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EMFacts Blog

    • 03 OCT 19

    Leszczynski: 1) Summary of the forthcoming Opening Lecture at the EMF Symposium in Mainz, Germany, 2) 5G health issues marginalised

    Excerpt

    From Dariusz Leszczynski’s blog, Between a Rock and a Hard PlaceExcerpt: Wireless Communication Technology and Health: From 1G to 5G and beyond What we know. What we do not know. What we should know. In early 70’s and 80’s, the first generation (1G) of mobile phones and cell tower networks were deployed without prior testing for human health safety. It was assumed that the emitted low power is harmless. However, decades later, in 2011, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified radiation emitted by cell phones and cell towers, by then already 3rd and 4th generation (3G and 4G), as a possible human carcinogen (category 2B). Since the 2011 classification, a number of research studies was published that not only strengthened the evidence for the 2B classification but provided data suggesting that the IARC classification could be upgraded to the level of a probable human carcinogen (category 2A). SNIP Currently, the new generation of wireless communication, the 5G, is being rapidly deployed. The 5G will introduce new radiation, the millimeter-waves, that was also not tested for human health hazard. Studies on biological and health effects of the millimeter-waves are scarce….SNIP

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    • 03 SEP 19

    Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Sleep Disruption: Evidence that both powerfrequency and radiofrequency magnetic fields may be a co-factor to investigate in treatments.

    Practically all of the ongoing controversy over the possible biological effects of human exposure to both power frequency and radiofrequency fields has focussed on thermal effects and the risk of cancer. However, during a conversation with Yuri Grigorev, from the Russian National Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (RNCNIRP) he mentioned that the ‘West’ had taken the wrong tack by focussing on cancer. He (and the RNCNIRP) considered that the main effect was effects on the immune system, which could lead to any number of illnesses. This paper looks at chronic exposures to both Power-frequency and Radio-frequency emissions. Titled: “Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Sleep Disruption: Evidence that both powerfrequency and radiofrequency magnetic fields may be a co-factor to investigate in treatments”, it is aimed at medical practitioners and organisations working with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and/or insomnia patients. Optimum treatment of these conditions should include the possibility that EMF/EMR may be a possible factor in some cases.

    Excerpts:
    Power Frequency magnetic fieldsIn 1994, Australian Democrat Senator Robert Bell (Tasmania) tabled a report in the Australian Senate that examined the evidence that the then current National and international exposure standards for human exposure to electromagnetic fields were insufficient to provide an assurance of safety. Part of this report examined the condition of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and suggested that prolonged exposure to 50 Hz power frequency fields may be one of the causative factors in the condition. [1]This hypothesis was later strengthened with a number of patient case studies compiled with the assistance of several doctors connected with the Australasian College of Nutritional and Environmental Medicine (ACNEM) in January 1998. These case studies indicated that prolonged exposure to environmental level powerline frequency electromagnetic fields apparently were impairing immune system function resulting in CFS symptoms and insomnia.[2]In February 1999 a Victorian Workers Compensation Case from 1991-1992 was obtained by this writer from office manager at Ross House, located at 247-251 Flinders Lane, Melbourne. This case examined a number of workplace illness diagnosed as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. The workcare investigation found that excessive office building electromagnetic fields from a large electrical substation directly below the office building where the women worked was the common factor in all the symptoms reported by the women. The report also examined the work done to mitigate the EMFs in the area.[3] Some of the symptoms reported were:Chronic tiredness/fatigue; Insomnia: waking around 3 am with an inability to go back to sleep; Stress Inability to concentrate; Fluctuating hormone levels; Anaemia; facial rash, depression, severe premenstrual tension; a feeling of listlessness; light headedness ;”a permanent severe case of jet lag”…SNIP

    Study on Health Effects of the Shortwave Transmitter Station of Schwarzenburg, Berne, Switzerland (Major Report)Background:A short wave transmitter was installed at Schwarzenburg, near Berne, Switzerland, in 1939. Another antenna was added in 1954 with three 150 kW outputs (6.1-21.8Mhz). and a 250 kW antenna was added in 1971. Since the Seventies, health complaints have been reported by the population in the surroundings of the transmitter, and the effects have been associated with its activity. On the 2nd March 1990, a petition seeking a scientific evaluation of the health damage allegedly cause by the transmitter was handed by a group of inhabitants to the Swiss Federal Department of Traffic and Energy (SFDTE). In October 1990, the Head of SFDTE commissioned a study. It was carried out by 15 doctors and scientists, primarily from the University of Berne, but also from 4 other agencies. Their report was published in August 1995 and found significant changes in various indicators which increased with proximity to the mast (Zone A in the study) and which were significantly worse in elderly people. Symptoms included nervosity, inner restlessness, difficulty in falling asleep, difficulty in maintaining sleep, general weakness and tiredness and joint pains, Sleep difficulty was especially disturbing as this can lead on to increasing fatigue and reduced feelings of well-being. Observed nocturnal sleep changes occurred in association with increased nocturnal RF exposure levels. The study interim conclusion was as follows:”Insomnias and joint pains, especially in the elderly, were more frequently reported in Zone A than in Zones B and C. They showed a dose-response relationship with the logistic regression and they were not related to a health-worry personality. Further studies are of need to establish a biophysical mechanism…. “Our results indicate a higher frequency of disorders of a neurovegetative nature among residents up to about 1000 m from the transmitter, and are highly suggestive of a direct effect of the radio shortwave transmitter on sleep quality. The other complaints appear to be mediated by the sleep disorder.”…SNIP

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    • 22 AUG 19

    Online free summit on 5G

    From the conference website:You may have heard of 5G, it stands for fifth-generation cellular wireless. In a February 2019 US Senate hearing, the wireless industry was forced to admit they have no safety studies on 5G, and don’t plan to do any. Meanwhile, there are thousands of independent studies concluding that wireless radiation causes biological harm. Despite this, the wireless industry is working with government to deploy 5G – it’s a global, for-profit, human experiment… without our consent.What does it mean? Millions of “small” cell towers will be added to every block (which is a serious privacy concern). Each tower emitting radiation at levels known to cause cancer, sterility, DNA damage and other harm… especially to our children, who are most at risk…SNIP

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    • 13 AUG 19

    2 articles: 1)The Austrian (not Australian) Parliament asks for evaluation of 5G and health – do not hold your breath / 2) Canberra (Australia) Citynews on 5G deployment

    From the blog of Dariusz Leszczynski Excerpt: Recently, telecompaper has informed that the Austrian parliament has commissioned a study into the health effects of 5G networks due to concerns among the public that the new generation of mobile services could pose risks from increased radiation exposure. The Advisory Council on Technology Assessment of the Austrian Parliament has decided to obtain expertise in the field and appointed a consortium of the Institute for Technology Assessment of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the Austrian Institute of Technology to conduct a study. The research institutes already provide the parliament with scientific advice on many topics. The study is expected to be ready by January 2020, providing an overview of the latest research on the topic. The report will be published on the parliament’s website.”At first, the reader of these news might be encouraged by seeing that the Austrian Parliament addresses concerns about the potential health risks of exposures to 5G-emitted radiation. However, as always, the “devil is in the details”. Reading description of this project, available on the website of the Institute of Technology Assessment of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, provides the proverbial “bucket of cold water”. It appears that the “evaluation” will likely be nothing new but recap of the existing mantra…SNIP

    In other words just more of the Procrustean Approach….

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    • 11 AUG 19

    FCC Chairman Ajit Pai loses another court case as judges overturn 5G deregulation

    One of Ajit Pai’s attempts to eliminate regulation of 5G deployment has been overturned by federal judges.The Federal Communications Commission last year approved an order that “exempted most small cell construction from two kinds of previously required review: historic-preservation review under the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) and environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA),” federal judges said in their decision partially overturning the order.The FCC claimed its deregulation of small cells was necessary to spur deployment of 5G wireless networks. But the commission was sued by the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma, the Blackfeet Tribe, and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). The FCC order was of particular interest to tribal groups because it affected construction on “sites of religious and cultural importance to federally recognized Indian Tribes,” the judges noted. “The Order also effectively reduced Tribes’ role in reviewing proposed construction of macrocell towers and other wireless facilities that remain subject to cultural and environmental review.”The FCC’s opponents argued that the elimination of historic-preservation and environmental review was arbitrary and capricious, that it violated both the NHPA and NEPA, and that the changes to tribes’ role in reviewing construction was arbitrary and capricious. A three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued its unanimous ruling today.Judges wrote that Pai’s order “does not justify the Commission’s determination that it was not in the public interest to require review of small cell deployments. In particular, the Commission failed to justify its confidence that small cell deployments pose little to no cognizable religious, cultural, or environmental risk, particularly given the vast number of proposed deployments and the reality that the Order will principally affect small cells that require new construction.”The FCC also failed to “adequately address possible harms of deregulation and benefits of environmental and historic-preservation review,” which means the commission’s “deregulation of small cells is thus arbitrary and capricious,” judges concluded…SNIP

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    • 31 JUL 19

    Response: 5G and Wireless Risks to Public Health

    Excerpt

    From Health Central New ZealandDr. Pri Bandara and Dr. Julie McCredden from Oceania Radiofrequency Scientific Advisory Association (ORSAA) weigh in on a series of recent articles published on Health Central around the effects of 5G.July 25, 2019There has been a lot of hype around 5G and there is some misinformation in this information-overloaded time we live in. We contend the article by Katie Chadwick-Smith titled “Response: Claims that 5G is damaging to our health are misleading” in reply to a previous article by Dr. Tracy Chandler is riddled with false statements and is grossly misleading.Consider the following claim by Chadwick-Smith: “The link Dr Chandler provides as evidence for the relationship between cellphones and cancer is nothing more than a collection of presentations and newspaper articles based on suppositions and wishful thinking for those prone to conspiracy theories.” This seems strange considering that Dr. Chandler’s article made no such reference to cell phones and cancer specifically but instead referred to a vast collection of peer-reviewed studies on the website maintained by Dr. Joel M. Moskowitz, Director of the Center for Family and Community Health at School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley. It appears that Chadwick-Smith did not bother to check anything before making this attempt to discredit Dr. Chandler’s article. As cell phone use and cancer is raised, the reality is far from what Chadwick-Smith claims. The scientific evidence actually shows an increased risk. For example, a review that collated data from 24 studies in a large meta-analysis which included 26,846 brain tumour cases and 50,013 healthy controls, showed a significantly higher risk for those with mobile phone use over 10 years.The Oceania Radiofrequency Scientific Advisory Association (ORSAA) is the only independent (hence without conflicts of interest) scientific organization operating in the Australia-New Zealand region investigating the health impact of RF-EMR. Our database is now the world’s largest categorized database of peer-reviewed studies in this field of scientific study which is freely available for anyone at www.orsaa.org. The scientists at ORSAA are volunteering to establish the much-needed evidence-based approach to risk assessment in this highly contentious area due to strong financial conflicts of interest competing with public safety….SNIP

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    • 23 JUL 19

    Fake news on 5G from New York Times Science Desk (two articles)

    1) A Fact-Free Hit on a 5G Critic Fabricating History on the New York Times Science Desk
    From Louis Slesin, Microwave News
    Excerpt: Last Tuesday, the New York Times devoted most of the front page of its science section to Bill Broad’s latest attack on those who challenge the dogma that wireless radiation is absolutely safe.“The 5G Health Hazard That Isn’t” is the catchy headline of the Web version of his article. It’s followed by “How one scientist and his inaccurate chart led to unwarranted fears of wireless technology.”There’s a major problem with Broad’s reporting. The key facts are wrong.Please take a look at the critique that I just posted on the Microwave News website.

    2) The Miseducation of America on 5G: The New York Times Gets It Spectacularly Wrong
    Devra Davis, the Environmental Health Trust
    Excerpt: When William J. Broad, a Pulitzer-Prize winning New York Times science writer, strangely mangles information on the dangers of 5G, this plays right into the hands of those determined to advance this never-tested technology without serious examination of its long-term impact on human health and the environment.The recent headline of the NYTimes trumpeted 5G as the “health hazard that isn’t.” Not so fast. A close examination of claims in that article indicates that it is time for a reset on the march to the latest wireless technology as the consequences could not be more monumental…..SNIP

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    • 20 JUL 19

    Swiss magazine reports first 5G injuries in Geneva.

    Published in L’illustre, Thursday 18 July 2019″

    L’Illustré is a French-language weekly consumer magazine published in Lausanne, Switzerland. The circulation of L’Illustré was 76,697 copies in 2014 and its readership was 338,000 in the second half of 2014.

    Excerpt

    Since 5G antennas were installed near their home in the heart of Geneva, these residents of the same area suffer from various health problems. Are they victims of a technology whose dangers were not sufficiently tested? A doctor and member of parliament speaks out.Gathered in the apartment of one of the two, on the fifth floor of a building in the centre of Geneva, these residents of the same area look at each other. What they have in common is insomnia, tinnitus, headaches. And a lot of unanswered questions. The youngest, Johan Perruchoud, 29, has lived there for 11 years and is not the type to cultivate any sort of hatred of invasive technology. He is a healthy young man, active and positive, who has just returned from four years in New York and makes finely crafted videos and films for the media or for individuals, often working in his room with his computer.”Like in a microwave oven”For him and for his neighbour it all started in April. “I’ve never had a problem with Wi- Fi or any of that and never had problems sleeping – and then suddenly I had trouble falling asleep. In particular at home I felt – how can I put it? – like I was in a microwave. I didn’t feel good in the house, as if I was surrounded by ghosts.” When he looked on Facebook and on the website of the Confederation, he saw that three 5G antennas had been put into service nearby and that other people were complaining of identical problems, headaches, tiredness. “Was it psychological? I don’t know. But for the first time, although I have never had earaches while composing my music, my ears started whistling. It woke me up at night. All of this was unusual.”…SNIP

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    • 11 JUL 19

    Smart meters not so smart for electricity bills

    From Stop Smart Meters Australia: Excerpt:

    Posted on July 11, 2019 by Stop Smart Meters Australia

    New research released by The Australia Institute shows that ‘time of use pricing’ facilitated by smart meters is likely to drive up household energy costs. Electricity companies and regulators have pushed for higher electricity prices at peak times, as well as higher ‘shoulder’ periods. In theory, this incentivises households to move their energy consumption to times of the day when it is cheaper for companies to provide it…SNIP

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    • 05 JUL 19

    Dr Karl – Misleading and Wrong Information and a much deeper problem in the selection of experts.

    News release from the Oceania Radiofrequency Scientific Advisory Association (ORSAA)
    Excerpt: 4/7/2019​We have seen lots of “Fake News” from various media and online sources over the last few years. Now the Australian trusted public radio station the ABC has created “Fake Information”. Dr Karl, the ABCs trusted science communicator, has made several recent pronouncements on ABC radio station JJJ. He has claimed that concerns that are being raised about an untested 5G rollout are ‘hysteria’. Dr Karl’s talks begin with a clear and correct explanation of the EMF spectrum, but then goes on to make incorrect and misleading statements. He declares that only the very high non-ionising frequencies can cause cancer. This statement has been falsified by the recent NTP study.One of our members, Dr Richard Cullen, who has a PhD in electrical engineering, with many years of experience in IT has evaluated Dr Karl’s recent pronouncements. We have edited transcripts below. ..SNIP

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    • 29 JUN 19

    ICNIRP draft on new radiofrequency guidelines is flawed (Lennart Hardell)

    From Lennart Hardell’s blog At a meeting in Paris on 17 April 2019 Eric van Rongen, the present ICNIRP chairman presented a draft on new ICNIRP guidelines for radiofrequency radiation (RFR) exposure… Most remarkable is that the science on health effects is still based on thermal (heating) effect from RFR just as the evaluations published 1998 and updated in 2009. In the draft only thermal effects are considered for health effects. Van Rongen states there is ’No evidence that RF-EMF causes such diseases as cancer’… there is no evidence that non-thermal effects are considered and thus a large majority of scientific evidence on human health effects, not to mention hazards to the environment. Thus the basis for new guidelines is flawed and the whole presentation should be dismissed as scientifically flawed.If this draft represents the final version on ICNIRP guidelines it is time to close down ICNIRP since their evaluation is not based on science but on selective data such as only thermal effects from RFR …The draft represents a worst-case scenario for public health and represents wishful thinking.

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    • 26 JUN 19

    ORSAA on 5G misinformation

    From the ORSAA Newsletter ARPANSA Who is misleading Who 24/6/2019 Excerpt It has come to our attention that ARPANSA has made a number of statements relating to misinformation about Australia”s 5G network on their website, our assessment you can download below. One needs to question who is actually providing misinformation? First, we have a

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    • 25 JUN 19

    Health effects associated with exposure to low-frequency electromagnetic fields

    A new report published by the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety 21/06/2019Excerpt:Today, ANSES is publishing a new expert appraisal on the health effects associated with exposure to low-frequency electromagnetic fields. In view of the data available, the Agency is reiterating its 2010 conclusions on the possible association between exposure to low-frequency electromagnetic fields and the long-term risk of childhood leukaemia. It is also restating its recommendation not to build new schools close to very-high voltage power lines. At the same time, the Agency stresses the need to better manage occupational exposure for employees who could be exposed to high levels of electromagnetic fields, particularly pregnant women…SNIP

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    • 22 JUN 19

    5G: Eco-Energy or Energy Monster?

    As part of the forthcoming “Connected Hobart; a Smart City forum” a central feature of the logo for the event is “Eco-Energy”. Now this term is defined on the ICI Global website as: “Natural and clean energy solutions for a green environment protecting ecology”. So, it would seem to be a no-brained that Hobart’s “Eco-Energy” should mean reduced greenhouse gas emissions with more efficient 5G technology, and overall reduced energy usage.This may be the case for Tasmania with its hydro and planned pumped hydro and wind farms, but certainly not for the rest of Australia. According to Origin Energy, Of Australia’s overall energy supply, 73% comes from coal, 13% from natural gas, 7% from hydro power, and 7% from renewables. So, 86% of Australia’s energy usage is from greenhouse gas emitters, coal and gas.Will the planned nationwide rollout of 5G networks reduce Australia’s greenhouse emissions with “Eco-Energy” 5G smart city technology? Unfortunately it looks like being the opposite, according to a new 5G report by Vertiv, and the technology analyst firm 451 Research…SNIP

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    • 20 JUN 19

    Connected Hobart Public Forum, 26 June

    For any local folks on this list, the Hobart City Council is holding an information session on Hobart’s smart city plan. Should be interesting, especially if the local Stop 5G group shows up. My opinion on the initial Hobart smart city strategy in August 2018 is here. Don *****************************************   Connected Hobart Public Forum Help

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    • 15 JUN 19

    The Highly Dangerous ‘Triton’ Hackers Have Probed the US Grid

    On the scale of security threats, hackers scanning poten­tial targets for vulnerabilities might seem to rank rather low. But when it’s the same hackers who previously executed one of the most reckless cyberattacks in history–one that could have easily turned destructive or even lethal–that recon­nais­sance has a more foreboding edge. Especially when the target of their scanning is the US power grid….SNIP

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    • 12 JUN 19

    GBM Rising in Denmark, Much as in England True Increases or Artifacts?

    From Microwave News
    Excerpt:
    New government data, released in May by a member of the Danish Parliament, show a near doubling of glioblastoma (GBM), a usually fatal brain tumor, in Denmark since the year 2000.Equally provocative: The trend is very similar to what was reported in England last year.Take a look at some graphs and decide for yourself whether these trends are worth talking about. The RF establishment would have me believe this isn’t real. I need to be convinced…SNIP

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    • 09 JUN 19

    Ditch the GPS. It’s ruining your brain. ( plus an article “Forget Self-Driving Cars. Bring Back the Stick Shift” )

    The following article in the Washington Post has interesting implications for the future of today’s society as we enter the world of 5G and the Internet of Things (IoT), where more and more of our thinking, and most importantly, our children’s, is done for us by our devices. How will, what has been called the Google Effect, change they way we think and our ability to think independently of our devices? A shrinking brain perhaps?… From the Washington Post By M.R. O’Connor June 5 Excerpts: M.R. O’Connor is a journalist who writes about science, technology and ethics, and is the author, most recently, of “Wayfinding: The Science and Mystery of How Humans Navigate the World.”It has become the most natural thing to do: get in the car, type a destination into a smartphone, and let an algorithm using GPS data show the way. Personal GPS-equipped devices entered the mass market in only the past 15 or so years, but hundreds of millions of people now rarely travel without them. These gadgets are extremely powerful, allowing people to know their location at all times, to explore unknown places and to avoid getting lost.But they also affect perception and judgment. When people are told which way to turn, it relieves them of the need to create their own routes and remember them. They pay less attention to their surroundings. And neuroscientists can now see that brain behavior changes when people rely on turn-by-turn directions. In a study published in Nature Communications in 2017, researchers asked subjects to navigate a virtual simulation of London’s Soho neighborhood and monitored their brain activity, specifically the hippocampus, which is integral to spatial navigation. Those who were guided by directions showed less activity in this part of the brain than participants who navigated without the device. “The hippocampus makes an internal map of the environment and this map becomes active only when you are engaged in navigating and not using GPS,” Amir-Homayoun Javadi, one of the study’s authors, told me.The hippocampus is crucial to many aspects of daily life. It allows us to orient in space and know where we are by creating cognitive maps. It also allows us to recall events from the past, what is known as episodic memory. And, remarkably, it is the part of the brain that neuroscientists believe gives us the ability to imagine ourselves in the future.Studies have long shown the hippocampus is highly susceptible to experience. (London’s taxi drivers famously have greater gray-matter volume in the hippocampus as a consequence of memorizing the city’s labyrinthine streets.) Meanwhile, atrophy in that part of the brain is linked to devastating conditions, including post-traumatic stress disorder and Alzheimer’s disease. Stress and depression have been shown to dampen neurogenesis – the growth of new neurons – in the hippocampal circuit.What isn’t known is the effect of GPS use on hippocampal function when employed daily over long periods of time. Javadi said the conclusions he draws from recent studies is that “when people use tools such as GPS, they tend to engage less with navigation. Therefore, brain area responsible for navigation is less used, and consequently their brain areas involved in navigation tend to shrink.”.. SNIP

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    • 07 JUN 19

    Colorectal Cancer Soaring in Young Adults; Are Smartphones in the Mix? Epidemiologist De-Kun Li Wants To Know

    From Louis Slesin, Microwave News June 3, 2019
    Excerpt: Americans in their 20s are getting more colon and rectal cancer. Those born in 1990 now face four times the risk of developing rectal cancer and twice the risk of colon cancer, compared to those born around 1950, according to the American Cancer Society. Similar patterns are being seen in many other countries. Known risk factors for colorectal cancer include obesity, an unhealthy diet and lack of physical activity. But De-Kun Li, an epidemiologist and veteran EMF researcher, doesn’t think they explain what’s going on. Li offers a different hypothesis: Young people’s habit of carrying their cell phones in the front or back pockets of their jeans. “When placed in trouser pockets, the phones are in the vicinity of the rectum and the distal colon and these are the sites of the largest increases in cancer,” he says…SNIP

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    • 04 JUN 19

    Dariusz Leszczynski: ‘Brief Opinion on 5G and health

    From Leszczynski’s blog: between a Rock and a Hard Place, May 31, 2019
    Excerpt
    […The below presented brief opinion is not a comprehensive review of the issue but opinion pointing towards few of the important issues associated with the deployment of the 5G technology…]The currently ongoing deployment of the 5th generation of the wireless communication technology (5G) is being met with great enthusiasm by the telecommunication industry and national governments and general public. However, there is also some resistance from the part of the population in various locations around the globe. The opposition towards deployment of the 5G is caused by the uncertainty whether radiation emitted by the 5G networks and devices will have any health effects on human health and environmental impact on fauna and flora. Author of this ‘Brief Opinion’ considers the rapid deployment of the 5G technology as premature, in the context of the very limited scientific research on effects of low level exposures to sub-millimeter- and millimeter waves, as expressed e.g. in final points of conclusions of the invited lectures: (SNIP)

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