Harmful to life
1. Is there a Proof of Risks to Human Health?
RF EMF interferes with biological, chemical and electrical systems in organisms.
Exposure has serious biological health effects. So far our limit values are established only on the basis of temperature rise, not on biological effects such as damage of internal organs or even of DNA and other damages according to studies from 2019 and 2020.
Scientific studies confirm that adverse health and biological effects, not only those related to temperature, can occur at intensities of a million times lower than current public exposure limits.
RF EMF is a burden and a stress factor for the body:
- The report commissioned by the WHO International EMF Project (pg. 2 para 4) confirms that RF EMF affects organs, which include brain and reproductive organs and can lead to impaired cognitive functions and decreasing fertility.
- Non-thermal health impacts of oxidative stress from Wi-Fi are confirmed in 23 controlled scientific studies.
- Mobile phone radiation prevents repair mechanism of DNA damage [1]. It harms female fertility [2] and male fertility [3, 4], influences sperm quality [5, 6, 7, 8 ] and fetal development [9, 10, 11]. With 5G technology and millimetre waves the adverse health effects will be more significant.
SOLUTION:
Children are more vulnerable than adults.
RF EMF poses a greater threat to children than adults. Children absorb a much higher cumulative exposure of wireless energy radiation due to major anatomical differences between a child and an adult.
- Children have smaller heads than adults. The intensity to which the brain is exposed increases 10%–15% for every single millimeter of closer location of the radiating antenna in the mobile phone.
- Children have a shorter distance from the skull to the brain center, much thinner skulls than adults and their brain tissues are more absorbent. The skull acts as a barrier to radiation absorption. Therefore children have less protection than adults and receive a greater dose of radiation into the brain.
- Children have a rapid rate of growth and development of head and body. A Disruption of brain development at an early age can cause significant neurological changes later on in life. Stem cells are also critical for children’s development and are also impacted the most by wireless.
The EU Commission does not provide recognized RF EMF protection relating to non-thermal effects for children, neither in schools nor in homes or public places. The health of the children is neglected whereby they are discriminated against (Breach of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Charter of Fundamental Rights).
SOLUTION:
Sensitive people are discriminated against.
In population-based surveys, the prevalence of EHS was 2013 estimated to be 5% in Taiwan and 7% in Germany. 800,000 people in the UK are severely affected by radio frequency radiation and electromagnetic fields (RF EMF). The same is true in other countries. Life for the electrosensitive people (EHS) can be very challenging. They are likely to lose their jobs and they can live and move around only to environments without RF EMF.
- In a study from 2020 the scientists conclude the following: “These data strongly suggest that EHS is a neurologic pathological disorder which can be diagnosed, treated, and prevented. Because EHS is becoming a new insidious worldwide plague involving millions of people, we ask the World Health Organization (WHO) to include EHS as a neurologic disorder in the international classification of diseases.”
- As early as 2001 a survey was made with people who complained about ill health which they ascribed to exposure to RF EMF. The symptoms include sleep disorders, headaches, nervousness or distress, fatigue, and concentration difficulties.
SOLUTION:
2. Review the old regulations!
Since 1999 the Council Recommendation has not been reassessed.
For more than two decades wireless technologies and their usage have increased dramatically but so far, no review of the Council Recommendation has taken place.
The old Recommendations from ICNIRP (International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection) were adopted by the EU in its Council Recommendation of 1999. ICNIRP is a private organization and its recommendations are based on a few selected studies and exclude a big number of studies that show adverse effects from RF EMF.
In 2009 the EU Parliament asked the EU Council to amend its Recommendation and set stricter exposure limits, but this has not occurred.
In 2011 The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified RF radiation as a possible carcinogenic to humans (based on the increased incidence of brain cancer linked to the use of wireless phones).
Existing public safety limits do not sufficiently protect public health against chronic exposures, and a lot more applications of wireless-enabled technologies are to come.
SOLUTION:
3. Are Limits Based on the Best Scientific Data?
They are not! The EU has accepted the least protective guideline.
The ICNIRP limits reflect guidelines that ensure favourable technological conditions for the use of wireless technologies rather than protecting public health. For working conditions standards are set for working hours (8 hours a day) but in private life people do not count their time of exposure and are possibly exposed day and night.
There are many recommendations for stricter guidelines by experts who are independent of the telecommunication industry. A collective of medical experts confirmed that adverse non-thermal effects on the body already exist at levels one million lower than the ICNIRP guidelines (0.01 mW/m2 versus 10,000 mW/m2). Despite this fact, exposure limits have been continuously raised in most EU countries.
In those EU countries that kept stricter limits, the industry sees them as barriers to the possibilities for technical progress, which is also stated in the 5G Action Plan for Europe.
The EU must make legislation that benefits not only industry, but also the people!
SOLUTION:
4. Official Experts have Conflicts of Interest...
…and important research is excluded.
The EU limit values are made by the International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). It is a private German association consisting of up to 14 members with a scientific background, most of whom are very closely related to the industry.
The ICNIRP currently assumes that the existence of non-thermal effects is not proven. Therefore, we consider ICNIRP flawed because it denies proven biological effects and takes into account only thermal (heat) effects on the body.
One of the tasks of ICNIRP is to give recommendations to the EU regarding the limitation of exposure of the general public to RF EMF, on which the whole of Europe relies.
The EU should not take advice from a private organisation. There already exists a Scientific Committee on Health, Environmental and Emerging Risks (SCHEER) which has a standing mandate to provide an independent update of the scientific evidence available, including the assessment of health risks that may be associated with exposure to RF EMF.
SOLUTION:
5. Does a safety certificate protect our health?
No. Safety standards do not protect billions of mobile phone users.
Consumer health is grossly compromised by the outdated and inaccurate methodologies for testing of mobile phones or other wireless devices. Safety standards are developed by non-governmental, unaccountable agencies largely funded by industry.
Certification process relies on a plastic dummy head of a 100kg man that represents only the largest 3% of mobile phone users. Therefore safety standards for all of the world’s more than six billion cell phones do not protect the 97% of the population with heads smaller than the model. This is very serious for small children, but also small adults absorb significantly more wireless radiation than the plastic dummy estimates.
Current safety standards
- do not reflect the latest research
- do not account for models based on anatomy of children or smaller adults
- do not identify all possible usage conditions (e.g. close to body).
Wireless devices, toys and accessories are not provided with certificates claiming “safe for pregnant women”, “safe for breasts/testes/eyes”, “safe for children”.
SOLUTION:
Customers are decepted and regulatory levels are violated.
The greater the distance - the lower the exposure to the radiofrequency electromagnetic field (RF EMF).
Consumers, including the smallest children, are not adequately informed by public authorities about the risks of wireless devices and they are often kept in close proximity to sensitive areas of the body such as the reproductive organs, chest, and brain for long periods of time.
Manufacturers have been placing mobile phones on the market under deceptive testing conditions for more than two decades, posing a huge risk to the health and safety of billions of users:
- The French government found in 2015 that 89% of the tested phones exceeded their reported radiation emission levels. Some phones emitted up to four times more radiation than manufacturers claimed. These results were kept secret from consumers, but after several legal actions of Dr. Marc Arazi, thousands of data related to SAR tests conducted between 2012 and 2017 were openly published by the French government agency. This new industrial and health scandal has been named: 'Phonegate'.
- Although phones and tablets are not tested in ear or body contact positions (at 0 mm), but at greater distances for measuring lower emission levels, wireless companies advertise them in such a way that consumers believe the devices are safe in any position or condition of use.
- European Directive RED 2014/53/EU is not applied correctly in member states except in France. French National Frequency Agency can impose administrative sanctions on devices exceeding the radiation emission levels regulatory threshold, including administrative fines, requests for withdrawal from the market and recall of devices already purchased.
SOLUTION:
6. Why is Wireless not Regulated near Children?
On the contrary, there is an extreme push for the use of Wi-Fi in schools.
Instead of giving the cable solutions priority, there is an extreme push for the use of Wi-Fi in schools without any regard for the health of children exposed to the radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF EMF). The preference for cables is not even up for debate.
Digitalization is equipping schools with more and more devices that generate RF EMF (desktop computers, laptops, notebooks, tablets, whiteboards, beamers and printers). Schools are becoming a target market for corporations, there are no restrictions. The use of mobile phones by schoolchildren on school premises is not strictly regulated.
Children are more vulnerable to wireless than adults. Teachers and parents are not educated regarding the hazards of wireless devices especially around children.
SOLUTION:
7. Are we Aware of the Risks?
The public is neither informed about the potential health risks nor about harm reduction strategies.
There is no proper education about radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF EMF) in schools and universities. Teachers are not informed about this problem. Students are influenced more by advertising than receiving actual knowledge of wireless technology.
Medical professionals are not educated about the biological effects of RF EMF and are not provided training on treatment of patients with electromagnetic hypersensitivity.
Many people are irradiated at their workplace or home office without their knowledge. They also irradiate others without wanting to do so using Wi-Fi, DECT phones or cell phones. Many employees in their line of work use wireless devices such as handsfree devices, bluetooth devices, DECT phones, barcode scanning or payment terminals.
These court cases clearly show the need for more education:
- Court decision, Italy 2017: Italian regional court finds that a man’s auditory nerve tumor is caused by using a mobile phone at work 3-4 hours a day for 15 years. The man was diagnosed in 2010 and was employed by Telecom Italia, a telecom operator. He therefore receives compensation for work injury for life with 500 Euro a month.
- Court decision, France 2011: The Montpellier court ruled that the complainants had legitimate reasons to be concerned about the health consequences of a mobile mast and ordered the operator to dismantle it.
- Court decision, Spain 2016: An engineer employed by Ericsson in Spain received compensation for incapacity for work due to severe symptoms of Wifi and other radiation from wireless technology in the workplace, which was decided by a court in Madrid.
SOLUTION:
8. Can't you go to a safer place?
No. There aren’t low/no radiation zones in municipalities.
According to the European Union’s fundamental values, everybody must be treated fairly and minority rights must be respected.
It is not intended to establish zones with low levels of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF EMF) for sensitive groups of people (e.g. electrosensitive or electro-hypersensitive people, sick people, senior citizens, pregnant women, children) and flora and fauna.
- No special attention is paid to sleeping areas, which should give the organism an opportunity to recover from the exposure during the day. Advice from building biologists for exposure less than 0.01 mW/m2 is neither acknowledged nor followed.
- Public transport does not offer Wi-Fi and radiation free options such as Wi-Fi and mobile communications free compartments or vehicles.
- Hardly ever do hotels set up special rooms for EHS victims; not even in hospitals and rehabilitation clinics is this issue taken into account.
SOLUTION:
Fauna and flora have no place to hide.
The European Treaties have explicitly established that the precautionary principle applies in the field of EU environmental policy.
Radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF EMF) has a very negative effect on fauna and flora which leads to a decline in biodiversity.
RF EMF is a form of environmental pollution which hurts wildlife. Phone masts located in their living areas are irradiating continuously some species that suffer long-term effects.
Therefore microwave and radiofrequency pollution constitutes a potential cause for the decline of animal populations and deterioration of health of plants living near phone masts.
SOLUTION:
9. What about Right to Physical Integrity?
People are neither informed nor do they give their consent to:
- transmitters on schools, playgrounds and in living areas
- to switch analog meters to wireless smart meters
- a permit-free rollout of small cells or wireless access points in close proximity to living areas
The 5G Action Plan for Europe aims to cover all urban areas, railroads and major roads with a very dense network of antennas and transmitters. Small cells (SAWAPs) imply low area coverage. Ranges of 20-150 meters are typical.
This additional layer of technology is expected to serve up to one million connected devices per square kilometer. It operates at higher frequencies and strong pulsations, which are more biologically active and therefore more dangerous than non-pulsed RF EMF.
Regulation (EU) 2020/1070 allows that when small cells are placed on public sidewalks, a distance of at least 20 cm must be maintained between the antenna and the human body only.
SOLUTION:
The biological, chemical, electrical, and sensory systems of citizens are involuntarily and continuously disturbed and affected by radiofrequency radiation.
Most people have no knowledge of the strength of the radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF EMF) surrounding them, nor any way to measure them. The presence of RF EMF is not labelled, let alone warned about the intensity of the respective fields.
Humans are in many cases irradiated mostly involuntarily from a mixture of all-day transmission from various infrastructure antennas and transmitter sources but also from their personal wireless devices.
Most people use devices in their default setting, which means that the devices constantly emit radiofrequency radiation at their maximum power level and they do not know how to easily turn it off. The majority of the population is not educated about the importance of minimizing irradiation from personal devices when not used:
- children sleep with smartwatches and phones with active wireless functions turned on all the time
- people have their Wi-Fi router close to their beds and do not turn it off during the night
SOLUTION:
10. How Trees and Bees are Harmed by RF EMF?
Bees disappear, birds are disoriented and trees grow slower.
The European Treaties have explicitly established that the precautionary principle applies in the field of EU environmental policy.
Radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF EMF) are a form of environmental pollution that harms wildlife, such as reducing their natural defenses, degrading their health, causing problems with reproduction, and reducing their useful range by destroying their habitat. Therefore microwave and radiofrequency pollution constitutes a potential cause for the decline of animal populations and deterioration of health of plants living near phone masts.
Examples:
- Bees and other insects are affected by RF EMF. Worldwide, the number of insects is decreasing at an alarming rate. Studies point to another influencing factor besides the already known pesticides: the increasingly frequent use of RF EMF.
- Studies show that bird’s navigation is disturbed.
- Microwaves are interfering with the reproduction of white storks (Ciconia ciconia). Twelve nests (40%) located within than 200 m of antennae never had chicks, while only one (3.3%) located further than 300 m had no chicks.
- Radiofrequency radiation injures trees around mobile phone base stations. Statistical analysis demonstrated that radiofrequency radiation from mobile phone masts is harmful for trees at intensities much lower than current limits. These results are consistent with the fact that damage afflicted on trees by mobile phone towers usually start on one side, extending to the whole tree over time.
SOLUTION:
