International Scientists Appeal to U.N. to Protect Humans and Wildlife from Electromagnetic Fields and Wireless Technology
Video Statement (2:59) by
www.EMFScientist.org
PRESS RELEASE
International Scientists Appeal to U.N. to Protect Humans and Wildlife from Electromagnetic Fields
and Wireless Technology
WHO’s conflicting stance on risk needs strengthening, say 190 scientists
New York, NY, May 11, 2015. Today 190 scientists from 39 nations submitted an appeal to the United Nations, UN member states and the World Health Organization (WHO) requesting they adopt more protective exposure guidelines for electromagnetic fields (EMF) and wireless technology in the face of increasing evidence of risk. These exposures are a rapidly growing form of environmental pollution worldwide.
The “International EMF Scientist Appeal” asks the Secretary General and UN affiliated bodies to encourage precautionary measures, to limit EMF exposures, and to educate the public about health risks, particularly to children and pregnant women.
The Appeal highlights WHO’s conflicting positions about EMF risk. WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer classified Radiofrequency radiation as a Group 2B “Possible Carcinogen” in 2011, and Extremely Low Frequency fields in 2001. Nonetheless, WHO continues to ignore its own agency’s recommendations and favors guidelines recommended by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). These guidelines, developed by a self-selected group of industry insiders, have long been criticized as non-protective.
The Appeal calls on the UN to strengthen its advisories on EMF risk for humans and to assess the potential impact on wildlife and other living organisms under the auspices of the UN Environmental Programme, in line with the science demonstrating risk, thereby resolving this inconsistency.
Martin Blank, PhD, of Columbia University, says, “International exposure guidelines for electromagnetic fields must be strengthened to reflect the reality of their impact on our bodies, especially on our DNA. The time to deal with the harmful biological and health effects is long overdue. We must reduce exposure by establishing more protective guidelines.”
Joel Moskowitz, PhD, of University of California, Berkeley, says, “ICNIRP guidelines set exposure standards for high-intensity, short-term, tissue-heating thresholds. These do not protect us from the low-intensity, chronic exposures common today. Scientists signing the Appeal request that the UN and member nations protect the global human population and wildlife from EMF exposures.”
International EMF Scientist Appeal: EMFscientist.org
Video Statement (3 min.) by Spokesperson Martin Blank, PhD: EMFscientist.org
Contacts:
Elizabeth Kelley, MA, Appeal Director
[email protected]
Joel Moskowitz, PhD
School of Public Health, UC Berkeley
[email protected]
1-510-643-7314
Video Statement by Scientist Spokesperson Martin Blank, PhD
Download List of International EMF Scientist Appeal Spokespersons with Contact Information (PDF)
Download Selected Quotations from Scientists Who Signed the International EMF Scientist Appeal (PDF)
Selected Quotations from Scientists
Who Signed the International EMF Scientist Appeal:
(Alphabetical, by country)
Don Maisch, Australia
“We are now entering the era of the ‘Internet of Things (IoT)’ where all our appliances will be Wi-Fi enabled, endlessly communicating with each other and us through so-called smart devices. This “brave new world” dictates that human exposure to radiofrequency radiation must greatly increase in order to accommodate the technology. This is a planned world being created by technocrats totally ignorant of the reality of our biology, an ignorance fostered by the existing thermal-effects only standards/guidelines. Now, more than ever, we need new, biologically relevant standards to meet the challenge of the future.”
Don Maisch, Ph.D., Australia.
Tel: +61 3 62430195 Email: [email protected]
Marie-Claire Cammaerts, Belgium
“Man-made electromagnetic fields impact all living organisms, acting first on the unit membrane. We must reduce our dependence on ‘wireless’ technologies, reduce the numbers of masts (i.e., cell towers), of Wi-Fi apparatus, of cordless phones and so on, and clearly indicate, in public spaces, the intensity of the ambient electromagnetic field.”
Prof. Marie-Claire Cammaerts, Ph.D., Free University of Brussels, Faculty of Science, Belgium.
Email: [email protected]
Alvaro Augusto de Salles, Brazil
“Non-ionizing radiation (NIR) absorption by the population increased many times in the last few decades. The health effects of this will show a dramatic impact in the near future. Therefore effective precautionary procedures should urgently be adopted aiming to reduce NIR exposure and to reduce its health risks, in line with the IARC 2002 and 2011 recommendations that NIR is a possible human carcinogen.”
Alvaro Augusto de Salles, Ph.D., Professor, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul – UFRGS, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
Email: [email protected]
Magda Havas, Canada
“One of the most serious environmental pollutants affecting the health of human populations and resulting in chronic illness is electrosmog. A combination of low frequency electromagnetic fields, poor power quality, ground current and especially radio frequency and microwave radiation is making people sick. We have enough peer-reviewed scientific studies documenting the adverse effects, which include cancers, reproductive problems and symptoms of electrohypersensitivity, for governing bodies to promote practices, devices and legislation that reduce our exposure to these frequencies.
Putting Wi-Fi in schools; allowing cordless phones that radiate constantly to be manufactured; placing wireless baby monitors near an infant; using a wireless tablet, smart phone or computer while pregnant; holding a cell phone next to the head and keeping a cell phone in a bra or hip pocket or under a pillow; placing cell phone antennas near homes, schools and on hospitals; metering electricity, water and gas with wireless smart meters and designing smart appliances for the home will be viewed by future generations as dumb technology generated by greed for a population that is largely ignorant of the consequences. We need to protect the health and wellbeing of future generations, because without them there is no future! If we don’t do it . . . who will?”
Magda Havas, Ph.D., Environmental and Resource Studies, Centre for Health Studies, Trent University, Canada
Email: [email protected]
Paul Héroux, Canada
“Electromagnetic fields from power and telecommunications systems, as they are present
in our everyday environment, have biological and human health impacts that have not
been officially acknowledged. The effects of these fields have simply not been taken seriously enough.”
Paul Héroux, Ph.D., Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health
McGill University Medicine, Montreal Canada,
Tel. (514) 398-6988 Cell (514) 222-2197
InVitroPlus Laboratory, Department of Surgery Royal Victoria Hospital
Tel. (514) 934-1934 ext 5270
Email: [email protected]
http://www.invitroplus.mcgill.ca/
Wenjun Sun, China
“Our studies show that exposure to electromagnetic fields with intensity lower than the ICNIRP exposure guidelines can produce biological effects. Thus, on a precautionary basis, before we understand the detailed mechanisms, we should adopt protective standards that limit the ubiquitous and increasing electromagnetic fields in occupational and public environments.”
Dr. Wenjun Sun, Director of Institute of Environmental Medicine, Bioelectromagnetics Key Laboratory, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China.
Tel: +86-571-88208166, Email: [email protected]
Dominique Belpomme, France
“Les effets nocifs des champs électromagnétiques, quelle que soit leur fréquence, sont maintenant scientifiquement établis. Les femmes enceintes (le fœtus) et les enfants et adolescents sont particulièrement vulnérables. L’OMS a reconnu les effets possiblement cancérigènes des champs électromagnétiques; cette action doit être prolongée par la reconnaissance de l’électrohypersensibilité comme affection à part entière entrant dans le cadre nosologique de l’intolérance environnementale idiopathique qu’elle a individualisé. C’est ce que propose le colloque international organisé le 18 mai à l’Académie Royale de Médecine de Belgique.”
“The harmful effects of electromagnetic fields, regardless of their frequencies, are now scientifically settled. Pregnant women (the fetus) and children and adolescents are particularly vulnerable. WHO has recognized the possibly carcinogenic effects of electromagnetic fields; its policy program should now recognize electrohypersensitivity as a disorder entering the nosologic framework of Idiopathic Environmental Intolerance. This is what the International Congress held on the 18th of May, 2015 at the Royal Belgian Academy of Medicine proposes.”
Dominique Belpomme, M.D., MPH, Professor in Oncology, Paris V Descartes University, European Cancer & Environment Research institute, Executive Director.
Tel: 0033(0)1 45 78 53 53, E-mail : [email protected]
Lebrecht von Klitzing, Germany
“Our research finds that periodic, pulsed electromagnetic fields used for wireless communication reduce vegetative bioregulation activity. Continued exposure to WiFi in Germany has deleterious effects on the cardiovascular system. We must reduce the spread and utilization of these systems.”
Lebrecht von Klitzing, Ph.D. Medical Physicist, Institute of Environmental Physics,
DE 36466 Wiesenthal, Germany
Medizinphysiker (DGMP),
Medizinphysik – Umweltphysik, DE-36466 Wiesenthal, Schwimmbadweg 21
Tel: 036964 863446 + 831203, Email: [email protected], www.umweltphysik.com
Lukas Margaritis, Greece
“Wireless technology has driven most new high-tech products and has been a key factor in everyday domestic and commercial life. Still no serious efforts have been made by authorities to look seriously without bias at the health effects especially for heavy users, children, and pregnant women. Our research points out the necessity for precautionary measures and new safety limits given the complexity of the signals (with modulation and pulses) unlike any other radiation on earth.”
Lukas H. Margaritis
Professor emeritus of Cell Biology and Radiobiology
Coordinator, Radiation Research Program THALIS
Dept of Cell Biology and Biophysics, Faculty of Biology
NATIONAL AND KAPODISTRIAN UNIVERSITY OF ATHENS, Greece
Tel: +30-2107274542, +30-6972051345 Email: [email protected]
Kavindra Kumar Kesari, India
“The debate about the effect of electromagnetic fields (EMFs) on human health is a growing concern of the 21st century. On the basis of scientific evidence, there is no question that EMF emissions from devices like cell phones, cellular antennas, and microwave ovens, have a causative effect on the brain and reproductive organs. But no action has been taken despite our awareness of the harmful impact of electro-pollution due to political interference. It is therefore imperative that the implications of electro-pollution must be fully explored by government bodies after consulting with concerned experts, and safety criteria be re-examined.”
Dr. Kavindra Kesari, MBA, Ph.D., Resident scientist, School of Environmental Science, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio Finland; Assistant Professor, Professor, Jaipur National University, India
E-mail: [email protected], [email protected]
Yoon-Won Kim, Republic of Korea
“International exposure guidelines for electromagnetic fields (EMF) must be revisited due to the existence of their adverse effects on our bodies, particularly on the male reproductive system. It is time to re-establish the safety level of EMF for the general public to reduce our exposure to protect us from EMF.”
Dr. Yoon-Won Kim, MD. PhD. Professor, Hallym University and member of the Bioelectromagnetics Society, Korea.
Tel: +82-33-248-2663, Email: [email protected]
Yury Grigoriev, Russian Federation
“It is immoral that the regulatory standards for electromagnetic fields (EMF) used in cellular communication are inadequate and pose a serious health risk. The amount of harm from radio frequency EMF exposure to the brain is inestimable. Children are at higher risk than professional workers.”
Professor Yury Grigoriev, MD, Chairman of Russian National Committee on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection; Member, International Advisory Committee for the WHO “EMF and Health” Program. Moscow, Russia.
(Not available for media inquiries)
Alonso Balmori, Spain
“Los árboles y los animales nos están mostrando cosas que las personas no estamos comprendiendo. Sabemos con certeza que las radiaciones electromagnéticas producidas por el hombre están debilitando lentamente la salud de los seres vivos: animales, plantas y hombres. Es urgente una toma de conciencia de la sociedad en su conjunto para afrontar este grave problema ambiental y sanitario.”
“Trees and animals are showing important signs that mankind does not comprehend. We know with certainty that anthropogenic electromagnetic radiation is slowly eroding the health of living organisms: animals, plants and people. It is urgent that society as a whole address this serious environmental and health problem.”
Alfonso Balmori, Biologist. Independent researcher on wildlife and EMF, Spain
Alfonso Balmori, Biólogo. Investigador independiente sobre los efectos de las radiaciones electromagnéticas en los seres vivos, Espana;
Email: [email protected]
Daniel Favre, Switzerland
“Active mobile phone handsets have a dramatic impact on the behavior of honeybees by inducing the worker piping signal, triggering the swarming process, the sign of a disturbed bee colony. Signals from mobile phones and masts (i.e., cell towers) could also be contributing to the decline of honeybees around the world. I am calling on the international scientific community for more research in this field and for protection of this crucial pollinator.”
Dr. phil. nat. Daniel Favre, Biologist and apiary adviser, Switzerland
Email:
[email protected]www.ephiscience.net
Suleyman Dasdag, Turkey
“Sa?l?kl? ve mutlu bir dünya için daha az ve kontrollü radyasyon.”
“We need shorter and more controlled radiation exposure for a happy and healthy world.”
Prof. Dr. Suleyman Dasdag, PhD., Dept. of Biophysics, Medical School of Dicle University, Turkey
Email: [email protected]
Nesrin Seyhan, Turkey
“Radyofrekans alanlara maruziyet s?n?r degerlerinin hiç biri hamile anne karn?ndaki bebek,ve ya?l?lar? dikkate alarak haz?rlanmam??t?r. Genel Halk?n Radyofrekans maruziyet s?n?rlar bu alanlara daha hassas olan hamile, anne karn?ndaki bebek, çocuk ve ya?l?lar gözönüne al?narak a?a ? ? çekilmelidir.”
“None of the radiofrequency radiation exposure guidelines take pregnant women, fetuses, and the elderly into consideration! RF exposure limits for the general public should be lowered to protect all those more vulnerable to electromagnetic fields.”
Prof. Dr. Nesrin Seyhan, Founding Chair, Biophysics Dept ; Founding Director, GNRK Center Medical Faculty of Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey. (Presently not available for media inquiries)
Claudio Gomez-Perretta, Spain
“Technological applications using non-ionizing radiation are advancing rapidly, increasing at every step the gap with the assessment of their possible side effects. The REFLEX project and other scientific reports like the BioInitiative Report have unfortunately been ignored by authorities worldwide. Perhaps the coming generations will curse these leaders for their ineffectiveness at the right moment.”
Claudio Gomez- Perretta, M.D., Ph.D. Researcher, University La Fe of Valencia, Spain
Email: [email protected]
Martin Blank, USA
“International exposure guidelines for electromagnetic fields must be strengthened to reflect the reality of their impact on our bodies, especially on our DNA. The time to deal with the harmful biological and health effects is long overdue. We must reduce exposure by establishing more protective guidelines.”
Martin Blank, Ph.D., Special Lecturer, Columbia University, New York USA
Email: [email protected]
Elizabeth Kelley, USA
“Solutions must be found that place the highest priority on protecting people and the planet over the powerful economic forces driving new technologies without thought for biology. We can have both innovation and public safety if there is political will. This transcends national boundaries. The UN, the World Health Organization, and the UN Environmental Programme are the best organizations on earth to make these recommendations.”
Elizabeth Kelley, MA, is the Director of EMFScientist.org, and formerly was Managing Secretariat for the International Commission on Electromagnetic Safety (icems.eu), Italy
Email: [email protected]
Albert Manville, USA
“While we like our electronic gadgets, the worldwide demand for these technologies of convenience only grows, as do the gargantuan profits that come from selling the devices and their services. While human health and safety continue to be dismissed by many, growing scientific evidence is showing a dark side to cell phone, WiFi, smart meter and point-to-point technologies. Migratory birds – incredibly important to the global economy and for the ecological services they provide – now appear to be negatively affected by non-ionizing radiation. This alarm sounds a call to action acknowledging that electromagnetic radiation is indeed a problem that needs to be addressed.”
Dr. Albert Manville, Adjunct Professor, Johns Hopkins University; Senior Wildlife Biologist, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS), Emeritus/Retired; and Wildlife Consultant, WHCS LLC.,USA
Email: [email protected], [email protected]
Joel Moskowitz, USA
“U.S. regulatory standards and international guidelines only control for short-term heating of tissue. The standards do not protect us from the low-intensity, chronic exposures to electromagnetic fields (EMF) that are common today. The scientists who signed the Appeal request that the UN and member nations protect the global human population, animals and plants from EMF exposures.
There has been strong support from the international scientific community for the Appeal, even among those who believe that scientists should not take public policy positions. Some have taken personal risks to sign the Appeal because this is a public health issue that affects everyone now, as well as future generations.
The scientists who have signed the Appeal have published more than 2,000 peer-reviewed research papers on electromagnetic fields.”
Joel Moskowitz, Ph.D., Director, Center for Family and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, USA
Tel: 1-510-643-7314. Email: [email protected].
Electromagnetic Radiation Safety website: saferemr.com
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