| Betreff: Review of ICNIRP EMF exposure guidelines - urgent please! |
| Von: hans karow |
| Datum: Tue, 27 Jun 2006 19:54:08 -0700 |
Dear all,
Following
e-mail with re EMF exposure
guideline I sent to the ICNIRP secretariat I have been referred to by
Dr.
Ahlbom (see his two responses to my e-mails below).
If you
support my request for an interim public
ICNIRP press release, please forward a message to Mrs. Gunde
Ziegelberger by
referring to my June 27 e-mail, and if possible add also your personal
arguments/points.
I would
appreciate if you forward this
e-mail to your fellow EMF experts to do so as well.
Thank you,
Hans.
Hans Karow
Coalition to
Reduce Electropollution
(CORE)
Penticton,
BC, Canada, V2A 8T6
From: hans karow
[mailto:hkarow@shaw.ca]
Sent: Tuesday, June 27,
2006 7:17
PM
To: 'Gunde Ziegelberger'
Subject: RE: EMF
exposure
guidelines
Dear Mrs. Ziegelberger,
Please accept this as a
friendly reminder.
Our local power company
is proposing a second new substation
and transmission line within a new residential area. Attending a public
info
session organized by the power company, I again noticed how this power
company
is misleading the general public, in addition to that these people
directly and
indirectly affected by the proximity of both facility know very little
about
the EMF issue.
Again and again, when the
EMF issue is addressed and certain
EMF levels near residential properties, the power company is referring
to ICNIRP
and WHO and Health Canada recommended guidelines and demonstrating to
the
public how well below the new projects' EMF level will be:
ICNIRP/WHO/Health
Canada recommended safety guideline of 830 milliGauss compared to about
0.5 -
15. milliGauss or a little more in certain areas of the proposed
project.
Independent as well as
industry funded studies have clearly
shown adverse health effects at levels far below the 830 milliGauss
levels, see
a summary in slide # 12 in http://www.stop-emf.ca/hydroone/PresentationEMFHydro_files/frame.htm
, whichg is a lide show presented by Dr. Magda Havas at the Hydro
One Workshop on EMFs, Markham Ontario, Canada, June 16, 2004.
With approval from the
author,
please also accept Dr.
From
there I
especially like to note and cite, that
“…There
are no internationally agreed upon guidelines that
consider long-term exposure to magnetic fields within the low frequency
range. International
guidelines on exposures limits for all ELF EMF have been developed by
the
International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP)
in
collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO). WHO clearly
states,
that:
“…the
ICNIRP guidelines for
EMF exposure…are intended to prevent health effects related to
short-term
acute exposure…” [Dr. Havas’ Evidence,
page 8,
line 24 -30]
“…In
“If we
examine the effects that have been documented in the
literature for magnetic field exposure and the ICNIRP/Health Canada
guidelines,
there is a serious discrepancy [...] Associations
based on epidemiological studies and cause-effect relationships based
on
laboratory experiments suggests that magnetic fields within the range
of 2 to
16 mG are harmful. Canadian guidelines allow exposure of the
general
public to magnetic fields up to 830 mG for any 24-hour period. It is
clear that
these outdated guidelines need to be reviewed based on recent
scientific
studies…”[Dr. Havas’ Evidence, page 9 line 7-12]
Power
companies and regulatory agencies (utilities commission (provincial and
federal) are “ducking” under the for the industry very convenient
high exposure guidelines! People and health care systems are suffering
due to
these already for a long time to be reviewed guidelines, as a matter of
fact
the responsibility clearly lies in the hands of ICNIRP as the
organization who
initially set up these guidelines to which WHO, and national government
agencies worldwide refer to!
As
stated
above, our local power company is proposing a new project and for this
it is
hereby urgently and kindly requested that the ICNIRP secretariat is
releasing
an interim public statement that the guidelines are presently be
reviewed and
that is expected that the guidelines will be lowered based on new
scientific/medical studies. In our local case, this would help to more
or less
force the power company to opt for another although little more
expensive but
safer route for the transmission line and a safer alternative place for
the substation.
Power
companies world wide and utilities commission/regulatory agencies
must be stopped to play with the ICNIRP ”830 milliGauss safety
threshold” ball!
Please,
your
immediate response is urgently needed, and if you please also would
answer my
questions in my June 20 e-mail (shown below).
Sincerely
and concerned,
Hans
Karow
(copy
of
this e-mail will be forwarded to many members and associations of the
independent EMF campaign)
-----Original Message-----
From: hans karow [mailto:hkarow@shaw.ca]
Sent: Tuesday, June 20, 2006 6:41 PM
To: 'Gunde Ziegelberger'
Subject: RE: EMF exposure guidelines
Dear Mrs. Ziegelberger,
Thank you for your response enclosed below.
You indicated that ICNIRP has began the
process to revise the EMF
exposure guidelines. May I kindly ask you for the list of organizations
and/or
names of all experts involved in this revision, if possible with a
brief
professional background/history of those persons. I would also be
interested in
the names of persons/organizations that do assist (i.e. assisting in
draft.
Reviewing the draft etc) the experts who are doing the actual review,
in
addition any observers, and whether any media are being allowed to
observe and
report the review process.
Where and how is the review being done?
Thank you for your understanding and taking
the time,
Mit freundlichen Gruessen,
Hans Karow
E-mail: hkarow@shaw.ca
-----Original Message-----
From: Gunde Ziegelberger
[mailto:GZiegelberger@bfs.de]
Sent: Wednesday, April 12, 2006 8:08 AM
To: hans karow
Subject: Re: EMF exposure guidelines
Dear Mr. Karow,
thanks for contacting ICNIRP regarding your
health concerns.
1. Yes, ICNIRP has began the process to
revise the exposure guidelines
for static and also for low frequency fields.
As you might be aware,
ICNIRP´s guidelines for limiting exposure to
fields up to 300 GHz are
based on the scientific knowledge of the
years 1997/1998. Research has
been going on since then and ICNIRP has
issued an in depth review of
the
scientific evidence concerning the relevance
of low frequency electric
and magnetic fields for human health (2003).
The WHO is going to
publish
an Environmental Health Criteria Document on
this topic in 2006. In
view
of new resaerch data and their reviews, the
ICNIRP guidelines will be
revisited. The process will not be finalized
before the end of the
year.
2. and 3. I could not open the ppt.
presentation by Dr. Havas, but
according to the title I suggest, that it
deals with the inconsistency
between the known biophysical effects of low
frequency fields and the
results from experimental studies on one
hand, and the epidemiologic
results on childhood leukaemia on the other
hand. Also this apparent
conflict will be addressed during the
revision process.
I hope, I could provide you with the
information you have been looking
for.
Sincerely,
Gunde Ziegelberger
Dr. Gunde Ziegelberger
ICNIRP Scientific Secretary
c/o Bundesamt für Strahlenschutz
Ingolstädter Landstr. 1
D-85764 Neuherberg/Oberschleißheim
E-Mail: G.Ziegelberger@icnirp.org
Tel.: ++49-1888-333-2142
hans karow schrieb:
>Dear Dr. Ziegelberger,
>
>With regards of my questions (please see
below) Dr. Ahlbom referred
me to
>your office.
>
>May I kindly ask to please respond to my
three questions as stated
below.
>
>Thank, you!
>
>
>
>Mit freundlichen Gruessen,
>
>Hans Karow
>
>
>E-mail: hkarow@shaw.ca
>
_____
>
>From: Anders Ahlbom
[mailto:anders.ahlbom@ki.se]
>Sent: Sunday, April 02, 2006 11:31 PM
>To: 'hans karow'
>Subject: SV: EMF exposure guidelines
>
>To get the official ICNIRP view I suggest
to contact the
secretariat in
>
>
>Best wishes,
>
>Anders Ahlbom
>
>Please note new e-mail below:
>
>Anders Ahlbom
>
>Office: + 46 8 5248 74 70;
>
>e-mail: anders.ahlbom@ki.se
_____
>
>Från: hans karow [mailto:hkarow@shaw.ca]
>Skickat: den 1 april 2006 20:07
>Till:
>Kopia: Magda Havas
>Ämne: EMF exposure guidelines
>
>Dear Dr. Ahlbom,
>
>1.
During the oral
hearing (as indicated below), while
>cross-examining industry consultant
Dr. William
Bailey/Exponent,
>I learned that ICNIRP just had a meeting
in Berlin/Germany.
>Could you please inform, whether the
exposure EMF guidelines will
be
>reviewed in the near future and the
guidelines possibly adjusted?
>2.
May I kindly ask you whether you agree with
>the statements presented by Dr. Magda
Havas at a Hydro One Workshop
on EMFs,
>
>Children at risk with residential and
school exposure to
EMFs” source:
>http://www.stop-emf.ca/hydroone/PresentationEMFHydro_files/frame.htm
>
>If there is anything you do not agree
with, could you please state
where and
>why?
>3.
A particular
question would be: do you agree with slide 12,
>“Exposure Guidelines vs Effects” ?
>
>Thank you for taking the time to respond
please,
>
>Hans Karow.
>
From: Anders Ahlbom
[mailto:anders.ahlbom@ki.se]
Sent: Sunday, January
15, 2006
3:01 AM
To: 'hans karow'
Subject: SV: 2
generation family
home exposure to high transmission line EMR
There
is still scientific
uncertainty about this association and IARC (WHO cancer agency)
classified the
exposure as possibly carcinogenic to humans. Also the involved risk, if
any is
small and would affect a small fraction of the population. Yet, I would
try to
avoid a home with the exposure level you mention, particularly
with
children at home.
Best
wishes,
Anders
Ahlbom
Please note
new e-mail
below:
Office:
+ 46 8 5248 74
70;
e-mail:
anders.ahlbom@ki.se
Från:
hans karow [mailto:hkarow@shaw.ca]
Skickat: den 15 januari
2006 01:31
Till:
Anders.Ahlbom@imm.ki.se
Ämne: 2 generation
family home
exposure to high transmission line EMR
Prioritet: Hög
Dear Dr. Ahlborn,
In your
personal opinion, not
reflecting the ICNIRP opinion or position, could you please inform me,
whether you and your
assumed
family, with children aged 1 and 3,
and expecting a third
child in two
months,
would you live
in a
house that is exposed to magnetic fields ranging between no less than
10 and 20
milliGauss AC magnetic field and above, 24 hours a day, year-round for the
next 25+
years. This with your wife always staying
home and not working anywhere else, and having mind that you once will
retire
in this home, and one of your kids will move in and raise a family of
two or
three children?
Your response would be
very much appreciated.
Thank you,
Hans Karow
Hans Karow
E-mail: hkarow@shaw.ca