Scientists Urge Halt of Wireless Rollout

The Bostwana Gazette

The article recommends that lower limits be established for electromagnetic fields and wireless exposures, based on scientific studies reporting health ...

http://gazettebw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8707:scientists-urge-halt-of-wireless-rollout-&catid=20:timeout

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Wi Fi in Long Term Care Homes

Dear Ms. Pitters and Ms. White,

I received a letter from Ms. White on February 1st, 2011 which stated that Dr. Arlene King, Chief Medical Officer of Health for the Province of Ontario, issued a statement on September 16th, 2010, stating that WIFI presents no serious health risks. I believe she is referring to the OAHPP report. It seems to be on the basis of this report alone that you have decided to implement wireless technology.

I would like to remind Ms. Pitters that I emailed her twice in November asking to discuss this report, as there is much to critique in it. In particular, it seems that the effects of wifi have been compared to cellphone use, which is odd, considering that cellphones are used a few minutes a day, while wifi is broadcasting all the time. There is a big difference between an occasional exposure and a constant exposure. There are a number of other serious concerns with this report, which does not in any way justify a conclusion that there are no serious health risks. In fact, the report states in its own conclusions:

"Research on potential health effects from exposure to RF energy is an active field of investigation. Not surprisingly there is inconsistency and in some cases conflict between the results of individual studies. Given this inconsistency, it is possible to select the results of individual research studies in support of a variety of opinions; which may range from no risk of health effects on the one hand, to a clear need to reduce current exposure limits on the other. For this reason, up-to-date reviews of literature which follow a weight of evidence approach are far more useful for informing debate and sound policy making than reliance on individual studies."

The "weight of evidence" approach has itself been criticized as being unscientific. (Professor Jerry Phillips recently spoke to CBC about this - listen to: http://www.cbc.ca/thesundayedition/shows/2011/01/30/egypt-protests---cellphone-radiation---ken-nordine/#socialcomments . The interview is in the last half of the second hour.) It is far too easy for people to cherry-pick their studies, and for industry to manipulate data. There are, however, plenty of good studies showing harm.

I have sent links to quite a bit of information to Ms. Pitters, but now have the impression that it was not considered. To impose such a questionable technology on the people in your care without doing your own research seems to me rather negligent. You may very well have ignored "the best advice possible".

But this is not just about serious health risks, it is also about serious discomforts, such as those suffered by my father. I know dozens of people who have suffered such discomforts; healthy, robust adults and children with no other cause for their symptoms. How can you possibly say that no frail or cognitively impaired seniors will be adversely affected by wifi?

It is irresponsible in the extreme to go ahead with wifi installation based on such a poor quality report. At the very least, you should have available long-term studies of the effects of constant exposure to wireless radiation on the cognitively impaired and frail elderly. It is morally wrong to use the residents of long-term care homes as research subjects without their knowledge or consent.

I will re-iterate the questions which must be answered in regards to wireless technology deployment:

1.How do you intend to ascertain which residents, many of whom are non-verbal or inarticulate, are suffering from wifi-related effects?

2. How will you tell the difference between a progression of underlying disease and the effects of the wireless radiation?

3. Will a comprehensive health survey of all staff and residents be undertaken before and after the wifi is activated?

4. Will all volunteers and private care givers be informed of the health risks of wifi and be fully informed of the radiation they will be receiving?

5. When residents show signs of electrosensitivity, how will they be protected from the wireless radiation, which goes through doors, ceilings and floors?

6. Will pregnant staff be granted a fully paid leave of absence for the duration of their pregnancy, to protect unborn children from the risks of radiation exposure?

There are more studies and more reports being published on this issue every week. What would make it clear enough to you that it is harmful, at which point you would immediately dismantle the wireless technology? This will happen eventually, and it would be better not to waste taxpayers' money on this experiment in the first place.

These questions will not go away. Ms. Pitters has declined to answer them, so I will ask Ms. White to do so. Someone has to take responsibility here.

Sincerely,

Lorraine Penner


Informant: Martin Weatherall



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