Mese: <span>Febbraio 2016</span>

Habits of cell phone usage and sperm quality – does it warrant attention?

[Il presente studio,  pubblicato alla fine dello scorso anno, è uno dei tanti che hanno evidenziato una relazione tra radiazioni elettromagnetiche in Alta Frequenza emesse dai telefoni cellulari e ridotta qualità dello sperma, che conduce inevitabilmente a problemi di sterilità.

Crediamo non sia sfuggito ai più il fatto che sempre più coppie stanno sperimentando problemi di concepimento ed effettivamente alcuni studi hanno dimostrato un declino continuo della qualità del seme a partire dall’inizio del ventunesimo secolo.
E’ stato postulato che uno dei fattori contribuenti sia proprio l’aumento di esposizione della popolazione agli effetti nocivi delle Radiofrequenze/Microonde, che ha fatto seguito all’espansione dell’uso della telefonia mobile (e delle tecnologie Wireless in genere).]

Reprod Biomed Online. 2015 Sep;31(3):421-6. doi: 10.1016/j.rbmo.2015.06.006. Epub 2015 Jun 18.

By:
Zilberlicht A1, Wiener-Megnazi Z2, Sheinfeld Y2, Grach B2, Lahav-Baratz S2, Dirnfeld M2.

1Division of Fertility-In Vitro Fertilization, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Carmel Medical Center, Faculty of Medicine, Technion, Haifa, Israel. Electronic address: arielzilberlicht@gmail.com.
2Division of Fertility-In Vitro Fertilization, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Carmel Medical Center, Faculty of Medicine, Technion, Haifa, Israel.

ARTICLE INFO

Article history
Received: 11 January 2015
Received in revised form: 5 June 2015
Accepted: 10 
June 2015
Declaration: The authors report no financial or commercial conflicts of interest.

Keywords
cell phone; male infertility; sperm concentration

ABSTRACT

Male infertility constitutes 30-40% of all infertility cases. Some studies have shown a continuous decline in semen quality since the beginning of the 20th century. One postulated contributing factor is radio frequency electromagnetic radiation emitted from cell phones. This study investigates an association between characteristics of cell phone usage and semen quality. Questionnaires accessing demographic data and characteristics of cell phone usage were completed by 106 men referred for semen analysis. Results were analysed according to WHO 2010 criteria. Talking for ≥1 h/day and during device charging were associated with higher rates of abnormal semen concentration (60.9% versus 35.7%, P < 0.04 and 66.7% versus 35.6%, P < 0.02, respectively). Among men who reported holding their phones ≤50 cm from the groin, a non-significantly higher rate of abnormal sperm concentration was found (47.1% versus 11.1%). Multivariate analysis revealed that talking while charging the device and smoking were risk factors for abnormal sperm concentration (OR = 4.13 [95% CI 1.28-13.3], P < 0.018 and OR = 3.04 [95% CI 1.14-8.13], P < 0.027, respectively). Our findings suggest that certain aspects of cell phone usage may bear adverse effects on sperm concentration. Investigation using large-scale studies is thus needed.

Source/Fonte:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26206279

Power-Frequency EMFs Promote Cancer in Massive Animal Study

[Storico e fondamentale studio condotto dall’Istituto Ramazzini di Bologna (che conferma i precedenti lavori pubblicati dai ricercatori tedeschi) su migliaia di ratti, in cui si dimostra una indiscutibile correlazione tra esposizione a basse frequenze (50 hZ – vedi elettrodotti!) + associazione a radiazioni gamma, e il processo di PROMOZIONE  della carcinogenesi.

Nel dettaglio le neoplasie che si sono sviluppate dopo il processo di irradiazione (ratti soppressi dopo 2 anni) sono:

1) carcinomi mammari nel maschio e nella femmina
2) Schwannoma (tumore cardiaco)
3) Leucemia e linfoma

(a) A significant dose-related increased incidence of mammary adenocarcinomas [breast cancer] in males and females in particular in males exposed to 20μT plus 0.1Gy and in females exposed to 1,000μT plus 0.1 Gy;

(b) In males a significant dose-related increased incidence of heart malignant schwannomas with a significant increase among males exposed to 20μT plus 0.1Gy [statisticallly significant] and to 1,000μT plus 0.1 Gy; and

(c) A significant increased incidence of hematopoietic neoplasias [leukemia and lymphoma] in males treated at 1,000μT plus 0.1 Gy.

Nel grafico che potete trovare nell’articolo sottostante, vengono riassunti i dati della ricerca.

Perentorie sono dunque state le conclusioni del gruppo di ricerca:

“These results call for a re-evaluation of the safety of non-ionizing radiation” (“Questi risultati richiedono una rivalutazione della sicurezza delle radiazioni non ionizzanti”), magari classificandole come PROBABILI CANCEROGENI per l’uomo…Con buona pace dell’ICNIRP! (n.d.r).]

27 February, 2016 – “microwavenews.com”

Italians Call for a “Reevaluation of the Safety of Non-Ionizing Radiation”

Once again, power-frequency magnetic fields have been found to act as a cancer promoter.

Eighteen months ago an international team led by Elisabeth Cardis in Spain showed cancer promotion in workers exposed to chemicals and extremely low frequency (ELF) EMFs. Now an Italian team has found essentially the same promotional effect in animals exposed to ionizing radiation and ELF EMFs.

Rats, which received a single low-dose of gamma radiation early in life and were exposed to magnetic fields for their entire lifetime, developed higher than expected rates of three different types of cancer: Breast cancer and leukemia/lymphoma, as well as an extremely rare and obscure tumor, called malignant schwannoma of the heart.

The new study, which was carried out at the Ramazzini Institute in Bologna, Italy, is part of the most ambitious EMF animal project ever attempted. Future reports from the same group will describe the action of EMFs combined with a number of other cancer agents, specifically formaldehyde and aflatoxin, in addition to EMFs alone. Together, all these experiments involve more than 10,000 rats at a cost in excess of 5 million euros ($5-6 million). The EMF–gamma radiation study had more than 650 exposed rats and 1,001 controls.

“We have confirmed the old epidemiological observations of Milham, Wertheimer and Matanoski regarding the increased risk of lymphoma/leukemia and mammary cancers, as well as the more recent study by Cardis,” said Morando Soffritti, the director of the project, in an interview with Microwave News. Soffritti was referring to the pioneering work of Sam MilhamNancy Wertheimer and Geneveive Matanoski from 1979 through the 1990’s.

Magnetic fields can “enhance the effects of a well-known carcinogen,” said Fiorella Belpoggi, the scientific director of the Institute, in an e-mail exchange. Soffritti, the former scientific director, is now the honorary president of the Institute and continues to work on this and other projects. Their paper will appear in an upcoming issue of the International Journal of Radiation Biology and is now posted on the journal’s Web site.

The Ramazzini researchers did not mince words about the implications of the new findings. In the “Conclusions” section of their abstract, they wrote just one sentence: “These results call for a reevaluation of the safety of non-ionizing radiation.”

The new animal results “lend support to our recent findings on ELF and brain tumor risk,” said Cardis of the Center for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL) in Barcelona. Her project, known as the INTEROCC study, investigated brain cancer among workers exposed to chemicals and EMFs (see our report: “EMF Cancer Promotion: An Old Idea Makes a Strong Comeback”).

Soffritti declined to describe the findings of the EMF–formaldehyde animal experiment, saying only that they has found some “very interesting results regarding public health” and that a paper has been submitted to a peer-reviewed journal. A number of other publications, including a commentary, are also in the pipeline.

The Ramazzini Experiment

The Ramazzini team followed what is commonly known as an initiation-promotion protocol. Male and female Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed in their mothers’ wombs and then for the rest of their lives to 50 Hz magnetic fields at an intensity of either 20μT or 1,000μT (200 mG or 10 G). At the age of six weeks, they each received a single 0.1Gy dose of gamma radiation, a known cancer agent. (They say that such a human exposure to ionizing radiation, from a set of CT scans for example, “cannot be called unusual.”)

Here are the key findings in the researchers’ own words:

(a) A significant dose-related increased incidence of mammary adenocarcinomas [breast cancer] in males and females in particular in males exposed to 20μT plus 0.1Gy and in females exposed to 1,000μT plus 0.1 Gy;

(b) In males a significant dose-related increased incidence of heart malignant schwannomas with a significant increase among males exposed to 20μT plus 0.1Gy [statisticallly significant] and to 1,000μT plus 0.1 Gy; and

(c) A significant increased incidence of hematopoietic neoplasias [leukemia and lymphoma] in males treated at 1,000μT plus 0.1 Gy.

The Italian team expressed surprise at the observed excess of breast tumors in male rats. “In our historical controls, mammary cancer in male rats is a very rare tumor,” they wrote.

The link between EMFs and breast cancer in men was first described by Matanoski of Johns Hopkins University more than 25 years ago. Others later reported similar findings (see MWN,J/A90, p.1 and MWN, M/A91, p.5). A recent meta-analysis of ten studies of male breast cancer and EMFs found support for the association.

Yet, members of the EMF establishment have contested the hypothesis that there may be a link between EMFs and breast cancer, male or female. One notable critic is Maria Feychtingof the Karolinska Institute who serves as the vice chair of ICNIRP. She has called for an end of all such studies (see our “The Shrill Cry To Stop EMF Research”). ICNIRP has never accepted the possibility that there may be any type of cancer risk —to the breast, brain or blood— from EMFs or RF radiation.

Some Sordid History on EMFs and the NIEHS

The new support for the hypothesis that EMFs can promote breast cancer in animals is the latest chapter in a long-running drama that pitted the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) against a research group at the School of Veterinary Medicine in Hannover, Germany. The German team, led by Wolfgang Löscher and Meike Mevissen, ran a series of animal experiments in the 1990’s which showed that EMFs could promote breast cancer in animals that had been initiated by DMBA, a chemical carcinogen (see, for instance, “Löscher Again Finds EMFs can Promote Breast Cancer,” MWN, S/O99, p.4). When an NIEHS-funded team was unable to replicate that work, a senior NIEHS official, Gary Boorman, waged a dirty tricks campaign to discredit the German researchers. Boorman was later disciplined and the NIEHS offered Löscher a formal apology (for more on this fiasco, see our “It’s Genetics, Stupid”). Nevertheless, NIEHS, like ICNIRP, has declined to acknowldge an EMF–cancer risk.

After reviewing the Ramazzini results, we contacted Mevissen, who is now a professor of veterinary pharmacology and toxicology at the University of Bern in Switzerland, for a comment. “The new study indicates that ELF EMFs can promote breast cancer,” she told us. “This and the leukemia findings contribute new pieces of the puzzle supporting the IARC decision of 2001 that ELF EMFs is a possible carcinogen.” Mevissen was a member of theIARC panel that designated power-frequency magnetic fields as a 2B (possible) carcinogen(see MWN, J/A01, p.1). Soffritti attended the meeting in Lyon as an observer.

No Cancer Seen with EMFs Alone

In an interview, Belpoggi said that they are planning to publish the results of a concurrent experiment in which rats were exposed to power-frequency EMFs, without any other treatment. “In our preliminary data, ELF EMFs alone didn’t appear to show an increase of cancer in experimental animals so far,” she disclosed. “The main result of our experiment,” she said, is that  “ELF EMFs have a synergistic effect: They are able to enhance the effects of a well-known carcinogen at low doses that was negative at those doses in the same experimental model.”

Belpoggi said that, for the present, she prefers the term “enhancement” to “promotion” because, “we don’t know the mechanism of action.” She added that, “We are open to give our frozen material and paraffin blocks to qualified laboratories for studies of these synergistic effects.”

Lifetime vs. Two-Year Exposures

We asked Belpoggi why the Ramazzini animal studies had found an EMF effect on cancer development while a similar effort that had been coordinated by NIEHS’ Boorman during the 1990’s had not. “A basic difference,” she replied is that the Ramazzini team had used lifetime exposures while NIEHS had limited them to two years. (Note that the Boorman EMF–DMBA experiments were even shorter, lasting only 13 or 26 weeks.)

“We forgot something very simple,” Belpoggi explained, and continued:

“When we started in the 1970s, experimental carcinogenesis was the main tool to study occupational exposures, and exposures started in adulthood and lasted until two-thirds of the natural life, about 60 years in humans, corresponding to 104 weeks in animals. The rationale for industrial carcinogenesis in laboratory animals is very different from ‘environmental carcinogenesis,’ which often means low doses for the whole lifespan, starting from gestation. This is crucial and this is the reason we used long-lasting exposures.”

We posed the same question to Sam Milham: He too favors extended exposure durations. “Due to the long latencies for most cancers, lifetime animal and human EMF exposure studies show most of their mortality and morbidity after midlife. This makes lifetime studies superior to short-term, follow-up studies,” he said.

Back in 1998 when the first results of the Boorman–NTP EMF animal study emerged, Soffritti and his mentor, Cesar Maltoni, wrote to the NTP arguing that its experiment had ended too early and questioned whether the study had been misdesigned. “It is our belief,” they said, “that the NTP bioassay was planned and conducted with a protocol that could only allow negative conclusions on 60 Hz [EMF] carcinogenesis.” (See MWN, M/A98, p.4.)

Should NTP’s $25 million RF–Animal Studies Have Used Lifetime Exposures?

The Ramazzini group is running a similar project with RF radiation. Here again, these are lifetime exposure studies. Soffritti said the exposures have been completed and the experimental data are under analysis. The results should be available sometime next year. The Ramazzini studies are using far-field RF signals to mimic exposures from cell towers rather than from phones.

The National Toxicology Program (NTP) has its own ongoing, and long delayed, project on cell phone radiation —with a $25 million price tag. Here again, the NTP ended exposures after two years, even though Ron Melnick, who designed the protocol, had wanted to run lifetime exposures. He was overruled at the last minute.

We turned to Chris Portier, who made the decision to stop the RF exposures after two years: Do you have any regrets after reading the new Ramazzini paper, we asked. “No misgivings,” he replied. “This study actually supports that decision, it does not refute it.”

We pointed to a graph in the Ramazzini paper showing that the prevalance of breast cancer in female rats continues to increase after two years (104 weeks, marked by our vertical red line, see below).

figure7-soffritti-2016
Cumulative incidence of breast tumors among female rats over time (in weeks);  Figure 7 from the Ramazzini paper with our addition of the red line at 104 weeks

Portier countered that those later tumors would likely have been found had the study ended at two years and the animals been sacrificed and their organs examined.

History Repeats at NTP/NIEHS

There is another, disquieting parallel between the NTP’s EMF and RF animal projects. In 1995, when the NTP EMF animal studies had only just got underway and no results were yet on the horizon, Boorman gave a press interview in which he stated that it had become “obvious” to him that “there’s really nothing there,” that is, EMFs have no effects on the development of cancer (see MWN, J/A95, p.6).

In 2010, when the NTP RF animal studies were still in their very early stages, John Bucher, the NIEHS senior manager in charge, told a local newspaper that he did not believe that cell phones can cause cancer —the very question his agency was spending $25 million to answer (see “Will NIEHS Ever ‘Get’ EMFs?”).

For more on the NTP RF study and NIEHS’ peculiar modus operandi, see our recent report.

Keywords and related articles and info:

Source/Fonte:

http://microwavenews.com/news-center/ramazzini-animal-study

Il CTCU invita a ridurre l’elettrosmog inutile nei condomini e nelle abitazioni e distribuisce uno speciale adesivo per ricordare di spegnere il Wi-Fi quando non lo si usa

[Finalmente qualcuno che si occupa della questione!
Perché il Wi-Fi, oltre ad essere nocivo per la salute, ad alcuni soggetti causa disturbi talmente gravi da stravolgere completamente la loro esistenza, e le microonde emesse dai dispositivi Wi-Fi (e Wireless in generale) varcano i muri perimetrali degli alloggi!
Ergo chiunque li usi danneggia i vicini oltreché se stesso.
La nostra Associazione in troppe occasioni ha dovuto ascoltare storie terrificanti di persone costrette ad abbandonare la propria abitazione a causa della estrema sofferenza causata loro dai dispositivi Wi-Fi dei vicini, tenuti accesi 24 ore su 24, dopo vari inutili tentativi di convincere quei vicini a spegnerli almeno la notte.
Ma è accettabile che si verifichino situazioni di questo tipo in un paese che si definisce civile?
Si è tutelati nel caso qualcuno emetta rumori od odori molesti dal proprio appartamento, ma non si può nulla contro emissioni di questo tipo, che sono a tutti gli effetti delle molestie talvolta talmente gravi da configurare il reato di violenza privata.
Se poi si aggiunge la loro pericolosità in termini di salute, si configura anche il reato di lesioni personali con l’aggravante della reiterazione.
Quando ci si deciderà a regolamentare tutto questo?
Anche perché rumori ed odori molesti, nei confronti dei quali si è tutelati, non hanno mai ucciso nessuno, mentre le microonde sono a tutti gli effetti altamente nocive!]

Elettrosensibili

Sempre più i router Wi-Fi e gli apparecchi wireless si diffondono e vengono utilizzati dagli utenti, anche in modo del tutto inconsapevole dei rischi per la salute che sono collegati alle loro radiazioni. In tutte le abitazioni infatti, e specialmente nelle zone-notte, l’inquinamento aumenta di parecchio. E questo perché non si tiene conto del fatto che i router Wi-Fi e i dispositivi wireless, con le loro continue emissioni di radiazioni, hanno effetti molto nocivi sull’organismo umano. È vero che è molto comodo avere l’accesso Internet immediato e veloce in qualsiasi zona dell’abitazione, ma c’è un problema costituito dal fatto che gli abitanti della casa, sia dentro che oltre le pareti dell’abitazione, vengono irradiati inutilmente anche quando la connessione non viene usata! Quindi bisogna spegnere la connessione quando non la si usa, specialmente di notte!
Per aiutare a ricordarsene, il Centro Tutela Consumatori Utenti dell’Alto Adige ha prodotto un adesivo per il condominio, anche nell’intento di favorire una migliore convivenza condominiale. L’elettrosmog, che nuoce alla salute dei grandi e allo sviluppo dei piccoli, è da ridurre ogni qualvolta possibile, ma specialmente durante le ore notturne, al fine di favorire un rigenerante riposo notturno.

Gli adesivi si possono ritirare gratuitamente in tutti i punti di consulenza e presso lo sportello mobile del CTCU (vedi www.centroconsumatori.it).

Evitare l’irradiazione inutile grazie ai collegamenti cablati
Molti apparecchi che lavorano con il collegamento wireless possono funzionare anche via cavo. Così è possibile evitare l’irradiazione superflua. Una volta collegato via cavo, il router può funzionare senza produrre elettrosmog, la velocità di navigazione migliora e la comunicazione non può più essere intercettata via etere!

La delibera adottata nel 2015 dal Consiglio Provinciale impegna la Giunta al rispetto del principio di precauzione e a prevedere la disattivazione o la sostituzione con tecnologie meno invasive del wi-fi nelle scuole e negli edifici pubblici.

Il nostro sportello di consulenza sull’elettrosmog è a disposizione per ulteriori informazioni, ad esempio circa le possibilità di impostare un minor raggio d’azione del router, o riguardo agli studi scientifici sull’argomento (sono 52 quelli che documentano gli effetti biologici del wi-fi).

Comunicato stampa
Bolzano, 24/02/2016

Fonte:

http://www.centroconsumatori.it/47v70924d105916.html

“Tumori, i rischi dell’elettrosmog”

21 febbraio 2016 – “La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno – Lecce”

LECCE VIA CAVO: Fabia del Giudice richiama l’attenzione “Non c’è solo l’inquinamento dell’aria, dell’acqua, del terreno o la presenza di radon”.

NUMERI ESPONENZIALI: La diffusione di radiofrequenze-microonde è oggi centomila volte più alta del Novecento e 200 volte rispetto agli anni Ottanta.

UN’ALTRA INCIDENZA: “E’ anche opportuno considerare l’impatto dei radar”.

“Evitiamo che gli interessi commerciali prevalgano sulla tutela della salute”

Elettrosensibili

Campi elettromagnetici e tumori: un altro fattore da considerare. Nel dibattito aperto dai preoccupanti dati del dossier Ambiente e Salute della Provincia sull’aumento dei casi di cancro nel Salento, interviene il Comitato “Lecce via cavo”. La coordinatrice, Fabia del Giudice, richiama l’attenzione sul fatto che i rischi non derivano solo dall’inquinamento dell’aria, dell’acqua, del terreno, o dalla presenza di gas radon.

A questi e ad altri potenziali fattori di rischio, la dottoressa Del Giudice ne aggiunge un altro. “Con la diffusione dei dispositivi wireless quali cellulari, cordless, tablet, antenne, ripetitori – ribadisce – l’esposizione della popolazione ai campi elettromagnetici artificiali è andata crescendo in modo esponenziale. L’inquinamento da radiofrequenze-microonde è oggi centomila volte più alto rispetto ai primi del Novecento e 200 volte più alto rispetto a quello presente alla fine degli anni Ottanta, prima dello sviluppo della telefonia mobile”.

Secondo l’esperta, da sempre in prima linea nella lotta all’inquinamento elettromagnetico, “le nuove tecnologie wireless sono state introdotte senza effettuare una corretta valutazione dei potenziali rischi per la salute”.

Chiare evidenze scientifiche indicano che l’esposizione a lungo termine alle radiofrequenze  costituisce un fattore di rischio per diverse patologie come alcuni tipi di cancro, malattie neurodegenerative come l’alzheimer, infertilità ed elettrosensibilità.

Inoltre, “studi più recenti evidenziano gli effetti cancerogeni delle radiofrequenze, che andrebbero riclassificate nel Gruppo 1, cioè “cancerogeno certo”.

Tra l’altro, “è anche opportuno considerare l’impatto ambientale dei radar, le cui onde pulsate hanno un effetto pesantissimo sulla salute e sull’incidenza di tumori”.

Da ultimo, “nel maggio scorso circa 200 scienziati di tutto il mondo hanno rivolto un appello alle Nazioni Unite ed all’OMS chiedendo di proteggere la popolazione dall’esposizione ai campi elettromagnetici e di promuovere campagne di informazione sui potenziali rischi per la salute e di aggiornare i medici sull’argomento e sul trattamento di pazienti che hanno sviluppato sindromi collegate a tale esposizione.

Particolare attenzione va prestata alle fasce di popolazione più a rischio – insiste Del Giudice – come bambini, adolescenti, anziani e soggetti con preesistenti patologie.

Poiché gli attuali limiti di esposizione ai campi elettromagnetici artificiali non sono adeguati – è l’appello – è necessario abbassarli per evitare che gli interessi commerciali prevalgano sulla tutela della salute”.

 

FOX 5 News: Parents Concerned About WiFi in MCPS Schools 2/2016

[In diversi paesi esteri è in corso una consistente mobilitazione contro l’uso del Wi-Fi nelle scuole.
Ed in Italia, cosa si sta facendo?
Allo stato attuale l’uso del Wi-Fi nelle scuole sta venendo incentivato e molti genitori si sentono addirittura defraudati di qualcosa di essenziale, quando nella scuola dei loro figli manca il Wi-Fi.

La seguente domanda è rivolta a quei genitori: ma non vi importa proprio della salute dei vostri figli?]

18 February 2016

Safe Tech For Schools Maryland Parents are featured in this Five Minute FOX 5 News Report.

The next day Fox did a follow up with Dr. Davis in the studio LIVE!!!. Watch an excerpt here

Safe Tech for Schools Maryland parents were in the news last year.
Please watch these news pieces below.

Source/Fonte:

http://safetechforschoolsmaryland.blogspot.it/2016/02/fox-5-news-parents-concerned-about-wifi.html

NKHS teacher to be fired for insubordination

[Purtroppo succede anche questo.
Gli Elettrosensibili perdono il lavoro, o perché si licenziano in quanto sofferenza e prostrazione fisica impediscono loro di continuare a lavorare o perché licenziati da datori di lavoro ottusi e senza pietà.
Di cosa possono vivere, allora?
Non tutti hanno una famiglia alle spalle in grado di accollarsi le spese del loro mantenimento.
Sono invalidi, ma non hanno alcun tipo di aiuto dallo Stato.
Quella dell’articolo è una storia che arriva dall’America, ma situazioni simili si sono verificate e si verificano tuttora anche in Italia.
Cosa ne è dei diritti umani di queste persone?]

19 February 2016 – “The Independent – North Kingstown”, by James Bessette Staff Writer

teacher.image
The North Kingstown School Committee has voted to terminate teacher Shelley McDonald, left. Also pictured is John Leidecker, NEA-RI deputy executive director.

On a 4-0 vote Tuesday night, the North Kingstown School Committee voted to terminate a high school math teacher at the end of the school year, citing numerous instances of insubordination.

Chairwoman Cheryl Clarkin was absent.

Superintendent Phil Auger alleged Shelley McDonald failed to attend a PARCC exam training session and a PARCC infrastructure trial, and failed to administer the online assessment exam in March at the district’s request. Additionally, McDonald allegedly refused to administer the PARCC in December, which prompted Principal Denise Mancieri to send the math teacher home for the day, Auger said. Near the end of the 2013-14 school year, then high school Principal Thomas Kenworthy, according to Auger, sent a letter of reprimand to McDonald after he became aware she was turning off a wireless router in another teacher’s classroom.

“As superintendent of schools, I cannot allow district staff to be insubordinate to their superiors,” Auger said at the meeting, which was heavily attended by McDonald’s colleagues.

Typically, termination matters are handled in executive session, but the employee can request the hearing be public.

Mary Ann Carroll, the school district’s legal counsel, said the School Committee needed to vote on the matter Tuesday because March 1 is the deadline to notify teachers of layoffs and/or terminations for the following school year. She also said the hearing was a “pre-hearing,” not necessarily a final decision.

National Education Association Rhode Island Deputy Executive Director John Leidecker said McDonald plans to appeal the decision to the School Committee, either via a public evidentiary hearing or in private.

In executive session Tuesday, the School Committee also approved the suspension of another teacher for the remainder of the school year, followed by termination. That teacher’s name was not made public.

Two years ago, McDonald, who has taught in North Kingstown for eight years, had advocated to halt Wi-Fi installation in the district’s schools, offering studies, testimony and literature relating to the alleged dangers of Wi-Fi to humans.

Following Tuesday’s meeting, McDonald, who was diagnosed with Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity Syndrome, said she began having problems around 18 months ago, experiencing sinus pressure and pain that turns into migraines, at times. When she is in areas with Wi-Fi, she finds it difficult to think, McDonald said, among other issues.

“It slows down my thinking,” she said. “It makes me confused and dizzy.”

During a March 2014 meeting, McDonald pressed Auger to sign a “statement of accountability,” assuring the district’s insurance covered health matters allegedly caused by Wi-Fi. At that meeting, McDonald was joined by Town Councilor Kerry McKay, who said due diligence needed to be done “to see if there are any potential alternatives” to Wi-Fi installation if the potential existed for harm to the town’s children. Auger said at the meeting – and reiterated Tuesday night – the state Department of Health has said Wi-Fi is not harmful to humans.

In her statement to the school board, McDonald said she thinks she was being recommended for termination because she regularly advocates against Wi-Fi, for the health and well-being of herself and others in the building.

Leidecker said he regarded McDonald’s termination as “retaliation” because she “chose to speak out.” He alleged McDonald’s requests for accommodations, such as disconnecting Wi-Fi in her classroom and not using Chromebooks in her class, were denied without investigation.

He provided a letter from McDonald’s doctor that stated her symptoms were “causally related” to Wi-Fi wave exposure. Leidecker alleged school officials “demanded” to see McDonald’s medical records, but the math teacher was reluctant to divulge that information, instead inviting committee members and the school’s legal counsel to speak with the doctor directly.

McDonald also said two years ago, Auger threatened to terminate her if she continued to raise her concerns about Wi-Fi health issues – he denies that claim.

“I persist despite Dr. Auger’s warning because a very serious health risk exists in our classrooms,” she said, “and I have a responsibility to my students and their families to advocate the school remove that threat.”

Auger said the hearing was not about her advocacy, but rather the issue of employees “picking and choosing” which rules they’ll follow.

“That will lead to problems of efficiency in getting our mission done,” Auger said.

McDonald said she did not skip the PARCC infrastructure trial, the email invitation was mistakenly sent to another math teacher with the same last name, Brian McDonald instead. She said she uses technology in her classroom on a daily basis, and has taught in classrooms equipped with smartboards. She said she was unaware of specific directives to use technology, but that she uses what is available to her “in a safe and responsible manner, when appropriate.”

Leidecker read evaluations from McDonald’s colleagues, which called her an“effective” teacher and “the kind of teacher you want to retain.”
She said she never refused to attend technology-based training sessions, noting she participated in “several” PARCC training sessions. McDonald said she requested to be trained on hard-wired computers, rather than on wireless devices, because exposure to electromagnetic fields “makes [her] sick.”

“I’ve made that clear; I never refused to give an assessment” she said.

Leidecker argued Pearson, the company that runs the PARCC exams, also requires teachers to agree to its terms, which include teachers disclosing personal information such as Social Security numbers, addresses and other personal information, prior to administering the test, which caused McDonald to be reluctant to click “agree.” Leidecker also said Pearson regards this information as “assets” the company may sell off.

Auger said the district received written clarification from the state Department of Education that Pearson has access to teacher names and subject areas, but not personal information. He said the district “does not pass along” Social Security numbers to the company.

Auger also said the district has yet to receive McDonald’s formal response as to whether she will agree to the terms to administer the PARCC in April. Leidecker said the RIDE clarification was received Monday and there are still open discussions about disclosures the teachers must make. McDonald can’t say “at this point” if she would agree to the terms because a final document of what information Pearson will gather has yet to be provided, Leidecker said.

Auger said no other teachers “to his knowledge” refused to sign the Pearson agreement before administering the PARCC.

Committee member Lynda Avanzato acknowledged McDonald contacted committee members several times about her concerns, but said the situation morphed into “doing something that is not part” of her job.

Carroll said McDonald requested a meeting and two letters were presented to school officials, one from a Wakefield-based walk-in clinic stating the teacher was allergic to electromagnetic radiation and another noting McDonald had migraine headaches while in school. Carroll said the district requested a release to speak with McDonald’s doctor, but McDonald denied that request in an April 6 letter to Auger, citing possible strain on the doctor/patient relationship.

In an April 15 letter, Auger wrote McDonald had not offered “sufficient documentation” to support her request for accommodations.

Source/Fonte:

http://www.independentri.com/independents/ind/north_kingstown/article_176141ec-4604-5126-828b-f327f279957d.html

ELETTROMAGNETISMO: “LIMITI CHE NON TUTELANO”

24 febbraio 2016 – “La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno – Lecce”

IL COMITATO NON SI ACCONTENTA DELLE ASSICURAZIONI DELL’ARPA.

Elettrosensibili

DOPO I CONTROLLI DELL’ARPA: Fabia Del Giudice, di “Lecce via cavo”, si appella al rispetto del Principio di Precauzione invocato dall’Unione europea.

“In mancanza di certezze sui danni indotti dall’elettrosmog si deve applicare intensamente quel principio di precauzione fortemente invocato dall’Unione europea”.
Fabia Del Giudice, del Comitato “Lecce via cavo”, interviene dopo le rassicurazioni di Arpa Puglia, in seguito ai monitoraggi effettuati in città.

Nessuno sforamento dei limiti di legge, ha fatto sapere Arpa. “Anche se – commenta ora Del Giudice – quei limiti non tutelano la salute dei cittadini”.

E chiarisce perché. “L’esposizione alle radiofrequenze cui siamo quotidianamente esposti – spiega – può causare danni al Dna e indurre l’insorgenza di tumori. Un nuovo fattore di rischio anche per altre patologie, perché interferiscono con il corretto funzionamento del sistema immunitario, endocrino, cardiocircolatorio e nervoso”.

A giudizio della portavoce del comitato, dunque, anche in presenza di campi elettromagnetici entro i limiti va rispettato quel principio generale di precauzione sancito dall’Ue, secondo cui “la mancanza di certezza scientifica non può costituire il pretesto per rinviare l’adozione di misure efficaci per la prevenzione”.

Del Giudice cita in proposito alcune norme già adottate in Italia in ossequio a quel principio.
Tra queste, il decreto 381 del 1998 sulle radiofrequenze e microonde, la legge quadro 36 del 2001 sui campi elettromagnetici, inoltre le leggi regionali (che fissavano valori cautelativi a 0,5 V/m) abrogate dal decreto del presidente del Consiglio dell’8 luglio 2003.

Con tale decreto, spiega l’esperta, sono stati fissati i limiti a 6 V/m, calcolati come media in 6 minuti nei picchi giornalieri alle 13 ed alle 20.

“Ma con la legge 221 del 2012 – aggiunge Fabia Del Giudice – approvata nonostante il parere contrario del Ministero della Salute e del sistema delle Agenzie ambientali, i limiti di esposizione della popolazione ai campi elettromagnetici sono ulteriormente aumentati, perché il valore di 6 V/m viene calcolato come media delle emissioni nell’arco delle 24 ore. I picchi massimi – sottolinea – sono di fatto compensati dai valori minimi delle ore notturne”.

E comunque, “tali valori non forniscono alcun tipo di protezione per esposizioni prolungate né alcuna tutela per i soggetti più a rischio, come i bambini, le donne incinte, gli anziani”.

Del Giudice insiste, ricordando quanto detto da Renzo Tomatis, primo direttore dell’Agenzia europea per la ricerca sul cancro: “Bisogna dare priorità alla salute, al di sopra degli interessi economici”.

Elettrosmog: i cellulari possono danneggiare la salute. Perché non dirlo?

4 febbraio 2016 – “Il Fatto Quotidiano”, di Fabio Balocco

[Solo attraverso l’informazione è possibile fare scelte consapevoli, ma la popolazione non viene informata dei risultati di migliaia di studi i quali hanno chiaramente dimostrato la pericolosità della tecnologia Wireless, così da mantenere i lauti guadagni derivanti da questo tipo di business…]

cellulari_interna nuova

Insieme a Internet, ha rivoluzionato le nostre vite. Parlo del telefono cellulare. Avevo appena compiuto vent’anni, quando nel 1973 Martin Cooper fece la prima telefonata con un cellulare che pesava 1,5 chilogrammi. Da allora, appunto, le nostre vite sono cambiate. E oggi cellulare e internet si fondono addirittura in un unico strumento, senza il quale ci sentiamo “nudi”.

Peccato però che non si dica che l’utilizzo del cellulare possa anche avere effetti negativi. Non parlo qui dei ragazzini che socializzano (si fa per dire) tutto il giorno solo tramite whatsapp, che non è il mio campo, bensì degli effetti sulla salute.
Già, perché non tutti sanno che la Corte di Cassazione – sezione Lavoro – con sentenza 17438 del 2012 abbia respinto il ricorso con il quale l’Inail contestava il diritto alla rendita per malattia professionale, con invalidità dell’80%, riconosciuto dalla Corte di appello di Brescia a favore di un manager che per dodici anni, per cinque-sei ore al giorno, aveva usato – per motivi di lavoro – il telefonino sviluppando una grave patologia tumorale all’orecchio sinistro, dove appoggiava il cellulare.

Ma la sentenza della Corte non è che la conferma nel campo del diritto di ciò che seri studi epidemiologici vanno dicendo da tempo. In un’intervista del 2013 proprio su ilfattoquotidiano.it, il ricercatore del Cnr Fiorenzo Marinelli aveva modo di affermare: “Non ci sono dubbi del profondo impatto biologico delle radiazioni di radiofrequenza. Il telefonino è uno strumento molto inquinante e dannoso per la salute. La I.A.R.C. (Agenzia Internazionale per la ricerca sul cancro) nel maggio 2011 ha classificato le radiofrequenze nella classe 2B cioè ‘possibili cancerogeni per l’uomo’ sulla base degli studi epidemiologici fatti dal prof. Lennart Hardell che ha riscontrato un maggior rischio di tumori cerebrali negli utilizzatori di telefono cellulare. Rischio che arriva a quattro volte se si tiene conto della lateralità dell’uso”.

Insomma, la ricerca è al corrente del possibile collegamento tra patologie gravi ed errato uso prolungato del cellulare, ma l’opinione pubblica non ne è al corrente. Costerebbe molto colmare la lacuna?Francia, Belgio ed Irlanda informano gli acquirenti dei cellulari di tale possibilità. L’Italia no.

Nasce da questa considerazione la recente interpellanza presentata in Senato dal M5S in cui si chiede che il governo riferisca in merito a tale latitanza. Nel contempo, lo stesso Movimento sta lavorando con l’avvocato Stefano Bertone di Torino – che da tempo segue la problematica – a un disegno di Legge in materia.

Tra l’altro, in merito alla latitanza del governo, pende un ricorso al TAR Lazio presentato dalla A.P.P.L.E. (Associazione per la Prevenzione e Lotta all’Elettrosmog) affinché l’esecutivo effettui una immediata campagna di informazione pubblica circa i rischi di insorgenza di tumori in merito all’errato utilizzo dei cellulari.
In conclusione, la strada già seguita per il tabacco (“nuoce gravemente alla salute”) è aperta.

Fonte:

http://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/2016/02/04/elettrosmog-i-cellulari-possono-danneggiare-la-salute-perche-non-dirlo/2428348/

Times Square Radiation Called Excessive

9 February 2016 – “www.odwyerpr.com”, By

The millions who pass through Times Square are being dosed with amounts of radiation deemed excessive by Parents for Safe Technology. U.S. safety standards do not protect children, it says.

Elettrosensibili The group on Feb. 6 published a 1:32-minute YouTube video titled, “New York City Radiation from Cell Towers” that includes scenes from Time Square overlaid with text that warns of the dangers of excessive radiation.

Children are victims of “lifelong” exposure to harmful electromagnetic radiation but have no say in the matter, says the video.

Text says: “We measured radiation in New York and were shocked to see such high radiofrequency levels throughout the City. At our home the radiation is at zero, and Times Square was thousands of times higher. Learn more at parentsforsafetechnology.org
.”

“We love our Wi-Fi but Wi-Fi is radiation, too,” says the video. “Be smarter than your smart phone,” it urges. Excessive radiation has been linked to brain cancer and many other maladies, it notes.

“Maybe we should ask children for their consent,” is one of the copy lines.

“Hot Spot” Terminals on Griddle

The 7,500 “hot spot” Wi-Fi terminals planned for New York as replacements for phone booths will be discussed Wednesday Feb. 10 at 6 p.m. by Dan Doctoroff, CEO of Sidewalk Labs, at the National Grid auditorium on the first floor of One MetroTech Center, Jay street, Brooklyn. Reservations are now closed for the event. Seating capacity is 380.

Registration can be obtained by filling out this form.
Elettrosensibili
The first terminal is already in operation at the corner of 15th st. and First ave. It was described in the Jan. 25 New Yorker.

Bankrolling the $200 million project are Google and Qualcomm.

EMF Safety Network says that “Wireless disrupts cellular communications, damages immune and nervous systems, desynchronizes brain and heart rhythms, and causes headaches, sleep problems, ringing in the ears, anxiety and a host of other health problems.”

Forms being distributed by EMF concerned citizens say the Sidewalk Lab terminals violate the Americans with Disabilities Act, the New York City Human Rights Law and the New York State Human Rights Law by subjecting passersby to unwanted radiation.

Especially at risk, say the RF health advocates, are children, babies and fetuses because of thinner skulls and smaller bodies.

The Ashland, Mass., public library has a six-part series on the dangers of excessive radiation.

“Resonance: Beings of Frequency,” is the title of the last part of the series set for Feb. 11. “It’s all around us now, invisible, but we know it’s there,” says the copy. “Every time you lift up your mobile phone you know it’s there: electromagnetic radiation (EMR). It is very hard to turn the clock back. It fact, it’s impossible, but we need to be aware of the adverse health effects so that we can have the choice of taking precautions against exposures.”

Grassroots Group Will Attend Feb. 10

Grassroots Environmental EducationGrassroots Environmental Education, based in Port Washington, N.Y., will have a representative at the Doctoroff talk.

It tracks various environment pollutants including those involving chemicals and wireless radiation.

“Wireless technologies are proliferating rapidly in every aspect of our lives, and while they may be convenient, emerging research suggests that they are also impacting our health, even at levels far below Federal Communications Commission standards.”

The “small but powerful” transmitters and personal devices, routers, wireless utility meters, distributerd antenna systems and other components “combine to increase our exposure to wireless radiation,” it says.

Patti and Doug Wood, who head Grassroots, also operate Green Street Radio, an environmental podcast.

Wireless transmitters should not be used in day care facilities, schools, playrooms and other places where children spent time, Grassroots advises. Wireless baby monitors should not be used.

Cordless phones should be unplugged at night, wired computer and internet connections should be used and speaker phone should be used for cellphones. The phones should never be placed directly against the head, says Grassroots, noting that this is also the advice of the cellphone manufacturers.

Source/Fonte:

http://www.odwyerpr.com/story/public/6306/2016-02-09/times-square-radiation-called-excessive.html

Meta-analysis of extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields and cancer risk: a pooled analysis of epidemiologic studies

[Metanalisi che racchiude 42 studi sulla esposizione alle basse frequenze (inclusi elettrodotti) ed il rischio di sviluppare cancro.
I ricercatori hanno trovato una correlazione statisticamente significativa soprattutto in  ambito residenziale e
negli studi condotti in Area Noramericana.
Ragioni di tipo metodologico potrebbero essere alla base delle differenze tra gli studi.
] 

On Environment International 2015, Volume 88, March 2016, Pages 36–43
doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2015.12.012. [Epub ahead of print]

By:
Yemao ZhangaJinsheng LaibGuoran RuanbChen ChenbDao Wen Wangb

a High Voltage Research Institute, China Electric Power Research Institute, Wuhan, People’s Republic of China
b Department of Internal Medicine and the Institute of Hypertension, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, People’s Republic of China

ARTICLE INFO

Article history
Received: 24 September 2015
Revised: 23 November 2015
Accepted: 10 December 2015
Available: online 15 December 2015

Keywords

ELF-EMFCancer riskMeta-analysis

HIGHLIGHTS

• A significant association between ELF-EMF exposure and cancer risk was identified.
• Subgroup analysis revealed increased risk only in North America, especially in United States.
• However, the data from individual European country was contradicted with each other.
• Increased risk was only observed in residential exposure or interview-based surveys.
• Device measured studies obtained no significant association in overall effects.

ABSTRACT

Studies have suggested that extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields (ELF-EMF) may affect physiological functions in animal models. However, epidemiologic studies investigating the association of ELF-EMF with the susceptibility to cancer yield contradictory results. In this comprehensive analysis, we conducted a search for case–control surveys regarding the associations of ELF-EMF and cancer susceptibility in electronic databases. A total of 42 studies involving 13,259 cases and 100,882 controls were retrieved. Overall, increased susceptibility to cancer was identified in the ELF-EMF exposed population (OR = 1.08, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.15, P = 0.02). In the stratified analyses, increased risk was found in North America (OR = 1.10; 95% CI: 1.02, 1.20, P = 0.02), especially the United States (OR = 1.10; 95% CI: 1.01, 1.20, P = 0.03). However, studies from Europe contradict these results. Moreover, a higher risk was found to be statistically significantly associated with the residential exposed population (OR = 1.18; 95% CI: 1.02, 1.37, P = 0.03). Furthermore, an increased cancer risk was found in interview-based surveys (OR = 1.16; 95% CI: 1.00, 1.35, P = 0.04). In device measurement-based studies, a slight increased risk was found only in premenopausal breast cancer (OR = 1.23; 95% CI: 1.01, 1.49, P = 0.04). Our meta-analysis suggests that ELF-EMFs are associated with cancer risk, mainly in the United States and in residential exposed populations. Methodological challenges might explain the differences among studies.

Source/Fonte:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412015301148