Dear Dr Houston
I read with dismay your article in Mondays IT on Mobile Phone Radiation. I think you do a disservice to Ireland Inc but in particular to Irish Children and Pregnant Mothers. These people should be warned on the adverse effects of Pulsed Polarised Modulated Microwave Radiation on their health and wellbeing, as you appeared to have done in your 2011 article in the IT.
The Irish Government has consistently failed to meet its obligations from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe with Resolution 1815 in (2011), and an Oireachtas Bill No 24 of 2011, The Mobile Phone Radiation Warning Act 2011 fell because of the government change in 2011 and was never followed up. The Phone manufacturers are totally disingenuous, in that they bury the RF Warnings six deep in their Legal T+C’s.
As result of this huge vacuum in reliable health and safety information, nobody in authority is telling our children and pregnant mothers about the dangers of their exposure to this ubiquitous sea of Pulsed Polarised Modulated Microwave Radiation.
It is people like you that need to reinforce and amplify these warnings as you did in 2011.
When you say the following I would think that a huge number of Independent Scientists Worldwide will strongly disagree with your dated assertions.
“The only consistently recognised biological effect of radiofrequency radiation in humans is heating.It produces a small rise in temperature of up to 0.2C. But this is comparable to natural increases in temperature, such as during exercise, and does not pose a known risk to health.Radio waves are not thought to damage or alter the DNA in human cells.”
There are two main issues that confound and amplify the widespread misunderstandings that we are facing today. The first is a misassumption of Classical Physics in a Biological System, the famous “Non-Ionizing Radiation Story”and the second is the historical mistake of using a totally inappropriate “Thermal Effects Safety Standard” to the assess safety of the mobile phone microwave radiation.
Issue 1:
Physical science tells us that Non-Ionising Radiation does not possess the energy to damage Chemical Covalent Bonds, so it could not damage DNA and is therefore perfectly safe!
This is part of the official disinformation that industry and regulators buy and sell.
The disinformation comes because Microwave Radiation energy is classified in the Electro-Magnetic Spectrum as a Non-Ionising Radiation (NIR) and by definition the energy of this radiation is not strong enough to ionise a molecule by breaking a covalent chemical bond.
The typical energy of a covalent bond is in the order of 1 electron–Volt (1 eV = 1.6 .10-19 Joules). The force required to break a covalent bond is in the order of 1 eV/0.1 nm ~ 1600 pN. (pico Newtons)[[1]]
The energy in the microwave radiation is well below this level. At 3 GHz it is 1.8*10⁻²⁴Joules.
So, this is the science that lays out the impossibility of Microwave radiation being able to damage DNA because it is too weak in energy terms to break any of the bonds present in DNA. And this is the “rock-solid classical physics” that the whole disinformation story rests on.
So, every Engineer will spout out this story, almost as religious Dogma and poo-poo the whole idea of Microwaves causing any negative health effects.[[2]]
The only problem with the story is the horrible fact that microwave radiation at the levels present in mobile phones does in fact damage DNA. Not expected, but sadly true. So, this is the reason why there is so much deliberate confusion, from an Engineering standpoint it is not going to happen, yet in Biology it happens!
This short reference summarises the science that attests to the reality that the biologists are correct. It is known as the 2004 EU Reflex Study.[[3]]
If you read the last paragraph you will see the skulduggery the industry resorted to try to discredit this work.
This is the study that showed 24 hours of mobile phone radiation did the same amount of DNA damage as 60 CT Scans in or 250 years of The Earth’s background radiation.
How many people would voluntarily submit to 60 CT scans in 24 hours?
Science is getting better as time goes by and there are hundreds of studies that back up the fact that NIR effects our biology and can in fact damage DNA. One theory of how this may happen is that NIR in living systems can create “Free Radicals” which in turn can damage DNA. But even if there is some debate as to the nature of the mechanisms that can cause the damage to occur, there is absolutely no debate that DNA damage does take place.[[4]]
However even with science on the side of the Biologists, being right is not enough to upset the whole NIR house of cards story that is supported by a multi trillion-euro global business.
The second Issue and a big area of contention to Biological Scientists are the ICNIRP exposure guidelines where maximum permissible radiation exposure levels are set for Microwave Radiation, based on their heating effects.
Thermal Based Standards are not a measure of the damage the radiation may be doing to a body it is simply a measure of the amount of heat absorbed by the body.
Susan Pockett from New Zealand says: [[5]]“The so-called world experts on the adverse effects of the nonionizing radiation on all life forms are called the International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) are in fact a small, self-selected, non-governmental organization with known ties to the industry whose expansion it is charged with regulating.
ICNIRP is a self-selected, private (non-governmental) organization, populated exclusively by members invited by existing members.”
“The truth of the matter is that at most a few dozen scientists continue to defend the thermal-only paradigm. Five times that number—so far 242 EMF-active scientists from 42 countries—have signed the International EMF Scientist Appeal, which calls on WHO, the United Nations, and all member nations to issue health warnings about the risks of EMF exposure and to adopt much stronger exposure guidelines to protect humans and other species from sub-thermal levels of EMF.”
“Official reports to governments throughout the Western world attempt to allay public concern about the increasing inescapability of the microwaves (RF) emitted by “smart” technologies, by repeating the dogma that the only proven biological effect of RF is acute tissue heating, and assuring us that the levels of radiation to which the public are exposed are significantly less than those needed to cause acute tissue heating.”
Perhaps the only utility for these Thermal Heating Effects Tests lies in the fact that it gives cover to every Government or Industry Organisation to “reassure”the general public that …. all surveyed sites without exception have been found to fall well below the international ICNIRP limits for general public exposure to non-ionising radiation. (Comreg writing to me two months ago)
It is important Dr Houston when speaking with people about health and safety of mobile phones is to stress that contrary to what Engineers may say, Microwave Radiation at levels present in mobile phones actually affects our Biology, these Microwaves have Bioeffects.
This Microwave Radiation Affects our Biology, it has an effect which varies between people but it does have deleterious effects on all life forms.
There are many well documented Bio-effects on our health and well-being related to mobile phone and wireless technology. Bioeffects are clearly established and occur at very low levels of exposure to electromagnetic fields and radiofrequency radiation.
Just look at these two sites[[6]]and [[7]]which are up to date (2019) with the latest information on these Bioeffects.
· Evidence for fertility and reproduction effects: Human sperm and their DNA are damaged
· Foetal and Neonatal effects of EMF
· EMF is a plausible biological mechanism for autism (ASD)
· The opening up of the Blood Brain Barrier
· Epidemiology studies consistently show elevations in risk of Brain Cancers
· Evidence for Genetic Effects.
· Evidence for Childhood Cancers (Leukaemia)
· Significant disruption of our Voltage Gated Calcium Channels (VGCC)
· Decreased Melatonin levels, Breast Cancer and Alzheimer’s
What Susan Pockett says about New Zealand, can easily be extended into the Irish context. [[8]]
· It is time to stop believing ICNIRP spin. Tissue heating is not the only biological effect of radiofrequency radiation. The ICNIRP thermal-only exposure limit is not safe.
· Like tobacco smoke, low intensity radiofrequency radiation has multiple harmful effects on human health. Unlike second-hand smoke, second-hand radiation is fast becoming inescapable. The present situation is thus worse than the Big Tobacco story.
· Elected politicians should stop accepting biased reports from individuals with blatant conflicts of interest and start taking seriously the health and safety of their constituents; or at least of their own children and grandchildren.
· The unchecked expansion of Big Wireless permitted by ICNIRP’s thermal-only guidelines is actively harmful to all biological inhabitants of planet Earth. Further expansion to 5G technology will inevitably involve yet more radiation exposure. The fact that this exposure will not breach the ludicrously high ICNIRP-based standard is no defence at all.
Compliance with “Irish ICNIRP Guidelines” does not assure your nor your family’s safety. In fact, our Irish ICNIRP safety limits guidelines are in essence meaningless when it comes to our health.
David Sullivan
Delgany Sept 4 2019
If you want to learn more about the 8 Bioeffects caused by exposure to RF please read Prof Martin Pall’s 91-page review article (or even just read the two-page summary)
https://peaceinspace.blogs.com/files/5g-emf-hazards–dr-martin-l.-pall–eu-emf2018-6-11us3.pdf
Electromagnetic Sense Ireland 