La Grua panel to discuss health risks of wireless technology

STONINGTON — Public health experts and researchers on the possible ill effects of wireless technology will hold a panel discussion Friday night at the La Grua Center, 32 Water St., Stonington.

The program, “Cellphones & Wi-Fi – Are Children, Fetuses and Fertility at Risk?” will run from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

It is the contention of the panelists that the health consequences of electromagnetic field exposures are comparable or even more widespread than those of tobacco and asbestos. According to this theory, exposure to electromagnetic fields in utero is correlated with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, emotional problems, asthma, obesity and possibly autism, and that expectant parents are not being told about the risks. The sources of the radiation include devices like cellphones, routers, iPads, and wireless baby monitors.

The panelists will include Devra Davis, Hugh Taylor and David Carpenter, Martin Blank and Camilla Rees.

Davis started The Environmental Health Trust, a scientific and advocacy group, and was founding director of the Center for Environmental Oncology at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute. She has written “The Secret History of the War on Cancer” and “Disconnect: The Truth About Cell Phone Radiation, What the Industry Is Doing to Hide It, and How to Protect Your Family.”

Taylor is chairman of the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences at Yale University, and author of a study published in 2012 showing that cellphone radiation exposure in utero leads to significantly altered brain chemistry, behavioral disorders and ADHD in animals. He is the editor-in-chief of the journal “Reproductive Sciences.”

Carpenter is a professor of environmental health sciences and director of the Institute for Health and Environment at the University of Albany School of Public Health. He is co-editor of the BioInitiative Report, which documents the body of science on biological effects of non-ionizing radiation, such as from cellphones, Wi-Fi, and cell towers, as well as the effects of low frequency electricity and power lines. Carpemter previously directed the Wadsworth Laboratory of the New York State Department of Health, and served on the President’s Cancer Panel that examined radiation exposures as they relate to the risks of cancer.

Blank is a lecturer and retired associate professor at the Columbia University Department of Physiology and Cellular Biophysics; a researcher in biolelectromagnetics; author of the BioInitiative Report’s section on stress proteins; and editor of the journal Pathophysiology’s special issue on electromagnetic fields.

Rees, a health policy advocate, was the founder of www.ElectromagneticHealth.org, and is the co-author of  “Public Health SOS: The Shadow Side of the Wireless Revolution,” and a white paper, “Cellphones and Brain Tumors: 15 Reasons for Concern.”

Rees investigated the impact of portable phone radiation on the heart, co-founded the International EMF Alliance, a consortium of 85 advocacy organizations, and started Campaign for Radiation Free Schools for parents (on Facebook). Recently, she co-produced a white paper, “Getting Smarter About the Smart Grid,” and a publication about electromagnetic fields and birds, both published by the National Institute for Science, Law & Public Policy in D.C.

Space is limited. Early arrival is recommended. Conversation and refreshments will follow.

Source: http://www.thewesterlysun.com/news/la-grua-panel-to-discuss-health-risks-of-wireless-technology/article_844efe86-de67-11e2-9d98-0019bb2963f4.html

Cell phone radiation - The Big Picture

The excellent Devra Davis, lecturer and author, talks to Thom Hartmann on 'The Big Picture'  about cell phone radiation.

Thom Hartmann: "So if you think talking on your cell phone for hours is perfectly safe, then everything you know is wrong."

Dr. Devra Davis: "Now in fact cancer is not the main concern that I have, I'm really concernd about sperm count and about effects on pregnancy."

A View to a Cell: San Francisco Mobile Towers Get Prime Real Estate

Glance at the marquee at the 2000 Van Ness Medical Arts Building, and you’ll see a long list of doctors, dentists and other medical professionals.

But it’s the tenants that aren’t listed — the ones with the stellar rooftop view — that have drawn a crowd of reporters on this sunny Tuesday afternoon.

This building, like 2,000 other spots in the Bay Area, is home to the bulky electrical equipment needed to send and receive cellphone signals.

For the privilege of housing their gear, phone companies pay thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars per month. In some cases, landlords make more from the towers on their roofs than they do from the tenants inside their building.

Because it’s so hard to get approval to build new towers, the same locations are often home to more than one carrier’s cell towers, and it has become commonplace to see towers from fierce rivals located right next to each other. And once one cell company makes its way in someplace, the others tend to follow.

This particular rooftop, for example, houses gear for Sprint, MetroPCS and AT&T.

But it is a neighborhood in transition.

An area of peeled-away paint shows the spot that used to be home to gear from Sprint’s soon-to-be-shuttered Nextel network.

The newest arrival is a refrigererator-sized cabinet that houses Sprint’s 4G LTE gear as well as the systems needed to support older networks. Immediately adjacent is a slightly smaller box containing a backup system with enough battery capacity to power the network gear for four to eight hours.

The new gear, like other similar systems in San Francisco, have begun to bring LTE service to Sprint’s Bay Area customers, though it has yet to formally announce this area as one of its expanding network of markets with the high-speed wireless service.

Next to the new system is the one it is replacing. That unit, which handled fewer frequencies and managed fewer services, nonetheless occupied more than twice as much space. Though still up and running, that system will soon be dismantled, removed and recycled.

In addition to the cabinets, the roof is outfitted with a number of different antennas — several for each of the carriers, providing the maximum amount of coverage. The antennas also explain why it is no coincidence that the building has a sweeping panoramic view of the San Francisco Bay. In addition to being a breathtaking sight for the occasional repairman, the view means that the tower is also seen by a good part of the city — ensuring that the tower reaches a wide coverage area.

“Cell towers have the best view,” said Chris Brydon, Sprint’s area director for Northern California.

Of course, few people will ever see that view, given that it is home to vital and expensive computer gear. Plus, its radiation levels are high enough that the door leading to the roof is plastered with nearly a dozen warning signs.

The fact that this roof is already home to network gear means that the approval process to install LTE equipment is far simpler than trying to find a new location. As a result, many rooftops like this one are getting a makeover.

It’s a scene that has been playing out across America, as all the major carriers replace or augment their 3G systems with those capable of providing high-speed LTE service.

To help install all these new systems, Sprint calls upon a variety of other companies. Ericsson manages the installations and network operations, overseeing gear supplied by a trio of companies — Samsung, Alcatel-Lucent and Ericsson’s hardware unit.

The race to build out LTE has created a shortage of a particular specialty of workers — those who climb poles for a living. (In addition to pole-climbing skills, such workers also have to be engineers with a specialty in radio frequency technology — a qualification that significantly thins the applicant pool.

"It’s one of the most sought-after skills in the industry,” said Joe Meyer, the 21-year Sprint veteran who serves as vice president of network service management.

Sprint’s new 4G LTE network cabinet (foreground, with door open), followed by the Sprint gear it is replacing and, furthest away, a rival carrier’s gear.

Source: http://allthingsd.com/20130612/a-view-to-a-cell-san-francisco-mobile-towers-get-prime-real-estate/#

A Sexy Phone Case That Shields Your Brain From Radiation

Let’s face it, being safe doesn’t look very sexy. Case in point: anyone in a bike helmet. And while that’s no reason to be reckless (wear your bike helmets, everyone!), what if you could take care of your body and actually look cool while doing so?

A new collaboration between protective case maker Pong and the design firm IDEO attempts to do just that. Gold Reveal is the newest offering in Pong’s lineup of radiation-deflecting phone and tablet cases. With a sleek frame in rich colors and a latticed back that reveals a hint of gold metal, the case is an upgrade from the other clunky plastic options on the market. But more importantly, Gold Reveal is as effective as Pong’s original designs in protecting users from the electromagnetic radiation our cellular and wireless devices emit.

Every Pong case comes with a built-in, golden-hued antenna. This antenna pairs with the cell phone’s antenna to form a small magnetic field, which draws the cell phone’s power away from the front of the phone (where your precious brains reside) and redirects it towards the back and sides of the phone. Pong claims, and Wired confirms, that its cases can reduce the amount of radiation that we come into contact with while strengthening our cell signal.

Pretty cool stuff. But until now, Pong’s cases didn’t reflect that. While not exactly ugly, the company’s earlier products were boxy and bright—just the sort of thing you wouldn’t feel too bad about dropping on the ground.

“The product worked well, but visually it didn’t give the consumer a sense of what the product did,” explains Todd DeYoung, Pong’s president and CEO. “We really thought it was critical that the product tell a little bit more of its own story.”

That’s where IDEO came in. The design firm knew from the start they wanted to showcase the gold antenna that was hidden by plastic in older models.

“The shape and quality of the antenna was beautiful, so we wanted to reveal that,” says Blaise Bertrand, IDEO’s design director, nodding to the product’s name. “We thought it was important to communicate to users what’s there. Part of the design process is to be very clear about what this [product] is about.”

Both IDEO and Pong approached the project with a balanced perspective on form and function. This reduced the friction that sometimes arises between aesthetically-minded designers and technology-first product people.

“We needed to have a design that wouldn’t compromise the technology benefits of our product,” DeYoung said. “It’s important because our antenna’s interaction with the case materials and design can have a big impact on how the product works.”

With that in mind, Bertrand and his team set out to create a design language that both enhanced and highlighted Pong’s technology. The result is a sophisticated case made from a polycarbonate plastic that literally reveals Pong’s signature technology.

“We wanted the design to be iconic but approachable,” Bertrand explains. “We wanted to create an object that enabled people to tell stories.”

It seems to be working. DeYoung says his wife, who totes around the white version of Gold Reveal, momentarily took her case off after being asked too many questions by curious strangers.

“I told her: Put that case back on–that’s exactly what we’re trying to do!”

Electro hypersensitivity sufferer lives life in a cage

A woman spends up to 15 hours a day confined to a den, known as a Faraday cage, because she claims to have an intolerance to modern technology.

Velma, 51, says she finds it impossible to use a mobile phone, satnav or WiFi, because they emit pulsed microwave radiation.

She has to eat and sleep inside a homemade Faraday cage as she says this gives her relief from her symptoms.

Velma with her electro sensor: She says the stable electromagnetic field within her Faraday cage steadies her vibrational system

Velma sleeping in her homemade Faraday cage. She says the introduction of the 3G network has worsened her symptoms

She suffers from electromagnetic hypersensitivity intolerance syndrome (EHS) which means she cannot stand to be near pulsed electromagnetic fields.

Velma’s condition emerged with the arrival of 3G mobile phones, although she says a previous electric shock as a teenager may have made her more susceptible.

Velma, who has been unable to work since suffering from RSI and a compressed nerve on her spine, suffers agonising head and nerve pain, memory loss, tinnitus, ectopic heart beats, vertigo and aching joints if she goes near mobile phones, WIFI and satnav.

She is forced to spend much of each day in a makeshift Faraday cage in her flat in London. However, in the summer she takes the opportunity to escape to a park as she says this helps to earth her system.

Velma made the Faraday cage herself from off-cut material costing £300. A ready-made version would have cost her £800.

She claims metal fibres in the netting shield her from the microwave signals and stop her from suffering EHS symptoms.

She said: 'I can’t do anything that normal people do, like eating, reading, writing, studying, whilst being exposed to microwave signals without experiencing symptoms. It’s made my life a living hell.'

Velma with a laptop she bought from an American website that she says has shielding to lower electromagnetic radiation (left) and eating in her Faraday cage (right)

Velma at home her supplements: She takes them in groups at different times to help with things like detoxing

Velma worked as a secretary for a number of firms in the 1980s.

She said: 'Even back then I could feel a huge agitation when using the computer, but I thought it was just because I didn’t have the technological skills.

'Now I wonder if I was starting to experience the early symptoms of ES Electrosensitivity. 

'I am studying at home whilst also undertaking training to become a Sound Therapist. 

'I'm also looking to undertake a doctorate as I need to keep my brain active and I'm unable to work in a work or college environment.

'My friends are very supportive but there’s only so much time you can spend with the woman that can’t go anywhere or do anything.

'I used to love going to festivals and experiencing live music, but because everyone has a mobile I can’t even go near a gig now due to mobiles close to my head.

'The last gig I went to was Radiohead. I knew I was getting worse and wouldn’t be able to go to any more so I wanted to make it a good one.

'It’s so sad that I can no longer do the things I enjoy.'

Velma out in her garden (left) and her Faraday cage (right). She says going outdoors and putting her feet on the earth helps to 'earth' her

Electrical Sensitivity, also known as Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity Intolerance Syndrome, is a controversial condition that is recognised in Spain and Sweden but not in the UK.

Velma said: 'I’ve been to my GP countless times begging for tests, but GPs won't instigate the environmental tests needed. One neurological expert said there are people worse off than me and wouldn't help me. It is so frustrating that medicine isn’t keeping up with the technology.

'We desperately need a white zone - an area where there are low or no emissions - where we can go to relax and recuperate and detox.'

WHAT IS SENSITIVITY TO ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES?

Up to five per cent of the population believe they are affected by electrosensitivity and experience flu-like symptoms, headaches, lethargy and nausea when exposed to various appliances.

Electromagnetic waves are everywhere and we are constantly bombarded by them from space.

Although there is no evidence of any permanent damage to the body from electromagnetic waves, some people have reported that they feel unwell when they are within reach of WiFi or mobile phone masts.

WiFi waves are higher in frequency than mobile phones and are intense due to the amount of info they carry.

Electrosensitivity is not recognised as a disability or a medical condition in the UK. The Health Protection Agency say there is no scientific evidence linking ill health with electrical equipment, although it recognises people do report real and distressing symptoms.

Many medics are sceptical about electromagnetic hypersensitivity syndrome as a result, althoughsome like Dr Mallery-Blythe think it is a real condition. The charity ElectroSensitivity UK is a support group for those who believe they suffer from it.

She added: 'There are hundreds of us in the UK suffering from this condition.

'It's not just me - and it could happen to anyone.'

Dr Erica Mallery-Blythe, who is a medical adviser for the charity ElectroSensitivity UK said: 'The symptoms of EHS can cover a broad range of systems, often start subtly and can be mistaken for other medical conditions.

'Adults and children today are exposed to very high levels of electromagnetic fields (EMF) that no life on the planet has ever witnessed before.

'It is no surprise that the numbers of those with EHS and other conditions linked with EMF exposure are rising.'

Dr George Carlo, from Washington, added: 'One of the tragedies is that folks use these approaches - cages, shades, necklaces - to try to protect themselves, but those are not long-term solutions. 

'They are simply survival mechanisms. The long-term solution is building the internal adaptive capacity that enables those with ES to be like the rest of us - living our lives without the incumbrance of awful ES-triggered symptoms.'

In 2005, the Health Protection Agency said there was no scientific evidence to link their ill health with electrical equipment, although it said sufferers could have unpleasant symptoms. The review did not look at the impact of waves from phone masts.

However, in 2007 a double-blind study suggested electrosensitivity could be all in the mind. The research, published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, found people who thought they were electrosensitive experienced symptoms when they were placed near a mobile phone mast and told it was 'switched on'. When the tests were repeated with the volunteers not knowing whether the masts were switched on or off, there was no relationship between their symptoms and the phone signals.

Critics of the study said it only looked at short-term effects and used a fairly small sample size.

Source:: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2236215/Woman-51-spends-15-hours-day-a-Faraday-cage-claims-intolerant-modern-technology.html#ixzz2VQjRLwr0
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook