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Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity

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    • 07 NOV 16

    Recent Dutch paper on electrosensitivity

    From Hugo Schooneveld

    Electromagnetic field reduction restores health of electro-sensitive people
    Hugo Schooneveld, Joop van Bijnen, and Patrick van Zuilen
    Electrohypersensitivity (EHS) Foundation, The Netherlands

    Abstract
    Electromagnetically sensitized people may develop symptoms and health problems, when exposed to certain types of electromagnetic fields (EMF), known as electrical hypersensitivity (EHS). Over time, the effects may become stronger if such exposure continues. The Dutch EHS Foundation is committed to finding ways to understand these phenomena and to doing something about it. This study reports the results of a research questionnaire distributed among EHS people before and after that they had taken measures to reduce their exposure to EMF. Information requested included (1) the types of symptoms that people reported, and (2) the effects of EMF reduction strategies on the disappearance of EHS symptoms and improvement of well-being. SNIP

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    • 06 NOV 16

    The sad state of affairs with Bioelectromagnetics Research in Australia

    In a recently published paper in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ( 29 September 2016) ACEBR lays out its research activities in a paper titled, Bioelectromagnetics Research within an Australian Context: The Australian Centre for Electromagnetic Bioeffects Research (ACEBR)

    Its business as usual in this paper with a strict adherence to ICNIRP’s thermal effects only paradigm. For example, here is the section on electrosensitivity with my bolding of the pertinent parts: SNIP…..

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    • 14 SEP 16

    Woman claims severe health problems are caused by wi-fi but Rodney Croft disagrees

    From ABC News, Sept 12, 2016:

    Excerpt

    Woman claims severe health problems are caused by wi-fi but international studies find no link

    Leonie Southern says she can no longer live anywhere near sources of wi-fi transmissions because of severe health effects she attributes to a condition known as electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS).

    The condition is so distressing she and her husband have moved from their home in Bermagui on the NSW far south coast to a farm further inland, to get away from any wi-fi reception.

    However, extensive international research studies have found no evidence the condition is caused by electromagnetic waves such as wi-fi. SNIP……

    Professor Rodney Croft, director of the Australian Centre for Electromagnetic Bioeffects Research, said the symptoms experienced by sufferers of EHS were recognised as genuine, but the cause was something other than exposure to wi-fi.

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    • 24 AUG 16

    EUROPAEM EMF Guideline 2016 for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of EMF-related health problems and illnesses

    The EUROPAEM EMF Guideline 2016 was written by the EUROPAEM EMF- WORKING GROUP and adopted by the EUROPAEM Board on 9 August 2016. The EUROPAEM EMF Guideline 2016 represents the current state of medical science.
    Intention and core content of the EUROPAEM EMF Guideline 2016….. Rev Environ Health 2016

    Abstract

    Chronic diseases and illnesses associated with non-specific symptoms are on the rise. In addition to chronic stress in social and work environments, physical and chemical exposures at home, at work, and during leisure activities are causal or contributing environmental stressors that deserve attention by the general practitioner as well as by all other members of the health care community. It seems necessary now to take “new exposures” like electromagnetic fields (EMF) into account. SNIP

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    • 19 AUG 16

    Canadian Safety Code 6 inadequacies highlighted in new report

    Excerpt

    Report of the Standing Committee on Health

    HESA 2015 Recommendations on Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Radiation and the Health of Canadians
    On Tuesday June 9th, 2015 the Standing Committee on Health, whose mandate is to study and report on all matters relating to the mandate, management, and operation of Health Canada, unanimously adopted the final report into their study of Health Canada’s Safety Code 6. During three full days of hearings spread over two months, the ten MP member panel heard from both sides of the issue including leading scientists and doctors from around the world, Health Canada and the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association. (Full testimony and recaps can be found further down on this page)
    SNIP

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    • 05 FEB 16

    A non-thermal bio-effect: EMR From Cellphone Towers May Amplify Pain in Amputees

    Electromagnetic Field From Cellphone Towers May Amplify Pain in Amputees

    Neuroscience News February 3, 2016

    Open Neuroscience Articles

    For years, retired Maj. David Underwood has noticed that whenever he drove under power lines and around other electromagnetic fields, he would feel a buzz in what remained of his arm. When traveling by car through Texas’ open spaces, the buzz often became more powerful.

    “When roaming on a cellphone in the car kicked in, the pain almost felt like having my arm blown off again,” said Underwood, an Iraq War veteran who was injured by an improvised explosive device (IED). His injuries have resulted in 35 surgeries and the amputation of his left arm. Shrapnel from the IED also tore part of his leg and left him with more than 100 smaller wounds. “I didn’t notice the power lines, cellphones on roam or other electromagnetic fields until I first felt them in my arm.”

    Until a recent study led by researchers at The University of Texas at Dallas was published online last month in PLOS ONE, there was no scientific evidence to back up the anecdotal stories of people, such as Underwood, who reported aberrant sensations and neuropathic pain around cellphone towers and other technology that produce radio-frequency electromagnetic fields.

    “Our study provides evidence, for the first time, that subjects exposed to cellphone towers at low, regular levels can actually perceive pain,” said Dr. Mario Romero-Ortega, senior author of the study and an associate professor of bioengineering in the University’s Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science. “Our study also points to a specific nerve pathway that may contribute to our main finding.”
    SNIP

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    • 11 JAN 16

    EHS paper published in Reviews on Environmental Health

    David O. Carpenter
    Institute for Health and the Environment, University at Albany, 5 University Place, A217, Rensselaer, NY 12144, USA

    Abstract
    Microwave generating equipment first became common during World War 2 with the development of radar. Soviet bloc countries reported that individuals exposed to microwaves frequently developed headaches, fatigue, loss of appetite, sleepiness, difficulty in concentration, poor memory, emotional instability, and labile cardiovascular function, and established stringent exposure standards.
    SNIP
    There is increasing evidence that the “microwave syndrome” or “electro-hypersensitivity” (EHS) is a real disease that is caused by exposure to EMFs, especially those in the microwave range. The reported incidence of the syndrome is increasing along with increasing exposure to EMFs from electricity, WiFi, mobile phones and towers, smart meters and many other wireless devices.
    SNIP

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    • 30 NOV 15

    New Paper identifying disease biomarkers for EHS and MCS

    While the folks at the Australian Centre for Electromagnetic Bioeffects Research (ACEBR) continue to firmly adhere to the viewpoint that EHS is just a nocebo effect and there is no evidence of any harm at exposure levels below the Standards, science moves on. Of note here is a paper published in Reviews on Environmental Health Volume 30, Issue 4 (Dec 2015):

    Reliable disease biomarkers characterizing and identifying electrohypersensitivity and multiple chemical sensitivity as two etiopathogenic aspects of a unique pathological disorder
    SNIP

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    • 03 NOV 15

    Triggering Agents of Electromagnetic Sensitivity

    From Patricia Burke:

    Published on Mar 5, 2015
    Triggering Agents of Electromagnetic Sensitivity, a presentation and Q&A by Dr. William Rea, M.D.. Dr. Rea presented his compelling evidence and recommendations for a healthier world at Creating Safe Havens in a Toxic, Electromagnetic World, a conference hosted by the International Institute for Building-Biology & Ecology. http://building-biology.org
    Category
    46 minutes video

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    • 20 OCT 15

    Dariusz Leszczynski on Electromagnetic Hyper-Sensitivity

    Following on from my last message re: the December “Science and Wireless 2015 seminar in Melbourne, note that Dariusz Leszczynski will have a poster presentation at the meeting, titled: “Wireless Radiation and Health: Science, Safety and Precaution“. Dariusz will also report of what happened at the ‘Science & Wireless 2015‘ before Christmas on his BRHP blog site. That promises to be a good read.

    Two postings of note from the blog of Dariusz Leszczynski

    Posted on October 16, 2015: Electromagnetic Hyper-Sensitivity and Nocebo: What was first – “the chicken or the egg”?

    Posted on October 19, 2015: Leszczynski’s opinion on EHS presented before SOTERKO, Finland
    SNIP

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    • 12 OCT 15

    The Energy Networks Association is inviting submissions from the community on the Draft ENA EMF Handbook.

    From the Energy Networks Association

    Good afternoon,

    The Energy Networks Association is inviting submissions from the community on the Draft ENA EMF Handbook.

    The purpose of the Handbook is to provide common, industry-wide information for guidance to the Australian electricity distribution and transmission industry to manage the EMF issue responsibly in accordance with the ENA EMF Policy. The Handbook includes:

    · background information on electric and magnetic fields
    · an overview of the health debate
    · a summary of relevant national and international guidelines and standards
    · guidance for assessment of compliance with the guidelines and standards
    · guidance on the application of prudent avoidance / precaution.
    · All submissions will be reviewed and considered in developing the final ENA EMF Handbook. The final handbook and responses to submissions made will be published on this website.
    SNIP

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    • 22 SEP 15

    Another new paper on electrosensitivity

    From Cindy Sage

    Rev Environ Health. 2015 Sep 12.
    The implications of non-linear biological oscillations on human electrophysiology for electrohypersensitivity (EHS) and multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS).

    Sage C.
    Abstract

    The ‘informational content’ of Earth’s electromagnetic signaling is like a set of operating instructions for human life. These environmental cues are dynamic and involve exquisitely low inputs (intensities) of critical frequencies with which all life on Earth evolved. Circadian and other temporal biological rhythms depend on these fluctuating electromagnetic inputs to direct gene expression, cell communication and metabolism, neural development, brainwave activity, neural synchrony, a diversity of immune functions, sleep and wake cycles, behavior and cognition. Oscillation is also a universal phenomenon, and biological systems of the heart, brain and gut are dependent on the cooperative actions of cells that function according to principles of non-linear, coupled biological oscillations for their synchrony. They are dependent on exquisitely timed cues from the environment at vanishingly small levels. Altered ‘informational content’ of environmental cues can swamp natural electromagnetic cues and result in dysregulation of normal biological rhythms that direct growth, development, metabolism and repair mechanisms. Pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMF) and radiofrequency radiation (RFR) can have the devastating biological effects of disrupting homeostasis and desynchronizing normal biological rhythms that maintain health. Non-linear, weak field biological oscillations govern body electrophysiology, organize cell and tissue functions and maintain organ systems. Artificial bioelectrical interference can give false information (disruptive signaling) sufficient to affect critical pacemaker cells (of the heart, gut and brain) and desynchronize functions of these important cells that orchestrate function and maintain health. Chronic physiological stress undermines homeostasis whether it is chemically induced or electromagnetically induced (or both exposures are simultaneous contributors). This can eventually break down adaptive biological responses critical to health maintenance; and resilience can be compromised. Electrohypersensitivity can be caused by successive assaults on human bioelectrochemical dynamics from exogenous electromagnetic fields (EMF) and RFR or a single acute exposure. Once sensitized, further exposures are widely reported to cause reactivity to lower and lower intensities of EMF/RFR, at which point thousand-fold lower levels can cause adverse health impacts to the electrosensitive person. Electrohypersensitivity (EHS) can be a precursor to, or linked with, multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) based on reports of individuals who first develop one condition, then rapidly develop the other. Similarity of chemical biomarkers is seen in both conditions [histamines, markers of oxidative stress, auto-antibodies, heat shock protein (HSP), melatonin markers and leakage of the blood-brain barrier]. Low intensity pulsed microwave activation of voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCCs) is postulated as a mechanism of action for non-thermal health effects.

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    • 21 SEP 15

    New paper: Electromagnetic hypersensitivity – an increasing challenge to the medical profession

    BY Lena Hedendahl*, Michael Carlberg and Lennart Hardell
    DOI 10.1515/reveh-2015-0012

    Received June 29, 2015; accepted August 17, 2015

    Partial Abstract

    Background: In 1970, a report from the former Soviet Union described the “microwave syndrome” among military personnel, working with radio and radar equipment, who showed symptoms that included fatigue, dizziness, headaches, problems with concentration and memory, and sleep disturbances. Similar symptoms were found in the 1980s among Swedes working in front of cathode ray tube monitors, with symptoms such as flushing, burning, and tingling of the skin, especially on the face, but also headaches, dizziness, tiredness, and photosensitivity. The same symptoms are reported in Finns, with electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS) being attributed to exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF). Of special concern is involuntary exposure to radiofrequency (RF)-EMF from different sources. Most people are unaware of this type of exposure, which has no smell, color, or visibility. There is an increasing concern that wireless use of laptops and iPads in Swedish schools, where some have even abandoned textbooks, will exacerbate the exposure to EMF.
    SNIP

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    • 05 SEP 15

    Brain on fire. The Sydney Morning Herald article on electrosensitivity

    From Steve Weller:

    Excerpt:

    Hellish headaches are just the start for people with electromagnetic hypersensitivity – and in our wi-fi world, there’s almost nowhere to hide.

    After an hour of measuring radio-frequency levels around Benalla, the north-eastern Victorian city of 9300 deep in Ned Kelly country, Australia, Bruce Evans puts down his smartphone-sized digital meter.

    He says he wants to demonstrate how badly cordless phones leak radiation, and there’s one in the Benalla bookshop he can test. He strides off with intent on a sunny Sunday morning, a burly man with a shaved head, like a friendly bouncer you nonetheless wouldn’t want to mess with.

    Evans, a 50-year-old web designer and former Australian Army commando, is showing me where he can go without falling ill. He says he has a controversial condition known as electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS), triggered by electromagnetic fields (EMF) emitted by power lines, devices such as smartphones and laptops, by wireless routers and towers pumping out telco and NBN signals – the building blocks of the modern economy; indeed, of modern living as we know it.

    Symptoms range from a mild headache through to tingles, tinnitus and heart palpitations to incapacitating migraines, fatigue and nausea. Being EHS puts a huge mental strain on sufferers, both from their symptoms and from not being believed.

    SNIP

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    • 14 JAN 15

    Open letter to European Economic and Social Committee TEN Section on electrosensitivity

    From Eileen O’Connor, Director, EM Radiation Research Trust

    Open letter – please distribute widely.

    For the attention of UK and Ireland members representing the European Economic and Social Committee TEN Section on electrosensitivity,

    I am contacting you after receiving a copy of the opinion on Electormanetic hypersensitivity (EHS) report recently adopted by the EESC’s TEN section: https://toad.eesc.europa.eu/ViewDoc.aspx?doc=ces%5cten%5cten559%5cES%5cEESC-2014-05117-00-00-AS-TRA_ES.doc&docid=3045930

    The reports main purpose is to protect people suffering with electrosensitivity and your important work will hopefully lead towards suggesting binding EU legislation on EMF. I am grateful to all members for allocating almost five hours towards this important debate on 7th January, 2015 and appreciate the voting has been close in the final text along in the voting on each of the amendments. I understand that the next plenary session is due to take place on 21st January, 2015 to finalise the report and therefore call on all members to review the evidence and information contained within this letter.
    SNIP

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    • 17 DEC 14

    Does The Internet Make You Dumb? Top German Neuroscientist Says Yes – And Forever

    Source:EMF Refugee

    BERLIN – Dr. Manfred Spitzer knows that people find his arguments provocative. In his first book, he warned parents of the very real dangers of letting their children spend too much time in front of the TV. Now, in a second book called Digitale Demenz [Digital Dementia], he’s telling them that teaching young kids finger-counting games is much better for them than letting them explore on a laptop.

    Spitzer, 54, may be a member of the slide-rule generation that learned multiplication tables by heart, but his work as a neuropsychiatrist has shown him that when young children spend too much time using a computer, their brain development suffers and that the deficits are irreversible and cannot be made up for later in life.

    South Korean doctors were the first to describe this phenomenon, and dubbed it digital dementia – whence the title of Spitzer’s book. Simplistically, the message can be summed up this way: the Internet makes you dumb. And it is of course a message that outrages all those who feel utterly comfortable in the digital world. In the aftermath of the publication of Spitzer’s book, they have lost no time venting their wrath across Germany.

    And yet Spitzer has accumulated a wealth of scientific information that gives his thesis solid underpinnings, and the studies and data he draws on offer more than enough room for consternation.

    SNIP

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    • 21 NOV 14

    Expect the usual procrustean approach with the WHO’s forthcoming RF Environmental Health Criteria (EHC) for electrosensitivity

    Excerpt

    In one of Dariusz Leszczynski’s latest blog postings (below) on the Wollongong ACEBR/ICNIRP/WHO meeting he identifies the group of ‘scientists’ who wrote the draft of the WHO’s EHC for telecommunications RF exposures. The EHC is an important document for the telecommunications and related industries as it will be used to under-right the safety of their technology for years to come. Very handy for the coming Internet of Things (IoT), a $19 trillion market which will massively increase human exposure to RF. What is coming from the EHC was seen in Rodney Croft’s presentation at Wollongong where he states the draft WHO EHC found “No evidence of health effects”. Croft even claimed, without irony, that the IARC RF review “found to evidence of health effects” even though it classified RF as “possibly cancinogenic”. What will the EHC say about electrosensitivity? Considering that one of the supposed experts helping to draft sections of the EHC is James Rubin, EHC will be downgraded to simply a psychosomatic condition unrelated to exposure. Andrew Marino’s evaluation of Rubin’s science is illustrative here, to quote:

    SNIP

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    • 13 SEP 14

    Legal and Public Health Problems of the Wireless Age

    PublicCitizen
    Consumer Law & Policy Blog
    Monday, September 08, 2014
    Legal and Public Health Problems of the Wireless Age

    Guest post by Deborah Kopald

    [Deborah Kopald (BA, Harvard; MBA, MIT Sloan School of Management) is an environmental health and public policy consultant and author who has developed and overseen the passage of legislative initiatives and has served as a guest expert at various media outlets. In 2013, she organized and moderated The Conference on Corporate Interference with Science and Health in New York City. The conference proceedings were published in Reviews on Environmental Health.]

    Excerpt

    The use of Wi-Fi and other wireless technologies has created problems. “An Open Letter to Phillips Exeter Academy about Wi-Fi”, which I wrote to my alma mater, details the public health problem Wi-Fi has created and some legal ramifications of its use.
    SNIP
    The National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) in conjunction with the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (the United States Access Board) put out a report in 2005 that stated that for a building to be accessible, Wi-Fi should be avoided in favor of fiber optic connectivity; if used, Wi-Fi was to be confined by foil-backed drywall or equivalent barrier.
    SNIP

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    • 15 AUG 14

    Links to Swedish EHS websites in English

    In response to a recent email message where I mentioned it was unfortunate that the new Swedish FEB website was not in English, I received a message from Agneta Jonsson listing a number of Swedish web sites using the Google English translator. See this message on my website for those links.

    Don

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    • 30 JUL 14

    Alasdair Philips on last post: Germany – Important Court Victory for Electro Hyper Sensitivity Victim

    I have some doubts about aspects of this news.

    The judgement is for loss of earning capacity due to occupational exposure to x-rays from working close to a 24 MW (yes, megawatt!) pulsed magnetron in military attack radar units – which would also have exposed him to excess microwave RF energy, but the judgement was (cleverly) just for damage due to ionizing x-ray exposure above the allowed occupational limit in Germany.
    He claimed EHS (as we know it) but the judgment was specifically not for that as I understand it and I believe hypersensitivity due to non-ionising RF was not formally investigated by the court.

    I can’t get to the bottom of what EHS usually stands for in Germany, but it seems to be related to “Occupational Health & Safety” law rather than electrohypersensitivity. There are multiple large companies offering “EHS Consultancy” – and certainly not for EHS as we call EMF/RF sensitivity.

    Best wishes

    Alasdair Philips

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