Subject: Belfast Telegraph, More doubts about "hands free" (Dean).
Date: Thu, 02 Nov 2000 183816 -0600
From: Roy Beavers
To: guru
--------------------------------------------------
.........From EMF-L.......
This is becoming a nagging question-mark!!......guru......
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Belfast Telegraph
Date: Thu, 2 Nov 2000 13:19:20 EST
From: DEANBT29@aol.com
To: roy@emfguru.com
Roy
FYI.
Regards
Margaret
New doubts cast on hands free mobiles
MOBILE phone hands-free kits are dangerous after all, according to a report
which today cast doubt on Government reassurances over their safety.
Research published today is expected to show official tests carried out for
the Department of Trade and Industry were unreliable.
The kits, which many people bought believing they will keep radiation away
from their brain, actually work as conductors in some circumstances,
transmitting three times as much energy from the phone directly into the
caller's head, it is claimed.
A previous report by the Consumers Association (CA) was rejected by the DTI
in August, when Minister Patricia Hewitt said hands-free kits were safe.
Now the CA is publishing research believed to show that although the kits
reduce radiation if they are held a certain distance from the head, the
energy levels increase at other distances.
It is feared radiation from mobiles could cause brain tumours, multiple
sclerosis, depression, genetic damage and headaches.
Government tests measured how much radiation was absorbed by the head, known
as the Specific Absorption Rate or SAR.
But the CA used other techniques to carry out its safety experiments and
obtained worryingly different results .
© Copyright Belfast Telegraph Newspapers Ltd. 2/11/00
Radiation danger to pregnancy
RADIATION from electrical appliances and power lines could be helping to
prevent some women from having children, researchers warned today.
Scientists in Italy discovered that mouse ovarian follicles exposed to
extremely low frequency (ELF) electromagnetic fields in the laboratory failed
to develop properly.
They fear similar harm may be caused to women by everyday radiation from
refrigerators, washing machines, kettles, vacuum cleaners, and other
household appliances, as well as computer terminals and power lines.
Britain's radiation watchdog body, the National Radiological Protection Board
(NRPB), said it would look carefully at the findings, but insisted there was
no cause for alarm.
ELF fields are generated every time an electrical device is operated, and an
electromagnetic field is also present when an appliance is on standby.
Ovarian follicles go through a number of stages of development before
reaching maturity.
A crucial step is the creation of the follicle's central cavity, called the
antrum.
The scientists, from the universities of L'Aquilia and La Sapienza in Rome,
found that ELF fields prevented a large proportion of cultured mouse ovarian
follicles developing to this stage.
Pre-antral cells were exposed to ELF radiation at frequencies of 33 hertz or
50 hertz. On day five, only about a third of the 33 hertz follicles and half
of those subjected to the 50 hertz frequency developed antral cavities,
compared with 80% of cells kept away from electromagnetic fields.
© Copyright Belfast Telegraph 1/11/00
Letters Page
Church's mobile phone mast plan is not a gesture of good neighbourliness
I AM writing for the 1,100- plus signatories on the petition against the
proposed mobile phone mast at McCracken Memorial Church on the Malone Road,
Belfast, each of whom has their own reasons for opposing the granting of
planning permission.
I did not hear all of their stories when they registered their objection but
each has a tale to tell. Neither do I know the stories of those who did not
get the opportunity to sign for we spent only about eight hours in total -
the equivalent of one working day - in obtaining these signatures as a
measure of the feeling in the area.
A few people from other districts inevitably signed because they also felt so
strongly on the subject. A small percentage of those asked refused. I can
account for only six refusals in all those I personally asked.
Most residents in the area were concerned about the health of their families
and friends.
I know medical opinion is divided and scientific evidence inconclusive
because of lack of research. However, many doctors recognise that the effect
of all radiation, even very low frequency radiation, is cumulative.
Constant exposure to even small amounts is dangerous to 3% of the population
who have the ataxia-telangiectasia (AT) gene. This is particularly sensitive
to the effect of radiation and causes cancer.
Residents in the area may appear to be exposed to less radiation from the
mast than those using mobile phones or microwaves but users of these gadgets
chose to use them and only do so occasionally.
There are further effects recognised by many in the medical community which
accrue from long-term exposure to the electro-magnetic fields created by
microwave telecommunication systems. There is growing evidence that they
cause cataracts, impaired concentration, nausea, headaches, stress, genetic
damage and disturbances of the nervous system.
It appears that public health authorities, planning authorities and other
elected public servants are in danger of violating residents' civil and human
rights if they accept present legislation for the erection of these masts.
Government, scientific and medical authorities are often wrong in the
guidelines they give. The recent report which criticises 30 politicians and
civil servants, who failed to deal properly with the BSE crisis, is a case in
point. They sacrificed public health to promote money making.
Other examples of this practice of, at best, inefficiency and culpable
ignorance, at worst, greed and ambition could be cited. It is no longer
enough to follow public health guidelines on radiation.
Our public representatives can and must ensure that legislation does not
curtail the citizen's right to a healthy environment.
Then there is the issue of use of the church, a house of God, a sacred place,
for commerce. Many who signed the petition gave moral and spiritual reasons
why both purposes cancel themselves out.
I see churches as spiritual power houses, not commercial power houses, and I
lose respect for those who deliberately seek to desecrate a church in this
manner.
I do not presume to quote the Bible to those who know it already and can find
plenty of evidence in Scripture, if they wish, against this duality of
purpose, where spiritual energy is weakened by commerce.
It puzzles me why it should even be considered in a church that has a
thriving congregation supporting it. They would never dream of allowing the
place to be used as a public house, or a restaurant, for instance, while it
continued to function as a church. Does the fact that it might not be so
glaringly apparent to the passing public eye or ear make it any less immoralI
was impressed by the courage and integrity of certain members of McCracken
Church. Some were surprised that planning application has been made. Others
were concerned and hurt by this fact. Their concern was not selfish.
I am aware that the mobile phone mast could be a source of controversy and
division in the congregation, especially when the vast majority of the local
community are united against it. Does it have to be like this? We are
neighbours. The proposed mast is a source of division residents and
congregation both can do without.
D. B. SMYTH,Belfast 9.
© Copyright Belfast Telegraph Newspapers Ltd. Letters page 2/11/00
Archive provided courtesy of WaveGuide, http://www.wave-guide.org
Reprinted with permission of Roy Beavers, http://www.emfguru.com