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During early 2015, the Canadian Government conducted a series of meetings in which witnesses provided testimony about the country’s health standard (Safety Code 6) and exposure to electromagnetic fields. These meetings were conducted by a Panel of the House of Commons’ Standing Committee on Health, which published its report in June. The report concluded that ‘Safety Code 6 provided adequate protection from established adverse health effects’.
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Following a lawsuit against a school for exposing a student to wireless radiation, Ashland District has become the first in the US to introduce guidelines for reducing students’ exposure to wireless radiation. On August 25, the District implemented ‘Best Practices for Mobile Devices’, which states: Turn off the device when not in use. Turn wifi On only when needed.
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It might be newer, more stylish, more popular—but would you buy it if it cost the earth? Consumers’ desire to have the latest mobile phones on the market is good news for manufacturers but not such good news for the environment, according to a new study from the United Kingdom. In a paper published in June, Dr James Suckling and Dr Jacquinta Lee, from the University of Surrey, found that our compulsive use of mobile phones has many hidden costs.
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Forgetting phone numbers? Maybe you’re one of the many people with digital amnesia. ‘Digital Amnesia’ is a term coined by the international software security group Kaspersky Lab to refer to describe ‘the experience of forgetting information that you trust a digital device to store and remember for you.’ Kaspersky commissioned a survey of 6000 consumers aged 16 to 55 in a number of European countries: the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.
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Research Updates on ELF fields (from electrical sources) Genes - Scientists from China investigated the genetic impact of magnetic fields from electrical sources on mouse sperm cells. They showed that exposure affected DNA methylation (which controls gene expression). (Liu, Y et al, Biomed Res Int, 2015.) Cells - Researchers from Korea investigated the effects of power-frequency magnetic fields on several different cell lines.
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Time’s up Watch out for Apple’s newest innovation. The Apple watch, coming in 2015, is the wearable wireless device that means its owner will always be connected to the virtual world. The watch can be used as a phone, to connect to the internet, for financial transactions, to play music, as a camera and iPad. It can also be used to monitor a person’s vital information—health status and activity.
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In recent years, the incidence of brain tumours in Sweden has increased dramatically, yet this trend is not reflected in the Swedish Cancer Registry, according to the Swedish Radiation Protection Foundation. The Foundation compiled statistics drawn from the Swedish Health Board and cancer registry which showed that the number of people who died from brain tumours ’of unknown origin’ had increased by 157% between 2008 and 2013.
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ELF fields (from electrical sources) Pituitary Power frequency magnetic fields had a harmful effect on the pituitary gland, which links the nervous and endocrine systems and releases a range of hormones. Serbian researchers exposed rats for one day, 7 days or 3 months and observed changes in the volume and nature of pituitary cells, concluding that exposure could be considered a stressor.
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EHS hearing On 4 November, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), a consultative body of the European Union, held a public hearing in Belgium to debate how the EU should deal with the issue of electromagnetic hypersensitivity and to give input for the EESC's opinion that is scheduled for adoption in January 2015. (http://www.eesc.europa.eu) Smart meter class action A community group is preparing for a class action law suit on smart meters.
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An Israeli municipality plans to introduce a standard which dramatically lowers the amount of radiofrequency (wireless) radiation exposure for residents. The announcement was made following the development of cancer by three students in classrooms located near mobile phone antennas, which sparked a September demonstration by parents of students.
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A US education authority has agreed to accommodate a teacher with electro- magnetic hypersensitivity (EHS). Anura Lawson, a secondary teacher at Johnnie Cochran Middle School, appealed to the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) to be able to teach in a WiFi- free classroom. On 28 May Ms Lawson told a hearing of the LAUSD that, after the WiFi was turned on at school, she collapsed and was rushed to hospital for surgery and her students suffered from nose and ear and ear bleeds.
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Since 2008 over 30 international authorities have published reviews of studies conducted on the link between radiofrequency radiation and health, producing voluminous tomes of notes and recommendations. Now the highlights of this information are available in a paper by Vijayalaxmi and Maria Scarfi, published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health in early September.
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