Posts classified under: 2003

Rachel Tseng

When I was back in Taiwan visiting friends and relatives, what struck me most was: almost everyone in Taiwan (except children) has a mobile phone; some of them even own two or three phones. Even though mobile phones are not a necessity to juveniles and teenagers, some parents still give their children mobile phones, as a way of showing their love. Wherever you go, people are seen talking on the phone. It was a shock to me. I returned to a small town in the United States, and noticed that there were more and more people using mobile phones. Under the sales promotion of businesses, (where the price of a mobile phone is sometimes cheaper than ordinary phones), the number of mobile phone users escalated very rapidly.

While the public indulges in the convenience and entertainment brought by this new technology, very few people are aware of the enormous amount of electromagnetic waves that emit from cellular transmission base stations, TV, microwave ovens, radio waves, radar, satellite – which are going through our bodies. Do you know the effects of all these combined, intensified radiation? If radiation can change the DNA structure, causing abrupt changes in living organisms, and further affecting the next generation, who knows when these impacts will surface, and how it will affect the children and teenagers? Nowadays, people carry mobile phones close to them. Can you imagine that as you use the mobile phone, you are actually transmitting electromagnetic waves into your brain?! (Electromagnetic wave radiation scatters in the range of 0 to 3000 GHz. In general, electromagnetic waves stand for both electromagnetic waves and microwaves, where microwave is the highest frequency of electromagnetic waves.)

For many years, many well-respected scientists over the world have explicitly told us of the possible harm caused by electromagnetic wave radiation. Dr. Stanislaw Szmigielski, a Professor of Pathology from the Department of Health and Pathology at the Warsaw Military Institute, conducted a 15-year research and found that Poland’s military officials who were exposed to electromagnetic wave radiation of “acceptable safety limit” experienced incidence of cancer two times that of ordinary people, and leukaemia, lymphoma, and chromosome damage incidence of 6 to 8 times that of ordinary people.

In 1987, Dr. Terry L. Thomas conducted various studies on American workers who were exposed to electromagnetic wave radiation. The conclusion was: their brain tumors grew significantly, with the risk level associated positively with the duration of exposure. Soma-Sarkar, a scientist from Delhi Atomic, Nuclear and Related Science Organizations and who was well-known worldwide for his research in radiation, did an experiment exposing rats to microwaves that were set to the standard level generally considered safe. The results showed that radiation caused serious genetic alterations of the DNA strands and can lead to cancer.

Dr. Henry Kues from Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory exposed the eyes of primate animals to pulse-microwaves (before- thermal effect) which are similar to the microwaves from mobile phones. The results showed signs of “irreversible damage.” Sometimes medicine for glaucoma can cause damage to eyes and Dr. Kues discovered that the harm from pulse-microwaves is stronger than that from this drug. Due to Dr. Kues’ study, the standard radiation exposure level set by the Applied Science Research Center is more than 100 times safer than that in the U.S.

Dr. Henry Lai and Dr. Narenda Singh, colleagues of Dr. Kues, showed from their experiment that laboratory rats that were exposed to pulse-microwaves for two hours experienced breakages in DNA in the brain, which is generally considered a warning sign of cancer. Dr. Lai stated, “We are probably exposed to the same or even higher levels (mobile phones, for example) of radiation. It took only 2 hours to have an effect on animals, and yet we are using mobile phones intermittently. This test result will definitely serve as a warning to mobile phone users.

Micael Repacholi (an Australian), the director of the World Health Organization Electromagnetic Field Research Project, made a statement based on his research report: “The thermal effect from mobile phone radiation is significantly correlated with cancer.” He also discovered that a long-term exposure to pulse-electromagnetic waves greatly increases laboratory rats’ chances of getting lymphoma, and also speeds up the growth of this disease.

Dr. Bruce Hocking, an ex-medical science director at Telstra, Australia’s state telephone corporation, conducted a study on a group of mobile phone users and found that the use of mobile phones may cause headache, dizziness, upset stomach and blurred vision. Dr. Hocking strongly called on setting limits on mobile phone advertisements and recommended children not to use this device.

Mobile Phone Enterprise Research Organizations discovered that mobile phones interfere with the functioning of pacemaker. The organization further warned those with pacemakers to keep mobile phones away from their chest. Studies also discovered that mobile phones can interfere with the operation of hearing-aids and medical equipment. As a result, Netherlands’ National Health Investigation Association set a regulation in 1994 that all mobile phones must be switched off upon entering the hospital area.

Other studies throughout the world have also reported that the incidence of lymphoma, skin cancer, breast cancer and brain tumor increases with the exposure to pulsed electromagnetic/microwave radiation. Recently, there has been a tremendous increase in the sources of electromagnetic waves and the degree of public exposure to the radiation, yet we have not heard of any reports on the potential harm from electromagnetic waves despite all these existing unequivocal information. This censorship of information is due to the powerful and influential profit-making organizations, using their wealth, power and business collusion, have blocked the circulation of these vital information. On the surface they appear to be sponsoring academic research, but secretly they use different ways to manipulate news. Many scientists are forced not to remain silent due to the pressure of research grant sponsorship. All these problems are to do with money. Under the temptation of millions of dollars of profits, these enterprises have emitted radiation into the environment and yet asserting against their conscience that mobile phones are safe to use.

Extracted from Lapis Lazuli Light Magazine 2002 Feb Issue
Translated by Lapis Lazuli Light Singapore

Rachel Tseng

Mobile phone manufacturers and telecommunication companies generally allay the fears of consumers by telling them that the electromagnetic field (EMF) radiation from mobile phones falls within the safety limits set by the US government. However, Dr W. Ross Adey, an outstanding doctor who has investigated EMF radiation over the past 30 years, does not think so. He points out that a flaw in the US standards is that it relies entirely on thermal effects on the body’s cells. Many research reports indicate that EMF radiation causes bodily harm even before thermal effects are felt. Furthermore, the safety limits set by England, Japan, Germany, and Russia are even more stringent than those set by the US. The safety limit set by the World Health Organization is five times more stringent than that set in the US.

I sometimes shudder when I see parents allowing their children to play with or listen to mobile phones. This is because research has shown that EMF radiation has a bigger effect on living beings that are smaller built. If we use the mobile phone, there is greater impact on the smaller organs within the body (e.g., the ovary); the impact on children is five times that on adults. Nowadays, I even try to avoid people on the streets who are using mobile phones. This is because the harmful radiation of mobile phones extends within a radius of 100 yards. Of course, in a congested country like Taiwan, there is no question of being able to avoid the mobile phone.

The future looks even more bleak. To provide seamless service to customers, telecommunication companies have plans to set up 150,000 new mobile phone base stations and antennas before the year 2000. A New York Times report has called these antennas the Devil’s Antenna because they are ubiquitously appearing everywhere and there is no place to hide. Every year, telecommunication companies pay several thousands of dollars to the owners of these buildings where the base stations are installed. However, the occupants of these buildings become the most direct victims. The New York Times report also describes how these stations are cleverly camouflaged to hide their original appearances—as church spires or even as trees! This serves to allay people’s aesthetic and health concerns. However, my concern is that this makes the base stations so much more difficult to avoid since they are so well concealed.

This is indeed the tragedy of the modern times. Humans are not the only victims. Biologists and environmentalists are gradually realizing that electromagnetic radiation have ill effects on animals as well.

In her article “No place to hide”, Alice Beougher mentioned the following: She discovered that not long after a base station was installed within 200 meters of her backyard, wild rabbits, moles, wild deer, ducks, and many birds

(that were in abundance just several months ago) disappeared from the backyard. A group of brown foxes that were nesting near her house became weak, their fur dropped, and they either left or died. The dog that she reared fell ill, and was put to sleep four years later when it developed a very high fever that would not go away and all its fur fell off.

A pigeon-racing group complained that after the installation of a nearby base station, the incidence of lost pigeons significantly increased. In a 200 miles, 1500 out of 1800 pigeons did not return. In another 350 miles race, 1000 out of 1200 pigeons disappeared during the race. Observers noted that, nowadays, pigeons require more time to return to their original dwelling place. Many wild bird species have also disappeared from their natural habitats. Wild geese that used to fly in systematic patterns now flew haphazardly.

According to Jim Cox, a biologist in the Florida Freshwater committee, the installation of a base station can lead to the deaths of 2500 birds within a year. There are at least six telecommunication companies competing in the US, and each needs to install base stations within four to five kilometres of each other. This suggests that within the US, millions of birds may be sacrificed each year. Soon, the poor birds will have no other places to fly to.

The US poultry industry has also experienced large number of inexplicable animal deaths. Some animals die before they reach the age for slaughtering, leading to huge losses for the proprietors. Even the fresh carcasses of these animals have a putrid smell and cannot be sold. Farms across the country report news of high death rates among cows. A farmer, who decided to close his business, took X-rays of his cows just before they died. What was strange was that the cow, which had gone without food, had a stomach full of food! It seems that many inexplicable details have been covered up, and environmental groups suspect that these are related to electromagnetic radiation.

Plants can also be harmed by electromagnetic radiation. A report by Dahlbergs indicate that the leaves of fruit trees that are located near base stations look as if they had been burned. These trees slowly die during summer, and their fruits premature drop in July. Trees that are directly facing these base stations are most severely affected.

There are so many innocent victims around, but the cause is the work of smart humans who crave for convenience at all expenses.

After reading so much information on the harmful effects of EMF radiation, I began to wonder how we could arouse people’s attention to this problem? After enjoying so much convenience, how do we pluck up our determination and say “no” to the mobile phone? Can businesses act with conscience, and not require their employees to carry mobile phones with them? This is a global environmental pollution problem, and one that involves the health of the individual, the family, and all sentient beings. We are all live in the same earth. Without a strong tide of reaction against the proliferation of mobile phones, our current and next generations will be harmed. You have a responsibility and call of duty to stop this pollution.

References:
www.lessemf.com

Warning:
The electricity around you may be hazardous to your health – How to protect yourself from electromagnetic fields. Simon & Shuster, 1998.

Extracted from Lapis Lazuli Light Magazine 2002 May Issue
Translated by Lapis Lazuli Light Singapore