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Radiofrequency Radiation- Hidden Health and Environmental Effects

Radiofrequency Radiation- Hidden Health and Environmental Effects . By: B. Blake Levitt. Population is not protected from long-term, low-level RF exposures. “Electrosmog” Altered environment Thermal vs Non-thermal Effects. Multi-systematic effects Cumulative effects Biological effects

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Radiofrequency Radiation- Hidden Health and Environmental Effects

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  1. Radiofrequency Radiation- Hidden Health and Environmental Effects By: B. Blake Levitt

  2. Population is not protected from long-term, low-level RF exposures • “Electrosmog” • Altered environment • Thermal vs Non-thermal Effects

  3. Multi-systematic effects Cumulative effects Biological effects Thermal effects Standards set by a non-health agency Electromagnetic Spectrum

  4. The Body is an Electrical Organism • Heartbeat • Brainwaves • Cell Division

  5. EPA Funding Slashed a Includes grant funds ($510,000) under EPA/NIEHS Interagency Agreement DW75935939. b Includes funds ($50,000) for Cooperative Agreement (CX823714) with the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP). c Includes funds ($50,000) for Cooperative Agreement (CX823714) with NCRP. d $25K completes total funding ($125,000) for Cooperative Agreement (CX823714) with NCRP.

  6. Telecommunications Act of 1996:Federal government preempts local control issues • Section 704 • Removal of our right to control for “environmental effects” –health effects in humans • Written by lobbyists for the telecom industry • States vs federal government

  7. RF pollution control inadequate • No safe level ever determined • “categorical exclusion” • Lack of monitoring • Electrosmog / whole cities going WiFi • Lack of epidemiological studies

  8. RF pollution control inadequate • Rising complaints to doctors • Headaches • Sleep disorders • Asthma • Allergies • Neurotransmitter diseases

  9. Not an aesthetic issue • Species extinctions • Wildlife abandoning areas with cell towers • Collapse of honey bee colonies • Global warming

  10. Real costs are hidden and Being Shifted • Insurance Companies • Federal Government • EPA

  11. Insurance Companies • Car accidents involving cell phone use • Medical expenses when people are made ill • Property damage from global warming • Property devaluation near cell towers • Legal expenses

  12. Federal Government • Social Security- Disability payments when people are incapacitated • Veterans Administration- Disability for Gulf War Syndrome, etc. • US Agriculture- Lost revenue from bees’ whole colony collapse • US Fish & Wildlife Service- Bird kills and towers

  13. EPA • Hazardous waste: • Cell phones contain: • Lead • Nickel • Zinc • Copper - all Heavy Metals • Ground water contamination from leachate • Estimated 700 million discarded

  14. Wrong area of science in control • Physicists and engineers setting public health policy • Think in terms of mechanical functionality “can we make it work” • Should be role of Biologists, Physicians, and Public Health Officials • Think in terms of whole living systems, cause and effect

  15. Bise study (1978): • Test exposures: • 0.1-960 MHz continuous waves (comparable to analog cell phones) • 8.5-9.6 GHz pulse modulated waves (comparable to WiFi) • Intensities substantially below typical urban levels today (1978) Low Power Radio frequency and Microwave Effects on Human Electroencephalogram and Behavior, by William Bise, Pacific Northwest Center for the study of Non-Ionizing Radiation, Portland, Oregon. Published in Physiolo. Chem. & Physics 10 (1978)

  16. Bise study conclusions (1978): • Severe alterations in brain waves • Mood swings • Short-term memory impact • Concentration problems • Headaches • Fatigue • Inability to work

  17. Problems • No federal agency is protecting the people from long-term RF exposure • FCC limits do not protect humans from long-term RF exposure • The FCC, charged with deployment, relies on industry groups to set standards • The EPA, charged with protecting public health, cannot perform its statutory duty • RF levels increasing exponentially

  18. Solutions • Need new, unbiased, independent, government research program at EPA and NIH • No CRADA programs with industry • Need government oversight of reported wireless hazards- not private entrepreneurs collecting data • Need to refund the right agencies • Need to rewrite the FCC standards to biological models • Need far more caution

  19. Refund the right agencies: • FCC • FDA • EPA • OSHA • NTIA • NIOSH • Fish and Wildlife

  20. Bise Reference • Low Power Radio frequency and Microwave Effects on Human Electroencephalogram and Behavior, by William Bise, Pacific Northwest Center for the study of Non-Ionizing Radiation, Portland, Oregon. Published in Physiolo. Chem. & Physics 10 (1978)

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