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Are Cell Phones & Wireless Networks Hazardous? Cell Phones (hand-held mobile phones) Emit Microwave Radiation Cell (mobile) phones & wireless networks emit radiation in the microwave frequency range. Just as microwave radiation cooks food at high levels, it causes damage to human tissue and DNA at very low levels. "Neither radiofrequency (30 kHz-300MHz) nor microwave fields (300-3000 MHz) exist as significant components of the natural terrestrial electromagnetic environment. In consequence, our human generation is the first to voluntarily expose itself to artificial RF/microwave fields that cover a wide spectrum of frequencies and intensities. Typical mobile phones radiate an average power of 0.2-0.6 W. When hand-held and operated close to the head, background levels are sharply distorted, with 40 percent of radiated phone energy absorbed in the hand and the head ([Kuster et al., 1997]). In this mode of operation, a mobile phone may be regarded as a quite powerful radio transmitter. Its emission at the head surface is typically 10,000 times stronger than fields reaching the head of a user standing within 30m of the base of a typical mobile phone relay transponder mounted on a tower 30m above ground." W. Ross Adey, International Encyclopedia of Neuroscience Microwave Radiation is Hazardous Hundreds of independent scientific studies going back to the 1940's have clearly shown that exposure to microwave radiation can cause severe and long-lasting damage, however, it might take years for the damage to produce noticable symptoms in some people. A 10 year industry sponsored study determined that cell phones are not safe, according to the program's director, George Carlo, who was fired after presenting his findings and threatened to not reveal the results of his research. Norbert Hankin, an environmental scientist in the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), has studied the effects of radio frequency/microwave radiation for 33 years says some of the research findings are "worrisome." Even the notoriously corrupt U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reports, "the available scientific evidence does not allow us to conclude that mobile phones are absolutely safe." Industry Coverup When radar operators in the 1940's started developing leukemia and cancer it became apparent that microwave radiation was harmful and steps were taken to reduce the exposure of radar operators. Yet, most people on the planet are now being exposed to high levels of radiation that is well known to be harmful. The $100 Billion/year cell phone industry has enough power to ensure that the truth about its products are not known. Mass media makes so much money from cell phone advertising that few of them are willing to publish articles on the hazards of cell phones. Governments earn huge fees for bandwidth licensing so won't protect their citizens from the radiation. The cell phone industry is following some of the same tactics used by the tobacco industry and has paid for hundreds of bogus studies designed specifically to show that microwave radiation is not harmful. One industry controlled 'study' even showed that cell phones reduced the number of brain tumors. Bogus Industry 'studies' were used by the World Health Organization (WHO) to develop its policy that cell phones are safe even though its own studies showed them to be harmful. The man who created the pro-industry policy at the WHO was employed by the industry before, during and after he created the policy. What are the effects of the radiation? While industry sponsored studies have failed to show a clear link between microwave radiation and brain tumors (there are other effects which have been ignored by industry studies), independent scientific studies clearly show that microwave radiation does cause brain tumors and numerous other serious health problems. Microwave signals travel through human tissue, glass, metal and plastic. Human tissue also absorbs microwave radiation. The effect of even minute levels of microwave radiation has been shown to:
The damaging effects of the radiation can produce a wide range of physical symptoms. Some symptoms may take years to show up. Some of the effects can be short-term while other effects are long-term or permanent. Opening the blood-brain barrier allows toxins into the brain that cause a wide range of ailments - many of which are currently unknown or poorly understood.
The Facts The safety of microwave radiation is no longer in question. The laws of physics dictate that the radiation is harmful. Hundreds of independent scientific studies have clearly shown that if you use a cell phone or are continually exposed to microwave radiation from a wireless network or microwave tower you are at risk for delibitating and life threatening illness. Following are just a few of the studies that show the risks associated with exposure to microwave radiation. Cell Phones Cause Hearing Loss - A study conducted by hearing expert Dr. Naresh Pand shows that the microwave radiation from mobile phones causes hearing loss. Dr. Panda compared the hearing of 100 mobile phone users between the ages of 18 and 25 with that of 50 others who did not use mobile phones. Microwave Radiation Causes Eye Damage - A study published in the journal Bioelectromagnetics showed that the microwave radiation from cell phones can cause cataracts and other eye damage by creating tiny air pockets in the lense of the eye. Microwave Radiation Damages DNA - A four year study conducted by the European Union (EU) by 12 research groups in 7 European countries found that radiation from cell phones harm body cells and damages DNA. The damaged DNA was passed on to subsequent generations of cells, a condition for the formation of cancer.
Cell Phone Usage Causes Tumors - A team of researchers at Institute of Environmental Medicine at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, found almost a fourfold increase of the tumors, known as acoustic neuromas, on the side of the head where the phone was most often held. A recent study sanctioned by the World Health Organization found an increased risk of brain tumors in people who have used the phones for 10 years or more. Cell Phone Usage Disrupts Children's Brains - A study conducted by the Spanish Neuro Diagnostic Research Institute in Marbella found that two minutes of cell phone usage disrupted brain function in children for up to an hour after the exposure ended. The abnormal brain function could result in psychiatric and behavioural problems and impair learning ability. Cell Phone Usage Cuts Male Fertility - Research results show that mobile phone usage reduces sperm count and damages surviving sperm. Dr. Imre Fejes of the obstetrics and gynaecology department at the University of Szeged in Hungary conducted the study and concludes: “The prolonged use of cell phones may have a negative effect on spermatogenesis (sperm production) and male fertility, that deteriorates both concentration and motility.” Dr. Fejes paper was released at the 20th Annual Meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology held in Berlin from 27 to 30 June 2004. Cell Tower Radiation Shown to Cause Headaches and Nausea - Three Dutch ministries conducted a study that found that the radiation from the next generation cell phone towers can cause headaches and nausea. The study is the first of its kind and compared the impact of radiation from base stations used for the current mobile telephone network with that of cell towers for new third generation (3G) networks. The study used lower a dose of radiation than cell phones. Hand held phones emit stronger radiation when they are used, while cell towers transmit more constant levels of radio signals, continuously exposing everyone within range.
Micrwoave Radiation Causes Brain Damage - A study headed by Leif Salford, Department of Neurosurgery at Lund University in Sweden and published in Environmental Health Perspectives shows that cell phone use damages neurons in the brain. This study found that exposure to electromagnetic fields emitted by certain phones was associated with the leakage of labumin through the blood-brain barrier and neuronal damage that increased in response to the amount of exposure. The radiation typically experienced by a user of a cell phone actually burned holes in the brains of rats. The Head Absorbs Radiation - Headaches, nausea, dizziness, short-term memory problems, fatigue, and other complaints resulting from cellular phone use are not due to low-level heating of the brain; instead, they're apparently caused by the head serving as an "antenna" and brain tissue as a radio receiver, according to two Jerusalem researchers. Zvi Weinberger, a physicist who heads the applied physics department at the Jerusalem College of Technology, and Dr. Elihu Richter, head of the occupational medicine unit at the Hebrew University-Hadassah Braun School of Public Health, suggested this in the latest issue of the journal Medical Hypotheses. Mobile phones, they explained, "broadcast specifically at frequencies at which the head serves as an antenna and brain tissue serves as a demodulating radio receiver." Thus, precaution must be taken in the use of cellphones, they wrote. Jeruselem Post 12/02/02 Mobile Phone Signals Affect Brain Activity - A study reported in the Journal of Sleep Research (Blackwell Publishing) found that 30 minutes exposure to electromagnetic fields, as from GSM mobile phones, caused changes to brain activity which lasted long afterwards. Dr Peter Achermann and colleagues from the University of Zurich, and ITIS, in Zurich, found that blood flow increased in areas of the brain on the side nearest the phone, and that this effect lasted for over half an hour afterwards. They also discovered that the brain’s electrical activity (‘brain waves’) was not only affected immediately after the exposure, but that this lasted through much of the subsequent night’s sleep. Radiation From Cell Phones Can Make Cancer Grow Faster - "Italian scientists have raised new health concerns about the safety of using mobile phones, with research showing radio waves from the handsets makes cancerous cells grow more aggressively.." Reuters, 10/23/02 Cell Phone Radiation Can Cause Brain Tumors - An epidemiology study conducted by Dr. Lennart Hardell found a higher incidence of brain tumors on the sides of heads used by mobile-phone subscribers to make and receive calls. The study was published in the August, 2002 issue of the European Journal of Cancer Prevention. Cell Phones Incease Blood Pressure - The June 1998 The Lancet reported that radiation from mobiles caused an increase of blood pressure. Dr Braune and colleagues in Freiburg, Germany, attached mobiles to the right side of the heads of ten volunteers. The phones were switched on and off by remote control without the volunteers knowing - so that any radiation effect could be separated from the psychological effect of holding a mobile phone. Their blood pressure rose each time by between 5-10mm Hg which is enough to cause a stroke in those at risk for one. The body of evidence showing the hazards of cell phones is more than sufficient to cause alarm, yet, public health organizations continue to stall while the cell phone industry builds more towers and makes billions selling more phones. Just as the tobacco industry was able to hold back the truth regarding the health effects of smoking, the cell phone industry has suppresed the truth about cell phone hazards. If you care about your health and the health of your family, please take the time to educate yourself and have the courage to act on what you find. Wi-Fi Lies Wide-area wireless Internet networks (Wi-Fi) are spreading rapidly and are now in many homes, cities, hotels, airports, schools, restaurants and other public places. Industry claims that the radiation from wireless networks is a fraction of that from cell phones. A 2007 BBC documentary showed that the radiation level in schools was up to three times higher than that from the main beam of a cell phone tower. One of the biggest problems with wireless networks is the continual exposure. With a cell phone the exposure is limited to the time that the phone is switched on and transmitting. With wireless networks the exposure is 24/7. Some schools in Britain and other countries are now removing wireless networks and replacing them with conventional wired networks due to the fact that teachers and students were experiencing serious neurological problems linked to microwave radiation. What to Do About it It is not easy for many of us to simply stop using a cell phone. There may be a financial cost related to not being able to communicate via a cell phone. For those who travel it is getting increasingly difficult to find a pay-phone anywhere. However, the risks are very real and very serious and one's health is certainly worth protecting. The cost of using a cell phone is likely much higher in the long-term than the cost of not using one. Humans have lived and done business for thousands of years without mobile phones. 20 years ago few people had cell phones and 10 years ago there were almost no wireless networks. We all did just fine without them then and can do fine without them now.
For more info. visit: The Swedish Association for the ElectroSensitive | www.sarshield.com | www.energyfields.org | www.emf-health.com | www.psrast.org | FullSignalMovie Research Papers & Articles: [Adey, 1997] Adey WR (1997): Bioeffects of communication fields; possible mechanisms of cumulative dose. In: Kuster N, Balzano Q, Lin eds., Mobile Communication Safety, New York, Chapman and Hall. pp. 103-139 [Edelstyn and Oldenshaw, 2002]: The acute effects of exposure to electromagnetic field emitted by mobile phones on human attention. Neuroreport 13:119-121 [Gruenau et al., 1982]) Gruenau SP] Oscar KJ, Folker et al. (1982): Microwave effect on bloodbrain barrier permeability to [14C] sucrose in the conscious rat. Exper Neurol 75:299-307 [Huber et al., 2002] Huber R, Treyer V, Borbely A, et al. (2002): Electromagnetic fields, such as those from mobile phones, alter regional cerebral blood flow and sleep and waking EEG. J Sleep Res 11:280-295 [Ingalls, 1967] NY State J. of Medicine, v. 67 (22), 2292 - 2297 (June): Radar pulses that caused microwave hearing in experimental (human) subjects, also caused facilitation in the contraction of a dissected frog muscle. [Krause et
al., 2000] Krause CM, Sillanmaki L, Koivisto M, et al. (2000): Effects
of electromagnetic fields emitted by cellular phones on the electroencephalogram
during a visual working memory task. Internat J Radiat Biol 76:
1659-1667 [Oscar and Hawkins, 1977] Oscar KJ, Hawkins TD (1977): Microwave alteration of the blood-brain barrier system of rats. Brain Res 126:281-293 [Oscar et al., 1982] Oscar KJ, Gruenau SP, Folker MT (1982): Absence of microwave effect on blood-brain barier permeability to [14C] sucrose in the conscious rat. Exper Neurol 75:299-307 [Preece et al., 1999] Preece AW, Iwi G, Davies-Smith A, et al. (1999): Effects of 915-MHz simulated mobile phone signal on cognitive function in man. Internat J Rad Biol 75:447-456 [Salford et al., 2003] Salford L, Brun A, Eberhardt J, et al. (2003) Nerve cell damage in mammalian brain after exposure to microwaves from GSM mobile phones. Environmental Health Perspectives 2003 [Sandstrom et al., 2001] Sandstrom M, Wilen J, Oftedal G, et al. (2001): Mobile phone use and subjective symptoms. Occup Med (Lond) 51:25-35 [Schirmacher et al., 2000] Schirmacher A, Winters S, Fischer S, et al. (2000): Electromagnetic fields (1.8 GHz) increase the permeability to sucrose of the blood-brain barrier in vitro. Bioelectromagnetics 21:338-345 [Wilen et al., 2000] Wilen J, Sandstrom M, Hansson Mild K (2003): Subjective symptoms among mobile telephone users – a consequence of absorption of radiofrequency fields? Bioelectromagnetics 24:152-159 Books: Cell Towers: Wireless Convenience or Environmental Hazard edited by B. Blake Levitt, Safe Goods/.New Century Publishing, 2000, ISBN 1-884-820-62X. Electromagnetic Fields: A Consumer's Guide To The Issues And How To Protect Ourselves, B. Blake Levitt, Harcourt Brace, NY, 1995. The Body Electric: Electromagnetism and the Foundation of Life, Gary Selden, Robert O. Becker, Maria D. Guarnaschelli (Editors)., William Murrow & Company, NY, 1987. Cross Currents: the Perils of Electropollution, the Promise of Electromedicine, Robert O. Becker, M.D., Tarcher/Putman, NY 1990. Cellular Telephone Russian Roulette: A Historical and Scientific Perspective, Robert C. Kane, Vantage Press, NY, ISBN 0-533-13673-3. |
