Formal demand to Troy High School PTSA on wireless radiation
Troy PTSA, Principal Will Mynster, Troy Oracle Advisor Priscilla Cheney, and Anne Sinek, Harvard University interviewer, ignore the Harvard experts.
FJUHSD Board of Trustees, Troy teachers and administrators, ignore the California State PTA Resolution On Wireless FROM 2001 as they ram wireless onto all campuses.
This will be the 3rd communication to this group and there has not been one response acknowledging the harms set forth in these emails, only THE TAKE ME OFF YOUR LIST by Kimberly Blanks, Cecile Guerra, denial and turning their backs on the students and staff.
PTSA demand notice 12-18-15 |
The following is a formal demand letter to the Troy High School Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA), Fullerton, California.
Dear Ms. Kim Cusick,
The wireless classroom environment is comprised of industrial size routers, enough devices for each student, all emitting microwave radiation within the physical confines of a single classroom. Unless Wi-Fi mode is turned off, radiation exposure will be further increased by students with cell phones and other wireless devices. Students and teachers will be exposed to radiation for whole school days/weeks/years.
The Troy Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) has actively and deliberately worked to bring RF-radiation into our children’s school environment, as evidenced by the following:
Fullerton Joint Union High School District meeting minutes of May 5, 2015, Troy High School PTSA donated $ 19,241.29 for the purchase of wireless Chromebooks to be used by students.
The following facts on microwave radiation are submitted to Troy PTSA, followed by demands to remove this health hazard from the Troy High School environment and work to educate students, teachers and staff on how to avoid exposure, in keeping with California State PTA, Section 4.5.64 and California State Constitution Article 1, Section 28(c), and maintain the tacit trust parents, students, teachers, and staff hold in the Troy PTSA.
___________________________________
WHEREAS, in May 2015, over 200 international scientists and engineers made an Appeal to the United Nations, all its’ member States, and the World Health Organization on the matter of wireless radiation, stating that our exposures are resulting in an emerging public health crisis, leading to premature death, damage to our DNA, the emission standards are not protective of human health [i]; and
WHEREAS, U.S. Government publications, going back decades, acknowledge adverse, significant biological effects of wireless radiation exposure:
Naval Medical Research Institute | 2300 Studies on EMF Health Effects [ii]
Defense Intelligence Agency | Declassified 1976 report showing that military personnel exposed to non-thermal microwave radiation experienced “headaches, fatigue, dizziness, irritability, sleeplessness, depression, anxiety, forgetfulness and lack of concentration.” [iii]
U.S. Air Force, Radiofrequency/Microwave Radiation Biological Effects and Safety Standards: A Review | Study confirms existence of non-thermal EMF effects, including alterations to the central nervous system and cardiovascular system. [iv]
NASA, Electromagnetic Field Interactions With the Human Body: Observed Effects and Theories | 1981 paper showing numerous health affects from non-thermal electromagnetic fields; and [v]
WHEREAS, thousands of scientific studies demonstrate that RF-radiation emissions are a significant health hazard:
Powerwatch | Thousands of studies showing links between EMF pollution and biological effects
Research and Scientific Laboratory, Ford Motor Company | The Effect of Micro Waves on the Central Nervous System
Just Prove It | Collection of over 6,000 studies showing biological impacts from EMF pollution
WHEREAS, emerging science demonstrates that wireless radiation exposures are carcinogenic. Included in this science is the work of Lennart Hardell, MD, PhD, who concluded that RF-radiation “should be regarded as carcinogenic. Current guidelines for exposure should be urgently revised.” Science confirming Dr. Hardell’s conclusion continues to be published, with at least two additional and significant studies to date; and [vi]
WHEREAS, in 2012, the Italian Supreme Court ruled that a man’s brain tumor was caused by the wireless radiation from his cell phone; and [vii]
WHEREAS, lawsuit “Murray v. Motorola cell phone cancer lawsuit may cost wireless industry over $1.9 billion dollars”, as reported in the Wall Street Journal; and [viii]
WHEREAS, the U.S. government action lags decades behind the science and evidence in classifying a substance carcinogenic, as demonstrated with asbestos and tobacco, it took many decades before these were acknowledged as carcinogens and parents do not want to find out a decade from now that their children, whose health has been destroyed or life ended, were needlessly and knowingly exposed at Troy High School; and
WHEREAS, in 2011 RF-Radiation was IARC classified as a Group 2B carcinogen and is prohibited from use in schools per California State Education Code Sections 32060-32066 [ix]; Dr. Anthony Miller, cancer epidemiologist, served on a number of research groups for the IARC, in 2013 stated that if RF were classified today, it would have to be classified as a Group 2A probable human carcinogen. [x] However, now, peer-reviewed studies conclusively demonstrate RF to be a Group 1 carcinogen, that is, a “Known Carcinogen”; and
WHEREAS, reproductive harm has been documented in government reports and science: genotoxicity to DNA; damage to sperm, ovarian development and follicles, and reproductive systems leading to cancer, potential infertility and mutations.
“DNA damage caused by microwave radiation is irreparable. It is passed on from mother to daughter, generation after generation.” [xi]
WHEREAS, the California Medical Association (CMA) passed a Resolution on wireless in December 2014, finding “significant adverse health and biologic effects on living organisms with exposure to low levels of non-ionizing microwave currently approved and used in wireless communication”; “peer reviewed research has demonstrated adverse biological effects of wireless EMF including single and double stranded DNA breaks, creation of reactive oxygen species, immune dysfunction, cognitive processing effects, stress protein synthesis in the brain, altered brain development, sleep and memory disturbances, ADHD, abnormal behavior, sperm dysfunction and brain tumors”; “CMA understands that existing public safety limits (FCC) for microwave EMF devices are outdated and inadequate to protect public health;” and [xii]
WHEREAS, Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity (EHS) “is a condition that has been known since about 1932 and has been called various names in different countries around the world. The labels include Microwave Sickness, Radio Wave Syndrome, EMF Intolerance Syndrome and Rapid Aging Syndrome. The most famous person who is EHS is Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland , the former Prime Minister of Norway and former Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO). Millions of people throughout the world are likely affected yet most do not realize that microwave radiation and electrical pollution are the cause of their symptoms. EHS is analogous to an allergy and once the body becomes sensitized to sources of EMF pollution, the only known treatment is to significantly reduce exposure. This can have a dramatic impact on one’s life, with some electro-sensitive people giving up their career, their home, social networks and sometimes even their family because it is difficult to live in our modern environment that is now filled with electrical pollution and microwave radiation. EHS numbers are rapidly increasing with the exponential rise in EMF pollution in our homes and communities. There have been many suicides around the world related to severe cases of EHS. Thus, the condition can have devastating effects on individuals and families. Tens of millions of people will be affected unless society begins to listen to these canaries in the coal mine and implement solutions;” 13 and
WHEREAS, many regions of the world are way ahead of the United States in diagnosis and treatments of EHS, such as the Austrian Medical Association Guidelines For Diagnosing and Treating Patients With Electrohypersensitivity (2012) 14
http://www.emfanalysis.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Overloading-Towns-and-Cities-with-Cellular-Transmitters.pdf
WHEREAS, the biological damage from microwave radiation is cumulative to the point where the body can no longer tolerate these exposures; mandatory exposure of our children in classrooms all day for their school career will greatly accelerate EHS, severely limiting their future college and career options, all without their informed consent; and
WHEREAS, U.S. Air Force, Radiofrequency/Microwave Radiation Biological Effects and Safety Standards: A Review concluded that RF exposure at the frequency and power levels utilized by these devices caused perturbations in the higher functioning centers of the Central Nervous System; measured RF power levels and frequency of the wireless system deployed in the Troy High School office were shown to sharply increase the heart rates of animals in the study; and
WHEREAS, wireless radiation is being removed/banned around the world, starting in environments dedicated to the youngest; in 2015, France passed legislation banning Wi-Fi in daycare for age 3 and under, wireless access in elementary schools must be disabled when not in use for learning 15; the State of Israel has banned wireless in Kindergarten, restricting hours of use in schools 16; the Italian State of Tyrol is calling for limiting wireless in schools and will begin an education campaign that informs the public on possible health risks; schools in the U.S. have been removing wireless technology, replacing it with wired connections and has begun to limit use of wireless because it is a health hazard; 17 18 and
WHEREAS, the following experts and organizations, in letters to Los Angeles Unified School District, implored LAUSD to use wired connections in schools due to adverse health impacts: 19
Note: This list does not include all appeals to LAUSD.
Martha R. Herbert, PhD, MD, Pediatric Neurologist, Massachusetts General Hospital; Neuroscientist Faculty of Harvard Medical School
American Academy of Environmental Medicine, comprised of Medical Doctors, Osteopaths and PhD researchers focusing on the effects of environmental agents on human health.
Martin Blank, PhD, Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Department of Physiology and Cellular Biophysics
Magda Havas, PhD, Environmental & Resouce Studies, Trent University, Ontario, Canada
Olle Johansson, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden. Karolinska Institute awards the Nobel Prize for Medicine.
Antoinette Stein, PhD, Director, West Coast Program Development, Environmental Health Trust
Joel Moscowitz, PhD, Director, Center for Family and Community Health, University of California, Berkeley
Cindy Sage, MA, Sage Associates, Co-Editor, BioInitiative Report
WHEREAS, the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) emission guidelines ar Captured Agency, a report published in June 2015 by Norm Alster and the Harvard University Center for Ethics;20 the science is corrupted by corporate money as per data compiled by Dr. Henry Lai, University of Washington; 21 Motorola has “war-gamed” the science since 1994; 22 wireless industry attempts to suppress DNA damage research, as explained by scientist Dr. Phillips;23 comparison of FCC guidelines with other countries and biological impacts;24 and
WHEREAS, children are becoming Electro Hypersensitive from the wireless radiation in school and lawsuits are being filed on their behalf; 25 and
WHEREAS, teachers are becoming Electro Hypersensitive from the wireless radiation in school at Los Angeles Unified School District and elsewhere and reasonable accommodations are being made so that they may teach in a classroom without radiation; 26and
WHEREAS, in 2001, the California State PTA passed a resolution on wireless that reads (in part) as follows: “RESOLVED that the California PTA supports encouraging schools to use cable lines for all communications services on campus and to avoid the endorsement, purchase or use of wireless local area network systems on campus; and be it further RESOLVED that the California PTA recommend that teachers and students should limit use of cellular phones or other mobile devices on school property to emergencies.”; the Resolution’s narrative reads as follows: “Until basic questions about the health
and safety of wireless devices and transmitting antennas are addressed by U.S. public health policymakers, we advise precaution. We all want to provide our children with a bright future. We do not want to later learn we acted without enough information and had neglected our children by treating them like guinea pigs in a giant biological experiment;” and
WHEREAS, Section 4.5.64 Safe School Environments of the California State PTA is as follows: “The California State PTA believes that every child is entitled to a safe and peaceful school environment that is orderly and empowering. It is a place in which students and staff are free to learn and teach without the threat of physical and psychological harm.”
“The California State PTA believes that the four essential components that comprise a safe and peaceful school environment are: . . . , the physical setting and conditions in which education takes place.” Subjecting Troy students and staff to this health hazard is in complete opposition to the California State PTA Section 4.5.64; and
WHEREAS, the California State Constitution, Article 1, Section 28(c) provides the Right to Safe Schools: “All students and staff of public primary, elementary, junior and senior high schools have the inalienable right to attend campuses which are safe, secure and peaceful”; Troy high school, with active financial support of Troy PTSA, is subjecting their students, teachers, and staff to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields, currently IARC classified as a Class 2B carcinogen and which emerging science demonstrates is a Class 1, known carcinogen, can hardly be considered to be a “safe” school; and
WHEREAS, no insurance company will offer insurance for claims made for injury or death from wireless devices; and
WHEREAS, wired Internet connectivity does not carry the health hazards of wireless, is a faster, more reliable and secure connection and provides a suitable alternative; and
WHEREAS, the Parent Teachers’ Association statement: “The PTA is the largest volunteer advocacy association working exclusively on behalf of all children. For more than 100 years, we’ve promoted the education, health and safety of children, youth and families”; by extension, this necessitates that RF-radiation emitting technology, a health hazard, not be in our children’s, teachers’, and staff school environment; and
WHEREAS, Troy PTSA, in fundraising for wireless devices, is soliciting/accepting donations to purchase wireless technology from those families, communities, entities that are ignorant of the studies, lawsuits, legislative actions to remove wireless, and are unknowingly contributing to the installation of technology that is a health hazard to their own children, staff and teachers; and
WHEREAS, and in acknowledgement of the CMA Resolution, citing the following learning impairments from RF-radiation: “cognitive processing effects, stress protein synthesis in the brain, altered brain development, sleep and memory disturbances”; studies continue to be published substantiating these detrimental affects on learning; Troy students’ academic performance will likely be impaired and the very reason they have chosen to attend Troy High School, a known and superior learning institution, will be greatly challenged and compromised; and
WHEREAS, parents, teachers, and adult students are uninformed of these preceding facts on wireless radiation, their human rights are being violated by mandatory microwave radiation exposure at Troy High School; and
WHEREAS, parents who are knowledgeable on the health hazards of microwave radiation will be forced to withdraw their child from Troy High School, access to a healthy, safe school environment will be denied; and
WHEREAS, Troy High School students’ health, well being, and futures must never be yielded to other interests; and
WHEREAS, children and teachers have the right to a safe and healthy school environment, and Troy PTSA has a legal, ethical, moral obligation to support that right; and
WHEREAS, Troy PTSA by funding wireless devices is creating a school environment that makes mandatory the exposure to microwave radiation in order to attend Troy High School; and
WHEREAS, Troy PTSA by funding wireless devices is creating potential legal liability for Fullerton Joint Union High School District (FJUHSD) as lawsuits in the U.S. and around the world are being filed for injury and death; and
WHEREAS, the 200+ scientists in their Appeal to the United Nations and the World Health Organization have declared our exposures to wireless radiation an emerging public health crises, this necessitates that our children, teachers, and staff not be exposed to RF-Radiation emissions at Troy High School.
___________________________________
The following demands are, hereby, made of Troy High School PTSA:
1. Uphold California State PTA, Section 4.5.64 Safe School Environments; uphold the California State Constitution, Article1, Section 28(c); and
2. As would be expected of an organization dedicated to the education of students at Troy High School, fully acknowledge, disclose, and respond in accordance to the following facts on microwave radiation exposure: 200 international scientists and engineers have described this as “an emerging public health crisis”; thousands of scientific studies have demonstrated this as a significant, potentially profound, health hazard; legislation passed worldwide on RF-radiation exposures to protect the public and starting with the youngest; lawsuits filed on behalf of victims/survivors; refusal of insurance companies to cover injury/death from exposures; students and teachers becoming sick in wireless classrooms, corruption within the FCC that precludes responsible public health policy denying basic human rights; and
3. Hardwire all wireless Chromebooks that have been purchased with Troy PTSA funds; and
4. Immediately withdraw all support, financial and non-financial, of wireless devices and routers; promptly call for the removal of wireless radiation from our children and teachers’ school environment. Support only wired technology, which does not carry the health harms of wireless radiation; and
5. Work to fund an education and awareness campaign for students, parents and teachers, educating them on the health affects from wireless radiation, recognizing that those students that utilize these devices deserve to know the least hazardous way of handling wireless technology. Include in this curriculum the symptoms of microwave sickness, Electrosensitivity (ES), Electrohypersensitivity (EHS); and
6. Work to support education for staff and teachers, advising them of the science contained in media, websites such as The BabySafe Project, an on-line resource headed by Dr. Hugh Taylor, Professor and Chairman, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, Yale University, in which he advises pregnant women to avoid RF-radiation exposures, as the science demonstrates ties to ADD, ADHD, and Autism from exposure to wireless radiation during pregnancy. Those employees that are pregnant or intend to become pregnant will be appreciative of this information.
Sincerely,
Mr. Joseph Imbriano
[i] 200+ Scientists’ Appeal to U.N. and World Health Organization https://emfscientist.org
[ii] Naval Medical Research Institute
http://www.emfanalysis.com/research/
[iii] Defense Intelligence Agency Report
http://www.emfanalysis.com/research/
[iv] U.S. Air Force, Radiofrequency/Microwave Radiation Biological Effects and Safety Standards: A Review
http://electroplague.com/2014/09/06/report-usaf-rfmicrowave-radiation-biological-effects-1994/
[v] NASA, Electromagnetic Field Interactions With the Human Body: Observed Effects and Theories
http://www.emfanalysis.com/research/
[vi] Lennart Hardell, MD, PhD, Peer-reviewed scientific evidence that wireless emissions need to be classified as carcinogenic—that is, as a Class 1 Known carcinogen.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0928468014000649
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pathophys.2014.10.001
[vii] Italian Supreme Court ruling links mobile phone use to tumor
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-italy-phones-idUSBRE89I0V320121019
[viii] Murray vs. Motorola, Inc., et al.
“WSJ Reports Murray Cellphone Cancer Case May Cost Wireless Industry Over 1.9 Billion Dollars”
https://www.rfsafe.com/wsj-reports-murray-cellphone-cancer-case-may-cost-wireless-industry-over-1-9-billion-dollars/
[ix] Education Code Section 32060-32066
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=edc&group=32001-33000&file=32060-32066
[x] Dr. Anthony Miller, cancer epidemiologist, served on a number of research groups for the IARC, pointed out last year (2013) that if RF were classified today, it would have to be classified as a Class 2A probable human carcinogen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wARxnaxrRKk
[xi] Wireless Networks – Genetic Mutation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ao4Z5-RYTQ – t=55
[xii] California Medical Association Wireless Resolution
http://ehtrust.org/california-medical-association-wireless-resolution/
13 http://www.emfanalysis.com/ehs/
14 Austrian Medical Association
http://www.magdahavas.com/austrian-medical-association-guidelines-to-diagnosing-and-treating-patients-with-electrohypersensitivity/
Overloading of Towns and Cities with Radio Transmitters (Cellular Transmitters): a hazard for human health and a disturbance of eco-ethics (click on “since 1932”)
http://www.emfanalysis.com/ehs/
15 France law bans Wi-Fi in daycares, restricts wireless infrastructure
https://takebackyourpower.net/france-new-law-bans-wifi-in-daycares-restricts-wireless-infrastructure/
16 EHT Lauds Israel’s Ban on Wi-Fi in Kindergarten in Schools; Italian State of Tyrol Calls for Limiting Wireless in Schools
http://ehtrust.org/eht-lauds-israels-ban-on-wi-fi-in-kindergarten-and-limits-to-childrens-wireless-exposures-in-schools-additionally-the-italian-state-of-tyrol-now-calls-for-limiting-wireless-in-schools/
17 Schools Worldwide are Removing the WiFi
http://www.electronicsilentspring.com/international-policy-actions/
Saying Good-Bye to WiFi
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8Oub2Nx5eSLWFJRUU5zRmxROUU/view?pref=2&pli=1
18 Wi-fi Technology: Is the Honeymoon Over?
http://issuu.com/localtownpages/docs/2015_8_ashland/15?e=2040944/14450006
19 Letters to LAUSD from experts
http://www.wifiinschools.com/lausd-testimony.html
20 Captured Agency
http://www.emfanalysis.com/research/
21 Dr. Henry Lai, University of Washington
http://www.emfanalysis.com/research/
22 Motorola has “war-gamed” the science since 1994
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/devra-davis-phd/cell-phones-brain-cancer_b_3232534.html
23 Industry suppressed DNA damage research, as explained by scientist Dr. Phillips
http://www.wifiinschools.com/science.html
24 Comparison of FCC guidelines with other countries and biological impacts
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64SIGJnAGeU
25 U.S. Family sues Fay School in Southboro, claims Wi-Fi made son ill
http://www.telegram.com/article/20150824/NEWS/150829606
26 Los Angeles Unified School District Accommodates Teacher Who Fell Ill After Wireless Installation, Students were bleeding from the ears and nose and no incident reports were allowed by the school, states the teacher who required medical intervention.
http://www.electrosmogprevention.org/public-health-alert/lausd-accommodates-teacher-who-fell-ill-after-wireless-installed/
Databases containing studies:
Powerwatch | Thousands of studies showing links between EMF pollution and biological effects
http://www.powerwatch.org.uk
Research and Scientific Laboratory, Ford Motor Company | The Effect of Micro Waves on the Central Nervous System
http://www.emfanalysis.com/research/
Just Prove It | Collection of over 6,000 studies showing biological impacts from EMF pollution
http://justproveit.net/studies
Attachments area
Preview attachment Final PTSA demand.docx
Final PTSA demand.docx
#1 by $25 M NTP Cancer & wireless study on May 25, 2016 - 9:03 am
Cell Phone Radiation Boosts Cancer Rates in Animals;
$25 Million NTP Study Finds Brain Tumors
U.S. Government Expected To Advise Public of Health Risk
May 25, 2016
The cell phone cancer controversy will never be the same again.
The U.S. National Toxicology Program (NTP) is expected to issue a public announcement that cell phone radiation presents a cancer risk for humans. The move comes soon after its recently completed study showed statistically significant increases in cancer among rats that had been exposed to GSM or CDMA signals for two-years.
Discussions are currently underway among federal agencies on how to inform the public about the new findings. NTP senior managers believe that these results should be released as soon as possible because just about everyone is exposed to wireless radiation all the time and therefore everyone is potentially at risk.
The new results contradict the conventional wisdom, advanced by doctors, biologists, physicists, epidemiologists, engineers, journalists and government officials, among other pundits, that such effects are impossible. This view is based, in part, on the lack of an established mechanism for RF radiation from cell phones to induce cancer. For instance, earlier this week (May 22), a medical doctor in Michigan wrote an opinion piece for the Wall Street Journal stating that, “There is no known mechanism by which mobile phones might cause brain tumors.” He went on to argue that there is no need to warn the public about health risks.
The NTP findings show that as the intensity of the radiation increased, so did the incidence of cancer among the rats. “There was a significant dose-response relationship,” a reliable source, who has been briefed on the results, told Microwave News. No effect was seen among mice. The source asked that his/her name not be used since the NTP has not yet made a formal announcement. The rats were exposed to three different exposure levels (1.5, 3 and 6 W/Kg, whole body exposures ) and two different types of cell phone radiation, GSM and CDMA.
An Amazing Coincidence?
Importantly, the exposed rats were found to have higher rates of two types of cancers: glioma, a tumor of the glial cells in the brain, and malignant schwannoma of the heart, a very rare tumor. None of the unexposed control rats developed either type of tumor.
A number of epidemiological studies have linked cell phones to both gliomas and to Schwann cell tumors. The Interphone study, for instance, found an association between the use of cell phones and gliomas.
The sheath that wraps around cranial nerves —such as the one that connects the inner ear to the brain— is made of Schwann cells. Tumors of those cells are called acoustic neuromas. That is, an acoustic neuroma is a type of Schwannoma. At least four different epidemiological studies have found an association between the use of cell phones and acoustic neuromas.
Ron Melnick, who led the team that designed the NTP study and who is now retired, confirmed the general outline of the results detailed by the confidential source. “The NTP tested the hypothesis that cell phone radiation could not cause health effects and that hypothesis has now been disproved,” he said in a telephone interview. “The experiment has been done and, after extensive reviews, the consensus is that there was a carcinogenic effect.”
“These data redefine the cell phone radiation controversy,” Melnick said. The safety of cell phones has been debated for more than 20 years, especially after the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified RF radiation as a possible human carcinogen in 2011.
“This is a major public health concern because the cells which became cancerous in the rats were the same types of cells as those that have been reported to develop into tumors in cell phone epidemiological studies,” Melnick added. “For this to be a chance coincidence would be truly amazing.”
The NTP radiation project, which has been underway for more than a decade, is the most expensive ever undertaken by the toxicology program. More than $25 million has been spent so far.
Another interesting coincidence is that the Ramazzini study of rats in Bologna exposed to extremely low frequency (50 Hz) EMFs also developed a significant increase in malignant schwannoma of the heart.
NTP Stands By the Study Results
Because of the importance of these results to public health, the NTP alerted the highest levels of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), where resistance prompted further reviews. No serious flaws in the data or the conduct of the studies were identified.
Senior managers including Linda Birnbaum, the director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) who also serves as the director of the NTP, and John Bucher, the associate director of the NTP, who is in charge of the cell phone study, are standing by the study findings. They see the need to release the results as a public health imperative, according to the source.
Chris Portier, who once held Bucher’s job, agrees that the NTP is doing the right thing. “I would be adamant that we should share the data with the public as soon as possible,” he said in an interview. The cell phone study was initiated while Portier was serving as the associate director of the NTP. He is now retired, though he continues to work as a consultant.
After extended discussions, the two federal agencies responsible for regulating exposures to cell phone radiation, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), were briefed on the results last week. It is not clear how these regulatory agencies plan to respond.
All the various agencies are now in the process of planning the release of the NTP findings. Neither Birnbaum nor Bucher responded to a request for comment on how this will be done.
Unexpected Findings
Few outsiders are yet aware of the NTP results. When Microwave News told some of those who have been tracking the study for years what had been found, all expressed surprise.
Indeed, in an interview published years ago, NTP’s Bucher said that he expected the results to show no association between RF radiation and cancer.
“Everyone expected this study to be negative,” said a senior government radiation official, who asked that his name not be used. “Assuming that the exposures were carried out in a way that heating effects can be ruled out, then those who say that such effects found are impossible are wrong,” the official said. (The study was designed to ensure that the body temperature of the exposed rats increased less than 1ºC.)
“This is a game changer, there is no question,” said David Carpenter, the director of the Institute for Health and the Environment at the University of Albany. “It confirms what we have been seeing for many years —though now we have evidence in animals as well as in humans.” Carpenter went on to add, “The NTP has the credibility of the federal government. It will be very difficult for the naysayers to deny the association any longer.” Carpenter’s institute is a collaborating center of the World Health Organization (WHO).
John Boice, the president of the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP), is one of the leading skeptics. “For most of us, the issue of brain cancer and cell phones is resolved. There is no risk. There is no biological mechanism and no animal study or cellular study that finds reproducible evidence of an effect,” Boice told a reporter for Medscape Medical News earlier this month.
This view is so deeply held that in the summer of 2014, the NCRP pressured the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to delete precautionary advice from a fact sheet on cell phones.
Boice was discounting last year’s report from Germany by Alex Lerchl confirming an earlier animal study showing that cell phone radiation can promote tumors in mice that were induced by toxic chemicals. The NTP experiments did not use any agent to initiate cancer cells in the animals.
With respect to mechanisms, just a couple of months ago, Frank Barnes and Ben Greenebaum, two senior members of the RF research community, announced that they could explain how low levels of RF radiation could alter the growth rates of cancer cells.
______________
NTP RF Animal Project: Timeline
1999 FDA nominates RF from wireless devices for testing by NTP
2001 NTP decides to sponsor RF–cancer studies
2003 NTP solicits proposals for RF–cancer experiments
2004 NTP issues second request for proposals
2005 NTP signs contract with IITRI in Chicago to carry out exposures
2007 Exposure systems made by IT’IS installed at IITRI
2009 The lead investigator Ron Melnick retires, Michael Wyde takes over
2014-15 Exposures of two-year studies completed
2016 Results in hand
___________________________
Further reading:
—“Institute of Environmental Health Secrets: NIEHS Mum on $25 million RF Animal Project”
—“NCRP Pressured CDC To Remove Cell Phone Safety Advice”
— “RF Cancer Promotion: Animal Study Makes Waves”
— “CDC Calls for Caution on Cell Phones, Then Gets Cold Feet”
— “Something Is Rotten in Denmark:
Danish Cancer Society Plays Games with Tumor Rates”
— “It May Not Be Impossible After All”
— “Power-Frequency EMFs Promote Cancer in Massive Animal Study”
— “Will NIEHS Ever ‘Get’ EMFs?”