-Caveat Lector- ------- Forwarded message follows ------- Date sent: Sat, 05 Jan 2002 03:11:42 +1300 From: Misty <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: SNET: How dangerous is your cell phone? 1/2
http://www.unknowncountry.com/edge/articles/cellphone.phtml Cellphone Safety and the Science Behind CellGuard� The following article, compiled by Dr. Nick Begich and James Roderick, discusses the science behind cellphone use and human health risks, and what you should do to reduce your risk of exposure to dangerous cellphone emissions. Specifically, use of products like CellGuard� are recommended as one of the only ways to protect yourself, short of not using mobile phones at all. Also, after B. Blake Levitt's report on cell phones on the May 14 Dreamland show, many listeners contacted us to ask about websites. Here is a useful guide to the subject. If you know of a good site with scientifically sound information on this important topic, E-mail Whitley at [EMAIL PROTECTED] The EMR Network Electromagnetic spectrum graph at Lodestar Astronomy Center Wave-Guide.org Safer World Council on Wireless Technology Impacts Microwave News The Swedish Association for the ElectroSensitive Cell Phone Convenience, or 21st Century Plague? Compiled by Dr. Nick Begich and James Roderick Copyright � July 2000 Begich & Roderick Earthpulse Press has been following the development of new technologies over the last ten years. Our research efforts and publications have been focused on the impacts of new technology on both human health and the planet's operating systems. The idea that both could be impacted in profound ways through the introduction of new energetic factors may well prove to be the environmental story of the 21st century. One of the leading new factors is cell phone technology that is predicted to have over 1.3 billion worldwide users by the year 2005. Cell phones have been one of the fastest growing industries in modern history. The uses of electronic communications for average people began with the introduction of personal paging systems in the 1970's - expanding into remote telephones and cell phones by the end of the century. Most people today have either portable phones in the home, cell phones for away-from-home use or both. These devices are connecting people in convenient ways as their cost continues to decline with expanded use. The cost of cell phones will continue to drop as the market increases in size and technologies become more capable and increasingly cheaper to operate. Soon Internet and other connections will be added to the remote world of the ethereal office space making us more productive, more connected and perhaps more unhealthy. In the following article we attempt to bring together much of the research and reporting over the last ten years in the area of cell phone and home portable phones. Often in the debate the portable home phone is not mentioned; however, it should be kept in mind that many of these phones are no different in their potential impacts on our health. The Health Effects Mount The idea of health effects from cell phones or other devices is quickly becoming the focus of much research. The findings are confirming for many researchers the observations made over the years of the effects of very small energy sources on living things. It has been discovered that small amounts of energy when delivered in the right way can have the same effects as a massive dose of chemicals. The complexity of living creatures is being found to be influenced by the most delicate fields of electromagnetic energy. It has long been known that the subtle effects of light and color when interpreted by the human eye results in sight or when a sound wave, which is just another form of energy, is transformed by the ear and brain into sound we can understand. Other forms of energy are not well understood because their current form is a new addition to our environment by mankind. The effects of electromagnetic fields (EMFs) continue to be reported worldwide. Tests were conducted in China at the Microwave Institute of Zhejiang Medical University which demonstrated the effects of exposure to environmental electromagnetic fields (EMFs) in 1170 subjects. Visual reaction time was prolonged and the scores of short-term memory tests were lower in some high-intensity exposure groups. They also found that these energy fields could affect the central nervous and immune systems in man. Their data indicated that chronic exposure to EMFs are associated with significant changes in some physiological parameters.1 In an American laboratory similar results have been reported. The impact on Calcium ions, which are important in maintaining normal health functions in brain tissues, was found in experiments. This may affect nervous system function. Test "results confirm that amplitude-modulated radiofrequency radiation can induce responses in cells of nervous tissue origin from widely different animal species, including humans."2 This small effect has significant health ramifications for people. Another area of concern is in prenatal development in mammals. "Pregnant women have been warned to be wary of using mobile phones after it was found radiation produced by the devices caused defects in chicken embryos...US scientists tested mobile phone-style radiation on more than 10,000 chicken embryos and as a result some researchers are urging pregnant women not to use the phones until the risks can be properly assessed. British mobile phone specialist Roger Coghill said the findings were 'enormously worrying.'"3 "The possible effects of radiofrequency (RF) radiation on prenatal development has been investigated in mice. This study consisted of RF level measurements and in vivo experiments at several places around an 'antenna park.' At these locations RF power densities between 168 nW/cm2 and 1053 nW/cm2 were measured. A progressive decrease in the number of newborns per dam was observed, which ended in irreversible infertility."4 "Australian research has found one of the strongest links between cell phones and cancer. Over periods of 9 to 18 months, exposed mice had twice the tumor rate as unexposed mice. The mice were exposed to cell phone radiation. As reports linking cell phone use to adverse health conditions have been published, attempts 'have been made by industry to hose down the findings with what is called 'The Hockett Defense' (named after the chief Tobacco Institute scientist) who advise his executives to repeat endlessly, 'men aren't rodents'. As one of the scientists commented to me; 'but DNA is DNA'. At the level of normal cell growth processes, human and animal cells act very similar."6 The body has to be seen in the context in which it operates. The body is not a closed system but, rather, an open one which exchanges energy with all of the forces around it. The human body seeks equilibrium or its own balance. Energy interaction requires a corresponding action from the body. On an energetic level this results in chemical changes, system stress and other interactions which can be either healthy or not so healthy. The "new techniques using low-frequency pulsed electromagnetic fields (e.g. digital telecommunication) have raised the question of interferences with the biological system of man. EEG-data of man sampled under the influence of these electromagnetic fields are altered extremely in the range of alpha-activity during as well as after exposure for some hours. This biological effect is induced by field intensities lower than the given international limiting values. Regarding these results there is the very important question of possible influences, injurious to health for people exposed to pulsating electromagnetic fields, especially by operating the new type of digital telecommunication networks (GSM-standard)."7 In each of these kinds of observation a very limited area is researched involving a few wave forms, frequencies and carrier modulations in a sea of possibilities. Each of these tests represents a look at the beach a grain of sand at a time. Some energy fields are healthy and are being used to create solutions to many health issues while others are life threatening. The disconnect between technological fields of research will dissipate over time as communication increases between research areas. There has been a great deal of laboratory research into the biological effects of EMFs in recent years. It has been shown that even fairly low levels of electromagnetic radiation can change the human body's sleep rhythms, affect the body's cancer-fighting capacity by harming the immune system, and change the nature of the electrical and chemical signals communicating between cells.8 The research has also shown that this energy may contribute to Alzheimer's disease. "These results are consistent with previous findings regarding the hypothesis that electromagnetic field exposure is etiologically associated with the occurrence of Alzheimer's disease."9 Reports continue to amplify the same results which are being replicated now around the world. At the same time the industry is shifting the standards, changing cell phone designs and altering other factors which make evaluation of the effects even more difficult. "Existing data indicate that RFR of relatively low intensity (SAR < 2 W/kg) can affect the nervous system. Changes in blood-brain-barrier, morphology, electrophysiology, neurotransmitter functions, cellular metabolism, and calcium efflux, and genetic effects have been reported in the brain of animals after exposure to RFR. These changes can lead to functional changes in the nervous system. Behavioral changes in animals after exposure to RFR have been reported."10, 11 New research indicates that exposure to cell phones' radiation causes red blood cells to leak hemoglobin, the build up of which can cause heart disease and kidney stones. Scientists exposed samples of blood to microwave radiation and found that even at lower levels than those emitted by cell phones, the blood cells leaked hemoglobin. "Last month, scientists at Sweden Lund University found that two minutes of exposure to emissions from mobile phones can disable a safety barrier in the blood causing proteins and toxins to leak into the brain. This can cause the chances of developing diseases such as Alzheimer's, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's. Symptoms reported by mobile phone users include fatigue, dizzy spells and memory loss."12 British scientists are demanding that mobile telephones carry a health warning. "Amid an explosive growth of mobile communications, concerns are mounting about cellular telephones' potential links to health problems ranging from headaches to brain tumors... Mobile telephones are arguably the most radiative appliance we have ever invented apart from the microwave oven and people are putting them by their heads arguably the most sensitive part of the body," bio-electromagnetics scientist Roger Coghill said. Cell phones emanate microwave radiation, and human brains may absorb up to 60 percent of that energy. " One engineer said he has suffered severe loss of short-term memory. He began suffering from twitching eyes and numbness of the head within months after using a digital mobile phone for up to six hours per day in 1995. The National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB) sets the standards for exposure in Britain. " Recommended radiation limits are measured in 'specific absorption rates' the amount of radiation averaged over one gram of tissue. " The NRPB recommends a limit of 10 milliwatts per gram, though proposed European guidelines are five times more restrictive.13 How much evidence on the risks of mobile phones must be shown before the industry admits to the risks' "Scientist Clas Tegenfeld who is writing a book on biological effects of electromagnetic fields is pessimistic: 'Already there are at least 15,000 scientific reports on the subject. I am afraid the truth is that we don't want to know.'"14 Children may be more sensitive to microwaves than adults says an Australian report indicating they absorb microwaves at 3.3 times the rate of adults. "For amplitude- or pulse-modulated RF fields, there is the implication that some form of envelope demodulation occurs in tissue recognition of ELF modulation components, but the tissue remains essentially transparent to the same signal as an unmodulated carrier."15 Extremely Low Frequency (ELF) signals have been reported to stimulate physiological responses in many experiments where in certain exposures there was an effect but in others not manipulated in the same way there was no effect at all. It could be compared to the dialing of a radio signal if slightly off the signal is not clear. Someday it will be as well understood as radio science when dialing up the health of a person. Research is showing that the body can be both monitored and influenced by measuring signals from the body and conditioning signals entering the body. This area of science will also advance. There have been reports of headaches caused by cell and portable phone use.16 Evidence from the 1960s and 70s supports the conclusion that cell phones cause headaches among some users. Cell phone "transmitting frequencies fall in the most sensitive band for the microwave hearing effect. The transmitting frequencies are also in the band that has maximal penetration into the head. Further, when the head is shielded from the microwave energy, the area of the head that needs to be exposed to the microwaves in order for people to perceive the effect is in proximity to the antenna of present day cellular telephones," Frey wrote. The most important point that came out of his microwave research in the 1960s was that his human subjects were reporting headaches. 30 years ago he encountered and reported headaches from microwave energy exposure at approximately the same frequencies, modulations and incident energies that present day cellular telephones emit.17 Dr. Frey was involved in several research areas related to the concept of microwave hearing or the act of creating audible signals inside the head without a physical connection to a device. Perhaps this will one day lead to the development of new concepts of wireless communications. These types of communications have been researched and will likely emerge into the mix of new technologies in the coming decades. Researchers have shown that low intensity microwave exposure opens up the blood/brain barrier, a biological effect which can allow the release of dangerous chemicals into the brain. The U.S. Department of Defense stopped open funding of blood/brain barrier experiments that used low intensity microwave energy, which is cause for concern. Recognition of low-intensity effects would greatly limit military exposures. Limiting the exposure of military personnel would have an impact on many of the national defense systems. The problem is the "head in the sand mentality." This approach to "don't know - don't tell" has proven dangerous in the past to both civilians and military personnel. "New Swedish research shows that the radiation from mobile phones might make it easier for poison to penetrate into the brain. The findings could explain the diseases that American soldiers who have participated in high-tech warfare are suffering from. The unexplained symptoms of American soldiers of the Kuwait war are suspected to link to the medication they took against nerve gas. The microwaves surrounding soldiers in high-tech warfare could have opened the blood/brain-barrier, and the medication penetrated into the brain. The possibility is now being investigated by the US Air Force in co-operation with the Lund scientists."18 "Data in the literature now indicates that the dopamine/opiate system may be involved in headaches and suggest that headaches may be due to cellular emissions...the energy used was approximately the same in frequencies, modulations, and incident energies as those emitted by present day cellular telephones. These current reports of headaches may be the canary in the coal mine, warning of biologically significant effects."19 The early research by Dr. Frey was most revealing in that it was conducted before the advent of the cell phone. As a result, the research was done with limited, if any, economic impact on industry and the results were unchallenged. "German investigators report that exposure to electromagnetic fields during mobile phone use may increase resting blood pressure. Exposure of the right hemisphere to a radio-frequency electromagnetic field for 35 minutes causes an increase in sympathetic efferent activity with increases in resting blood pressure between 5 and 10 mm Hg, most likely due to more pronounced vasoconstriction."20 "Mobile phones can cause sudden confusion and short-term memory loss, according to worrying research by British military scientists. Signals from the phones disrupt part of the brain which controls memory and learning, researchers at the Defense Establishment Research Agency have discovered." Project director Dr. Rick Hold said, "This is the first real evidence that these sort of radio waves do have an effect on the brain." The researchers found that the "signals made no difference in their measurements for a short time, but then readings plunged off the graph. In a live rat, the effect would have caused sudden memory loss and confusion."21 "Scientists from Colorado University have shown that frequent mobile users had significantly depressed melatonin a vital cancer-preventing hormone. An Australian study has linked the phones to a higher rate of brain cancer while a Swedish survey suggested that using a mobile phone for more than 15 minutes could lead to headaches and fatigue."22 The most difficult area of research is the complexity of interactions that are possible. Nevertheless a great deal can be gained by looking at the very specific sources of EMFs in determining both their effects and ways to limit human exposure. "It is difficult to deny that RFR at low intensity can affect the nervous system. However, data available suggest a complex reaction of the nervous system to RFR. Exposure to RFR does produce various effects on the central nervous system. The response is not likely to be linear with respect to the intensity of the radiation. Other parameters of RFR exposure, such as frequency, duration, waveform, frequency- and amplitude-modulation, etc, are important determinants of biological responses and affect the shape of the dose (intensity)-response relationship. In order to understand the possible health effects of exposure to RFR from mobile telephones, one needs first to understand the effects of these different parameters and how they interact with each other."23 As we have increased our exposure to both chemicals and EMFs in the last three decades we have seen certain brain cancers increase in all age groups by 1% a year. Since 1980 those 65 and older have increased 2.5% a year. Among those over 85 the increase has been as much as 500% since 1973.24 Remote Home Portable Phones Cell phones are not the only phones to cause concern about health problems. "Today's high-frequency cordless phones may emit a level of electromagnetic radiation similar to cellphones. F reasons of health and privacy, a growing number of scientists and other experts are dead set against cellphones. They say a cancer risk is associated with signals that have a strong wattage and high frequency (short wavelength). First generation cordless phones operate at about 60 megahertz and the next ones ran at 900 megahertz - higher than 835MHz cellphones. The new 2.4 GHz is higher still and can transmit for several kilometers without fading."25 Brain Tumors "Two new studies have shown links between mobile phone usage and brain tumors. The studies are not absolutely conclusive but the American and Swedish authors have urged users to ration use of mobile phones until more is known. Dr. [Lennart] Hardel's study, as yet unpublished, looked at brain tumor sufferers. It found a correlation between phone use and cancer. His study showed that mobile phone use, regardless which side of the head it was held against, increased the risk of a brain tumor by almost two and a half times." 26 Some of the leading researchers were contracted by Motorola to carry out some experiments. Two of the world's leading radiation experts reported to The Express that multinational companies tried to influence the results of their research. "Professor Ross Adey, a biologist, had his funding withdrawn by Motorola before completing research which showed that mobiles affected the number of brain tumors in animals. Dr. Henry Lai, who has been studying the biological effects of electromagnetic fields for 20 years, was asked three times to change findings on how they caused DNA breaks in rats."27 Both of these scientists have been involved in academic, military and other research projects throughout their lives. In fact many of their observations on the health effects of EMFs have been used in increasing the military's understanding of these potential weapons applications as reported in our earlier work.28 "Jerry Phillips, who has a doctorate in biochemistry, worked with U.C. Riverside's [Ross] Adey on Motorola-funded research beginning in 1991." He describes a pleasant relationship with them until studies linked exposure to changes in the incidence of brain tumors in rats. "Motorola was adamant that Adey never mention DNA damage and RF radiation in the same breath," Phillips said. "Motorola has been manipulative of research that we and others have reported to them," said Adey. "Essentially they cut us off because we were too inquisitive." Adey found that some frequencies of RFR lessened the incidence of tumors in rats. Motorola was unwilling to recognize this test, not wanting to admit any biological effects of RFR whatsoever. "Phillips, Adey, and others said they see a strong parallel between what's happening now and the decades of denial by the tobacco industry..." Though 40% of the energy radiated from cell phones is absorbed by the head, the amount is not significant enough to cause heating. Evidence points to DNA damage as a source of the health problems associated with cell phone use. It is suggested that RFR may hinder the ability of DNA to repair itself.29 "'For the first time in history, we are holding a high-powered transmitter against the head,' said Ross Adey, a professor of biochemistry at the University of California, Riverside. When you talk on your mobile phone, your voice is transmitted from the antenna as radio frequency radiation (RFR) between 800MHz and 1,990MHz at a range that's right in the middle of microwave territory. Not surprisingly, it now appears that exposure to this microwave RFR may have serious health consequences."30 The research continues with another major study being conducted in Europe. "The biggest study to date into suspected links between mobile phones and cancer will begin this year. Nearly 9,000 cancer sufferers in 14 countries will be interviewed by scientists in a study funded by the European Commission. "Researchers want to establish once and for all if there is a link between mobile phones and brain tumors and other cancers." Results of the study should be available by 2004.31 "Microwaves similar to those emitted by cell phones may effect long-term memory, according to a new study by a University of Washington researcher. Henry Lai, a research professor in the UW's bioengineering department, has linked diminished long-term memory and navigating skills in rats with exposure to microwaves like those from cellular telephones."32 "Public exposure to electromagnetic radiation (radiofrequency and microwave) is growing exponentially worldwide with the introduction and use of cordless phones, cellular phones, pagers and antennas in communities designed to transmit their RF signals. The virtual revolution in science taking place now is based on a growing recognition that non-thermal or low intensity RF exposure can be detected in living tissues and result in well defined bioeffects. Bioeffects that are reported to result from RF exposure include changes in cell membrane function, metabolism, cellular signal communication, activation of proto-oncogenes, and cell death. Resulting effects which are reported in the scientific literature include DNA breaks and chromosome aberrations, increased free radical production, cell stress and premature aging, changes in cell membrane function including memory loss, learning impairment, headaches and fatigue, sleep disorders, neurodegenerative conditions, reductions in melatonin secretion, and cancer. The United States has a de facto policy of 'post-sales surveillance' with respect to cell phones. That means cell phones can be sold to the public, and only after years of use will there be studies to characterize what health consequences, if any, have arisen as a result."33 Some scientists are even warning that constant cell phone use causes premature aging. "Low level radiation from the phone 'heats up' body cells, damaging skin and making the user look lined and haggard. The study by Nottingham University's School of Biological Sciences is the latest research to raise concerns about the effect of mobile phones on health. Dr. David De Pomerai, who is in charge of the research team, said: 'Gradually, cells don't work properly, so the life process becomes less efficient.' Dr. De Pomerai said that heavy mobile phone users were just like heavy smokers who constantly inhaled cell-damaging toxins without allowing the body time to repair the harm."34 The Effect on Children While some manufacturers target children for cell phone sales, experts point out that "cell phone radiation penetrates the skulls and brains of kids more deeply than adults, and that this radiation might cause tumors or otherwise affect a developing brain. Several brands of cell phones exceed the radiation limits specified in FCC guidelines, ABC News show 20/20 reported. Dr. Ross Adey, a widely published RF researcher stated that 'Children categorically should not, be encouraged or allowed to use' cell phones. " 35 "Overall, the available data on EMF and cancer (especially leukemia, brain and breast cancer) are too inconsistent to establish a cause-and-effect relationship, but there is enough evidence of association to raise concern. As a matter of fact, epidemiology has seen a large number of examples where health hazards were initially described with unconvincing and sometimes inadequate experiments which demonstrated a weak association with a given environmental influence. Such associations were found between cholera and drinking water containing fecal contaminants, between smoking and lung cancer or between exposure to vinyl chloride and certain forms of liver cancer. All these associations were highly questioned in the past and are now well recognized."36 Current Research on Cell Phones Confirms Earlier Studies of Risk Though 85 million Americans now use cell phones, Europeans began widespread use of them much earlier with many now reporting side effects from their use. Monica Sandstrom, of the Swedish National Institute for Working Life, unveiled data from her agency's survey of cell phone users - 5,000 in Norway and 12,000 in Sweden. "One quarter of the Norwegian users, she noted, feel warmth on or behind the ear when they use their phones...20 percent also linked frequent headaches and recurring fatigue to cell-phone use. At least one of the symptoms noted, which include dizziness, concentration difficulties, memory loss, and a burning sensation, showed up in 47 percent of people who reported using these wireless devices an hour or more daily." 37 "On March 9, the China Consumers Association (CCA) issued a 'worrisome' warning about Chinese cell phones' electromagnetic radiation and how this might affect phone users, the March 10 Yangcheng Wanbao reported. According to the CCA, tests have found that some cell phones' radiation was as high as 10,000 microwatts per square centimeter (1,550 mw per square inch)." The newspaper noted a study by China's Northern Communications University which said that half of cell phone's radiation is absorbed by the human body and another quarter by the brain.38 "Experts studying mobile phones are waiting to investigate new research from Poland which reportedly establishes a link between the devices and cancer. The Sunday Mirror newspaper said the 20-year study of servicemen had established 'the strongest link yet', showing a high cancer death rate among soldiers exposed to microwave radiation, 'the same as that emitted by the phones.'"39 "Using a mobile phone could drastically reduce your sex drive, new research shows...Researchers tested rats and mice using microwave radiation at lower levels similar to those emitted by mobile phones. Scientists discovered that exposed rats had far less testosterone in their blood stream than those which remained unexposed. The higher the dose of radiation, the less testosterone was released by the body's glands, resulting in diminished sexual activity." The test results are being studied in Britain, where scientists are conducting similar research.40 "Current safety guidelines for cell phones assume no harmful effects, as long as the microwave radiation they emit does not cause heating of body tissue. Exposure limits are intended to protect us only from excessive temperatures caused by absorption of energy, a known danger linked to the intensity of radiofrequency microwaves." But living cells respond in non-thermal ways to the fields produced by cell phones, and at intensities below the established safety threshold.41 "Ionizing radiation is a well-established risk factor for brain tumors. During recent years, microwave exposure from the use of cellular telephones has been discussed as a risk factor." A case-control study was undertaken, with exposure assessed by questionnaires. It was determined that "Exposure to ionizing radiation, work in laboratories, and work in the chemical industry increased the risk of brain tumors. Use of a cellular telephone was associated with an increased risk in the anatomic area with highest exposure."42 "In addition to extremely-low-frequency (ELF) electric power fields, many millions of mobile phone users worldwide are now also exposed daily to radiofrequency fields under near-field conditions. We may expect that these newly evolved behavioral patterns will be lifelong, with intermittent exposures at the phone user's head making yet one more contribution to an already complex daily EMF exposure arising in an aggregate of multiple and disparate sources."43 ------- End of forwarded message ------- ------------------------ "In little more than a year we have gone from enjoying peace and the most prosperous economy in our history, to a nation plunged into war, recession and fear. This is a nation being transformed before our very eyes." http://www.truthout.com Steve Wingate, Webmaster ANOMALOUS IMAGES AND UFO FILES http://www.anomalous-images.com <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. 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