violent reactions like those experienced by Chris Butterfield have occurred in people not known as electro-­sensitive. What is it about Airwave that might affect ordinary people in this way? And are its effects being ignored — or worse, covered up — by the industry?

THE health controversy centres on two aspects of the system —the alleged pulsing of the microwave signals from Airwave police handsets and base stations, and the fact that base station transmitters are on full power 24/7. Ordinary mobile phone masts, by contrast, respond to demand, adjusting their power output accordingly.

Airwave is the light and fluffy brand name chosen for this technology by mobile company O2, which was formerly part of BT. The system is more accurately known as TErrestrial Trunked RAdio — TETRA.

During the Lancashire pilot study, 177 police officers complained of the same symptoms described by Chris Butterfield. Behavioural and emotional changes were also noted. Such was the concern within the police ­service at the time that the Police Federation commissioned Government microwave expert Barrie Trower to investigate the technology. His findings were shocking.

Microwaves from the UK’s 40,000 mobile phone masts are bad news. Pulsed microwaves from TETRA are even worse. Mr Trower said both interfere with the electrical processes within the body and, depending on their frequency, can produce very specific effects and will even degrade immune systems in the long term. The 17.6 Hz frequency used by TETRA is especially significant: that is slap bang in the middle of the 15-20 Hz range which characterises the brain’s electrical activity when engaged in complex mental tasks. Referred to in neuroscience as Beta Waves, this frequency range is also evident during the dream-state of sleep, which sufferers say is disrupted because of TETRA. Strobe lights are banned from flashing at this rate for this very reason, in case they induce an epileptic fit.

When he was head of the Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones, Sir William Stewart, now chairman of the Health Protection Agency and formerly chairman of the National Radiological Protection Board, warned in 2000 that this frequency should be avoided. The Group noted that there “is now scientific evidence which suggests that there may be biological effects” occurring at exposure levels below official limits for microwaves from mobile phone (known in the industry as GSM) technology. Children under eight, said Sir William, should never use a mobile phone at all as they have thinner skulls than adults and their nervous systems are still developing.

As a result of the IEGMP’s findings, microwave emissions from mobile phone masts and TETRA transmitters now have to stick to stringent international limits, which came into force in the UK in 2004. In an effort to allay public fears, the NRPB told the telecoms regulator OFCOM in 2004 to put all emissions data from GSM and TETRA base ­stations on their website. So far, only four masts in Scotland have been ­listed on Ofcom’s Sitefinder facility. None of the four is north of Falkirk, and no TETRA masts are included.

OFCOM spokesman Simon Bates told me that the Home Office had prevented the publication of any TETRA readings on security grounds. Verifying industry claims that TETRA complies with official microwave limits is therefore impossible.

But crucially for Mr Trower, and a growing body of expert opinion, those official limits — enforced by the International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection — are badly flawed because they only cover the body heating effects of the radiation.

Since the Stewart Report of 2000, IEGMP consultees Dr Gerald Hyland and Dr Roger Coghill have published several papers which suggest, in common with Mr Trower, that key frequencies emitted by TETRA and mobile phone masts produce specific effects for entirely different reasons.

In a paper prepared for the European Parliament, Dr Hyland wrote: “Unlike the heating effect exposure to microwaves which can, if excessive, cause actual material damage, non-thermal influences act in a more subtle way, via their potentiality to interfere with biological functionality — in particular, it would appear, with bioprocesses which are intended to afford (natu­ral) protection against adverse health effects of various kinds.”

The industry, including its paid researchers and political advocates, is unmoved. Recognising non-thermal effects, despite Sir William Stewart’s admission, is still some way off. In fact, the official line is that TETRA signals from base stations do not pulse.

This assertion, say the Scottish Green Party, is a “hair-splitting” argument which averages out the signal over a set time period. Messrs Trower, Hyland and Coghill say the same. However, O2 do admit that the police handsets and car-mounted antennae do pulse. Makers of rival system TETRAPOL, which is used by the emergency services across Europe, say that UK TETRA base stations do pulse, though you might expect the competition to say that.

SEEKING some kind of clarity, I spoke to a man who should be able to give a definitive answer to the ­pulsing question.

Dr Michael Clark is a leading radiation expert who works for the Health Protection Agency, the body which absorbed Sir William Stewart’s NRPB in April of last year. The HPA acknowledge that TETRA is different from other microwave technologies. But how different? Does it pulse?

According to Dr Clark, any electrical signal has to drop to zero to qualify as pulsed. “That is the official definition that has been recognised for 30 years,” he explained. “However, the TETRA signal does rise and fall at specific frequencies.”

Could this rising and falling produce a biological effect? “That cannot be ruled out,” he replied.

Dr Clark also acknowledged that all the current research being conducted by the Home Office was focused on the handsets and car-mounted antennae used by police officers. Not a single health study has been conducted on communities near any of the 3,500 TETRA sites in the UK. “We do need more research in this area,” Dr Clark observed.

Such a move would certainly be welcomed by concerned residents across the UK. Groups from as far afield as Bognor Regis and Perthshire have reported the same symptoms as those felt by Chris Butterfield. And very few of them qualify as electro-sensitives.

Arthur Jarrett, an anti-TETRA activist from Wormit in Fife — where councillors refused O2 planning permission for a TETRA mast last year — said more and more ordinary ­people were reporting microwave symptoms because the technology had changed so rapidly in such a short space of time. The proliferation of masts and phones (the latter increasing in number tenfold in the UK between 1995 and 2005) and the advent of 3G meant, he said, that power outputs had increased con­siderably to give full coverage and to “do all the wonderful things” the industry promises. “TETRA is an added nuisance,” Mr Jarret commented.

For some it is more than a minor irritant. When a TETRA mast went live just a few hundred yards from Littlehamptom Primary School in Sussex in 2004, 11 children were sent home with headaches and nosebleeds.

Originally from Ness in Lewis, Graham Morrison now stays in Partick, Glasgow, and last week chaired a public meeting in the local baptist church. “It was the cheapest venue we could afford,” he said.

There’s nothing funny about his microwave symptoms, or those of around 50 fellow sufferers who stay in just two streets in Thornwood. “It started about a year ago with headaches, tiredness and muscular pains,” Mr Morrison added. “The doctors couldn’t find anything wrong, but the problems persisted. Then others came forward with the same symptoms.”

According to Mr Morrison, all the Thornwood sufferers began reporting microwave symptoms at the same time as two masts, 3G and TETRA, were put up in the area. “There are now 15 masts in the Partick area,” he added. “The worst affected are those who live in the cross-lines between the 3G and TETRA masts.

“People here are getting angry because they feel they are being ignored. Everyone wants to know why the authorities won’t recognise what’s going on — why are they covering this up?”

David Baron, who lives in Chichester, told me that five local police officers had complained of similar symptoms when using TETRA handsets there. “They have been told not to go anywhere near the press because they will lose their jobs,” he added.

Rural police users of TETRA, it seems, may have more to fear from the technology than their urban counter­parts. Home Office research conducted by the University of Birmingham in 2004 warned that PCs working night shift in rural areas should be given “special attention” as their usage of TETRA equipment is likely to be heavier in comparison to city police forces, where staffing ­levels are higher.

These concerns were given added weight by a study conducted by Sweden’s University Hospital last year which found that the risk of developing a brain tumour was six times higher among mobile phone users in rural areas than in cities. The reason stated by the authors was the greater distance between base stations in rural areas, and thus the higher power output of masts to achieve full coverage.

The University of Birmingham report, entitled “Airwave Patterns of Use Study”, also warns that microwave exposure levels for the general public could exceed official ICNIRP limits if a person’s head were within a “few centimetres” of a police car’s antenna. However, the report then goes on to state that no data on microwave emissions was forthcoming from the only manufacturers of the car-mounted antennae chosen to take part in the study, Welsh firm Cleartone.

Other police health studies, such as the long-term project being con­ducted by Imperial College London, bemoan the difficulty in obtaining accurate call-duration records from O2 so that exposure can be measured. The latest ICL study also found that linking an individual TETRA user’s subscriber number with a PC’s collar ID was an “immediate concern” and far from straightforward.

LOCHCARRON councillor Ewen Mackinnon, who has served on the Northern Joint Police Board for several years, acknowledged there did seem to be a degree of uncertainty with regard to the health effects of TETRA on both users and the public. However, the board’s main concern had been the financial implications of the new system, he said. Indeed, he told me last week that members were still awaiting clarification from the Scottish Executive about fully funding Airwave through Grant Aided Expenditure.

As the council tax accounts for 20 per cent Northern Constabulary’s total budget, Mr Mackinnon wanted assurances that the cost of Airwave — the jewel in the crown of the force’s Integrated Communications Devel­opment Programme — would not be passed on to taxpayers. This, he said, was especially significant in the Highlands and Islands as the basic TETRA package cannot give full coverage over our mountainous terrain.

Northern Constabulary say that 98 per cent of the funding for ICDP has come from the executive in the GAE settlement.

Mr Mackinnon added: “Northern Constabulary had no option about ­taking Airwave. The Scottish Executive forced them and said ‘this is what’s going to happen’.”

This view is reinforced by a look at the minutes of the Northern Police Board.

On 25th January 2002, the minutes noted: “A contract for central procurement had been offered to this force, among others, through a Consortium, inviting Forces to commit to its terms by 26th February 2002.

“The chief constable was currently seeking legal advice, sight of the contract documents and advice from the Scottish Executive on the financial implications of the proposed contract before making a recommendation to Members on the proposed procurement arrangement.”

But at the next Board meeting on 11th April the deal was done and ­dusted, without members getting a look at the documents or getting to meet Justice Minister Jim Wallace — a move agreed at the meeting of 25th January.

Board members had been given one month to consider taking Airwave before the 26th February deadline, but were given no contract information and no costings on which to base their conclusions.

The minutes of 11th April make it clear that only the Chief Constable had access to any kind of detailed information in the interim, which included a meeting with the Scottish Executive.

Was he given no choice, as Mr Mackinnon maintained, but to accept TETRA at this meeting?

This leads on to another question: who is pushing TETRA so hard, and why?

Cell Phone Users 240 Percent More Prone to Brain Tumors

A new Swedish study indicates that mobile phone use can raise the risk of brain tumors. In the study, 2,200 cancer patients, and an equal number of healthy control cases, were examined for mobile phone use. Among the cancer patients, about a tenth of the nearly 1,000 with malignant brain tumors were also heavy mobile phone users. Heavy use was defined as 2,000 or more hours, or about 10 years' use at an hour per day. Brain cancer patients also showed a significant increase in risk of tumor for the side of the head where they generally used the mobile phone. The researchers who conducted the study said that the figures demonstrate a 240 percent increased risk of a malignant tumor on that side of the head.

Wired News March 31, 2006 ZDNet March 31, 2006

Cell Phone Users 240 Percent More Prone to Brain Tumors

A new Swedish study indicates that mobile phone use can raise the risk of brain tumors. In the study, 2,200 cancer patients, and an equal number of healthy control cases, were examined for mobile phone use. Among the cancer patients, about a tenth of the nearly 1,000 with malignant brain tumors were also heavy mobile phone users. Heavy use was defined as 2,000 or more hours, or about 10 years' use at an hour per day. Brain cancer patients also showed a significant increase in risk of tumor for the side of the head where they generally used the mobile phone. The researchers who conducted the study said that the figures demonstrate a 240 percent increased risk of a malignant tumor on that side of the head.

Wired News March 31, 2006 ZDNet March 31, 2006

Your Life As A Human Test Subject

Your Life As A Human Test Subject - ChemtrailsCMAQ6-8-4 You Are Now Electro-Sensitive The spraying of powdered materials throughout the skies of the world is happening on a daily basis everywhere. This has been going on with increasing frequency since the so-called "Election" of the bush crime family to leadership positions in America. Hardly a day goes by now where jets do not lay down chemical trails in grids and canopies. This is support for technology being used against the population of the world. Its main goal is control of food and water through weather modification, but the vast vast expense of this program, as well as the classified technology of corporations such as Time Domain Corporation, suggest even greater goals are being obtained in conjunction with the attempt to lock down food and water. Monsanto Corporation is also deeply involved in this illegal take-over, and many others. Electro-sensitivity of the soil itself will only allow GM crops to crow eventually. Get it? I knew you would. Ionization of these sprayed particles also causes many forms of radiation to rain down upon the as yet unsuspecting populace of the world, as well as lensing programs to dehydrate land and dry up water sources. The first lie of the NWO animals is that a shield is needed because the atmosphere has been depleted -- it is too bad that THEY themselves can now deplete the atmosphere at any time and thus CREATE THAT NEED. The true crux of the program is to create conductivity within all life on the surface of the planet, by spraying conductive materials which inevitably end up in the soil, the water, the air, and the food. Great inroads have been made in the last few decades concerning electronic coercion through thought entrainment and other electronic stimulus; some examples of this include Paperclip, MK-ULTRA, Pandora, and the work of the so-called Doctor Delgado. Spraying of conductive materials was preceded just slightly with the widespread use of cell phones, and it is a fair and reasonable contention that the cell phones are just a cover for the deployment of broadcast towers everywhere, a necessary adjunct to electronic mind control and automated law enforcement. Look around yourselves, the evidence is before your eyes. Towers everywhere and daily spraying of chemicals in American skies, as well as all over the world, will give you a fair clue of just what the new world order with its nazi connections is all about. Electro-sensitivity is being created so that the populace will respond in a predictable way to various forms of broadcast energy being used for control and coercion. There are also implants being used on a broad scale, in places such as veterans hospitals, and dental labs, and these are used also for coercion, and act as tracking devices too. Finally, the two bush gulf wars were nothing but testing fields for biotech infections that react to electronic broadcast fields. Now, enemies of the State in the US are systematically targeted by The Brethren Operation within the bush CIA for coercion through direct pain. It is more than unfortunate that most of the medical records pertaining to the first bush gulf war have now been destroyed. They were stored in the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, when it was demolished by individuals possessing all the symptoms of advanced nazi mind control science. Broadcast towers are simply the means to control the mass. The hard cases are targeted with handheld and airborn fields which cause accelerated growth of funguses and cancers these freedom fighters have been intentionallly infected with. No one can escape this attack on the world by a few degraded non-human animals, and only mass awareness and violent removal will end this depredation against humanity. And remember this: Russia perfected and used this Tesla-Like technology long before the United States. It was in fact that happening which caused Reagan to go into an orgy of spending once that fact was discovered. Visit: www.chemtrailcentral.com www.carnicom.com http://www.cmaq.net/fr/node.php?id=17060

Study: Tumor Risk from Cell Phones

Study: Tumor Risk from Cell Phones

http://www.betanews.com/article/Study_Tumor_Risk_from_Cell_Phones/1143823783

By Nate Mook, BetaNews March 31, 2006, 11:49 AM

Researchers at the Swedish National Institute for Working Life issued a report this week disputing two earlier studies that claimed cell phone use has no correlation to increased brain tumor risk. The Swedish study found that long-term mobile phone exposure could raise the chance of developing cancer.

In January, a four-year study performed by the London-based Institute of Cancer Research and three British universities found that talking on a cell phone had no effect on tumor rates. That research included 966 people with glioma brain tumors and 1,716 healthy respondents. Individuals were questioned on first use, lifetime years of use, cumulative hours of use, and number of calls they made.

However, the new Swedish study is the biggest yet to cover long-term mobile phone usage, including 2,200 cancer patients and an equal number of healthy individuals. It found that a tenth of those with a malignant brain tumor were also heavy phone users -- logging 2,000 hours or more of total talk time. The number correlates to about 10 years of phone activity.

"Of these 905 cases, 85 were so-called high users of mobile phones, that is they began early to use mobile and/or wireless telephones and used them a lot," the study's authors said.

The study also reported a higher risk of a tumor on the side of the head where the phone is held. Overall, the report suggested a 240 percent increased risk of a malignant tumor on this part of the head. Other factors, such as smoking habits and working history were taken into consideration as well.

The Swedish researchers did have one recommendation for people looking to cut down on any potential cancer risk from cell phones: use a headset.

'Mercury vaccines, electrosensitivity, autism, other infant disorders'

'Mercury vaccines, electrosensitivity, autism, other infant disorders' From Lyn-Louise Milnes in New Zealand: Mercury vaccines, electrosensitivity, autism, other infantdisorders Here is a list of facts linking TCV vaccines containing mercury (thimerosal) to electrosensitivity and to childhood developmental problems like ADHD, tics and autism. Sadly, (1) some evidence suggests that some people may be more electro-sensitive than others, (2) high levels of mercury in the body have been associated with electro-sensitivity, (3) once taken in to the body, mercury stays there and accumulates, (4) many vaccines contain "thimerosal", which means mercury, (5) this includes infant vaccines, (6) these tiny babies can get 50 to 75 micrograms of mercury in one shot, (7) the EPA-recommended maximum adult ingestion of mercury is 1 microgram/day, (8) research shows that TCVs (thimerosal-containing vaccines)have adverse neurodevelopment outcomes, including raised levels of hyperactivity, ADHD, speech delays, and tics, and 2.5 times as many cases of autism, (9) the most-quoted CDC study, saying "TCVs are okay", published in Pediatrics in November 2003, was at first quite different in its first 1999 draft and indicated a significant neurodevelopmental risk to infants from thimerosal-containing vaccines. (10) This study, before publication anywhere, went through a second stage and was worked on in 1991 for the CDC by a man who soon after became an employee of GlaxoSmithKline (a major vaccine-maker), (11) this employee, Thomas Verstraeten, reworked the data and incorporated new quite differently-derived data which he added in, despite different research methods including a different coding system for the diagnostics. Further, (12) alternative versions of the SAME vaccines do NOT contain thimerosal, (13) when my children were young, vaccines were ordered by the local doctor for each patient on a name-of-patient-given-to-supplier basis (are they still? I don't know), (14) so there is a big USA and worldwide question to be addressed about why some babies got TCVs and others did not, over several decades. Lyn-Louise Milnesin New Zealand

CNN: Cancer Fear Curbs College's Wi-Fi

CNN: Cancer Fear Curbs College's Wi-Fi TORONTO, Ontario (Reuters) -- A small Canadian university has ruled out campus-wide wireless Internet access because its president fears the system's electromagnetic forces could pose a risk to students' health.Lakehead University, in Thunder Bay, Ontario, has only a limited Wi-Fi connections at present, in places where there is no fiber-optic Internet connection. And that, according to president Fred Gilbert, is just fine."The jury is still out on the impact that electromagnetic forces have on human physiology," Gilbert told a university meeting last month, insisting that university policy would not change while he remained president."Some studies have indicated that there are links to carcinogenetic occurrences in animals, including humans, that are related to energy fields associated with wireless hotspots, whether those hotspots are transmissions lines, whether they're outlets, plasma screens, or microwave ovens that leak."Lakehead University published a transcript of Gilbert's remarks on its Web site. Spokeswoman Eleanor Abaya said the decision not to expand the university's few isolated wireless networks was a "personal decision" by Gilbert.....Click here to read the full story------- -------Comments: Wi-Fi or wireless networks are sprouting everywhere nowadays and is yet another example of how the human population exposure to EMF is growing at an exponential rate. And you don't have to be using the computer to be exposed to the radiation, either. As in 'second hand' cell phone radiation, you only have to be in the vicinity of a wireless 'hotspot' to be affected. This is one big reason for a personal EMF protection like the BIOPRO QLink. The QLink forms a virtual 'bioshield' and strengthens your resistance from stress induced by EMF anywhere you go. It is a MUST for anyone living in today's technological world.

12 Cell Phone Radiation Facts You Want To Know!

1. In Australia the number one disease among children is brain tumor and brain cancer… It just surpassed Leukemia

.2. Sperm count in adult males who use cell phones heavily are lowered by as much as 30%.

3. In Japan you aren’t allowed to use Cell Phones on the train due to 2nd hand radiation.

4. In England it is recommended that teenagers 16 and under refrain from unnecessary cell phone use.

5. None of the cell phone companies are insured … they are all self insured. Insurance companies have exclusion clauses against paying compensation for illnesses caused by continuous long-term low level radiation.

6. There are, at the moment, 7 state class action lawsuits, 10 brain cancer lawsuits, 2 workman’s comp lawsuits in California.

7. In new Verizon contracts in fine print -- upon signing the contract you agree not to sue the Cell Phone Maker or participate in a Class Action Lawsuit.

8. With 500 minutes of cell phone use per month you have a 300% increased probability of getting brain cancer.

9. There are 40,000 to 50,000 new cases of brain tumors and eye cancer per year attributed to cell phone use.

10. The average kid uses a cell phone 2600 minutes per month.

11. If the current trend continues there will be 500,000 new cases of tumors per year by the year 2010.

12. Disney Corporation, who 5 years ago turned down $2 million per year licensing fee for use of Disney Characters due to cell phone radiation safety concerns, recently signed a 2 billion contract with Sprint.

Mickey strides into wireless

Mickey strides into wireless By Kelly Hill Apr 6, 2006 LAS VEGAS—With fog, fireworks and a helping hand from Mickey Mouse, Disney Mobile announced the launch of its cellular service at yesterday’s CTIA keynote. Steve Wadsworth, president of the Disney Internet Group, joked that the towering on-stage model of the silver Pantech flip-phone that Disney Mobile will offer looked just like any other phone—and that, he added, was exactly what Disney Mobile wanted. Adults want high-quality phones, Wadsworth said, and the teens and tweens “don’t want a phone that looks like a kid’s phone.” Hence the co-branded Pantech DM-P100 phone, and the yet-to-come DM-L200 from LG Electronics Co. Ltd., with nary a mouse-ear logo in sight. Disney Mobile plans to start selling the phones and plans in June; the service will use Sprint Nextel Corp.’s CDMA2000 1x EV-DO network. Much of the unique functions of the service come in the form of controls for parents. Parents can parcel out monthly minute allowances for voice, text and picture messaging, and downloadable content, and use Disney Mobile’s “Family Center” to decide when children can and can’t use their phones. During certain days, school hours or prime homework time, Wadsworth noted, parents can disable most of the phone’s functions. However, children can always call a limited list of allowed numbers, such as parents and 911, whether the rest of the functions are disabled or they are over their minute allowance. The monthly minute allowance, Wadsworth said, would prevent problems such as unexpectedly large wireless bills due to text messaging or teenagers eating up a family’s monthly minutes. When a child reaches the end of his or her monthly minutes, an alert is sent to both the child and the parent in charge of managing the family’s service. Parents also can compose a list of prohibited numbers that the child is not allowed to call or text. The handset also offers a locator feature that uses embedded GPS capabilities. Parents can enter a personal identification number on their handset or at the Disney Mobile Web site and then the location, a map and an indication of accuracy shows them the approximate location of the child’s device. Families also can set up alert functions, and parental messages override the phone’s idle screen. Wadsworth noted that the device’s other functions, such as calling and data services, cannot be used until the message is acknowledged, preventing the “I didn’t get the message” excuse. The service includes unlimited messaging among family members. Wadsworth noted that a number of common messages, such as “Where RU?”, “Running late. Be there soon!” and “Can you get a ride?” are included in a list of preprogrammed messages so that parents, who may not be comfortable with text messaging, will find it easy to use. Disney Mobile did not reveal much about its service pricing plans, except to say that it will offer both individual and family plans, including child-only subscriptions which allow parents “to take advantage of all the Family Center features from the Web until they themselves can join Disney Mobile.” All plans will include the Family Center features, and consumers will be able to buy phones and service through Disney Mobile’s Web site and at dedicated mall kiosks. Handset prices will start at $60 with a two-year service agreement, Disney Mobile said. According to Disney Mobile’s Web site, the approximate retail value of the phones and service it is currently offering in a giveaway are $130 per handset and $80 per month for service. ------------------------------------------------------------------------