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September, 11 2024

Microwave News reports on power grab by the telecom industry scientists who are working closely with the World Health Organization and ICNIRP

Mobile Phones Are Not Linked to Brain Cancer According to a Major Review of 28 Years of Research. Says who? An international team of researchers, many with close ties to ICNIRP, is trying to put to rest the very possibility that RF radiation can lead to brain cancer and, by extension, any type of cancer. On August 30, they published a detailed systematic review of RF and cell phone epidemiological studies, which concludes that there is little evidence to justify continued concern over a possible cancer link. ICBE-EMF has been reviewing this paper and has a very different view.

https://microwavenews.com/news-center/old-wine-new-bottles

Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity (EHS) is a humanitarian crisis that requires an urgent response”, July 2024 (Revised August 2024).

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PRESS RELEASE 

Contacts:
John Frank, PhD, john.frank@ed.ac.uk
Joel M. Moskowitz, PhD, jmm@berkeley.edu

TUCSON, AZ – June 15, 2024 – The International Commission on the Biological Effects of Electromagnetic Fields (ICBE-EMF) documented serious problems with a WHO-commissioned review of research on the effects of exposure to radio-frequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) in a commentary published today in the journal Reviews on Environmental Health.

Our commentary, “A critical appraisal of the WHO 2024 systematic review of the effects of RF-EMF exposure on tinnitus, migraine/headache, and non-specific symptoms,” discusses major problems with a recent review of human observational studies on this topic by Röösli and colleagues (2024) that was published in the journal Environment International.

We call for a retraction of this paper. Contrary to the opinion of the authors, we conclude that the body of evidence reviewed for this paper is not adequate to either support or refute the safety of current exposure limits – largely due to the very small number and low methodological quality of the relevant primary studies to date, and the fundamental inappropriateness of meta-analysis for the handful of very heterogeneous primary studies identified for each of the analyzed exposure/outcome combinations.

Furthermore, the ICBE-EMF calls for an impartial international investigation, by unconflicted experts, of both the currently available evidence base on these issues, as well as related research priorities for the future.

The ICBE-EMF is made up of a multidisciplinary consortium of scientists, doctors and related professionals who are involved with research related to the biological and health effects of electromagnetic frequencies up to and including 300 GHz. The organization makes recommendations that include and go beyond establishing numerical exposure guidelines based on the best peer-reviewed scientific research publications.

John Frank, Ron Melnick, Joel M. Moskowitz, on behalf of the International Commission on the Biological Effects of Electromagnetic Fields (ICBE-EMF). A critical appraisal of the WHO 2024 systematic review of the effects of RF-EMF exposure on tinnitus, migraine/headache, and non-specific symptoms. Reviews on Environmental Health.  2024. doi: 10.1515/reveh-2024-0069.

Open access paper: https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/reveh-2024-0069/html

Abstract

The World Health Organization (WHO) in 2012 initiated an expert consultation about research on the health effects of radio-frequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) for a WHO monograph that was last updated in 1993. The project was abandoned over concerns about the quality of the commissioned review papers. The WHO restarted the project in 2019 by commissioning ten systematic reviews (SRs) of the research on RF-EMF exposure and adverse biological and health outcomes in laboratory animals, cell cultures, and human populations. The second of these SRs, published in 2024, addresses human observational studies of RF-EMF exposure and non-specific symptoms, including tinnitus, migraine/headache, and sleep disturbance. The present commentary is a critical appraisal of the scientific quality of this SR (SR7) employing criteria developed by the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine. Based upon our review, we call for a retraction of SR7 and an impartial investigation by unconflicted experts of the currently available evidence and future research priorities.

Conclusion 

To summarize, the way in which any epidemiologically unsophisticated reader is likely to be misled by this SR is clear. It appears to conclude unequivocally that the body of scientific evidence reviewed supports the safety of current (e.g. ICNIRP-based) population exposure limits for RF-EMF [10]. We reiterate that, on the contrary, this body of evidence is not adequate to either support or refute the safety of current exposure limits – largely due to the very small number and low methodological quality of the relevant primary studies to date, and the fundamental inappropriateness of meta-analysis for the handful of very heterogeneous primary studies identified by Röösli et al. [3] for each of the exposure/outcome combinations analysed.

We therefore call for a retraction of the SR by Röösli et al., and an impartial international investigation, by unconflicted experts, of both the currently available evidence base on these issues, as well as related research priorities for the future. That investigation should particularly address, above and beyond the topic of priority health outcomes to be researched (which was already assessed in the international expert consultation by WHO in 2018) [2], and the need for improved methods of accurately measuring RF-EMF exposures, suitable for large human observational studies in the general population – the Achilles heel of the current literature.

References cited above:

  1. Verbeek J, Oftedal G, Feychting M, van Rongen E, Rosaria Scarfì M, Mann S, Wong R, van Deventer E. Prioritizing health outcomes when assessing the effects of exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields: A survey among experts. Environ Int. 2021 Jan;146:106300. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2020.106300.
  2. Röösli M, Dongus S, Jalilian H, Eyers J, Esu E, Oringanje CM, Meremikwu M, Bosch-Capblanch X. The effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields exposure on tinnitus, migraine and non-specific symptoms in the general and working population: A systematic review and meta-analysis on human observational studies. Environ Int. 2024 Jan;183:108338. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2023.108338.
  1. ICNIRP – International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (website): https://www.icnirp.org/ (accessed Feb. 26, 2024).
New peer-reviewed letter presents scientific case for retraction of conclusions of COSMOS brain tumor risk study.
 
TUCSON, AZ – June 26, 2024 – The International Commission on the Biological Effects of Electromagnetic Fields (ICBE-EMF) exposed major flaws with the COSMOS study of brain tumor risk from cell phone use in a letter to the editor published today in the journal Environment International, “COSMOS: A methodologically-flawed cohort study of the health effects from exposure to radiofrequency radiation from mobile phone use.”
 
The letter discusses serious problems with a recent COSMOS paper that provided interim results about brain tumor risk from mobile phone use. The letter calls for a retraction of the paper’s conclusions and demands that the data set be made available to independent investigators who have no industry ties.
 
COSMOS (“Cohort Study on Mobile Phone Use and Health”) is a 20-30-year cohort study investigating the possible health effects of long-term use of mobile phones and other wireless technologies. The study enrolled over 290,000 mobile phone users from six European countries (Denmark, Finland, France, Sweden, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom).
The ICBE-EMF is made up of a multidisciplinary consortium of scientists, doctors and related professionals who are involved with research related to the biological and health effects of electromagnetic frequencies up to and including 300 GHz. The organization makes recommendations that include and go beyond establishing numerical exposure guidelines based on the best peer-reviewed scientific research publications.
 
For more information, download the news release: https://tinyurl.com/yc4937h4
To view the open Access paper, go to https://icbe-emf.org/key-issues/scientific-papers/
 
Contacts:
Joel M. Moskowitz, PhD, jmm@berkeley.edu
Ronald Melnick, PhD, ronmelnick@gmail.com

Follow-Up Research on NTP’s Clear Evidence on RF Causing Malignant Tumors in Rats

Lin JC. Follow-Up Research on NTP’s Clear Evidence on RF Causing Malignant Tumors in Rats [Health Matters]. IEEE Microwave Magazine. 25(6):16-18. June 2024. doi: 10.1109/MMM.2024.3378608.
 
Abstract
The recent disclosure of the U.S. National Toxicology Program (NTP) closing down its RF radiation research program on how RF radiation causes cancer was a surprise [1], [2], [3]. NTP is a part of the National Institutes of Health and reports to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NTP’s mandates are to provide the scientific basis for programs, activities, and policies that promote health or lead to the prevention of disease.
 
Excerpts
In 2018, NTP published the final report on its US$30 million laboratory research showing “clear evidence” that lifelong exposure to low-level RF radiation caused cancers in rats [6], [7], [8]. The statistically significant findings showed that both GSM- and CDMA-modulated 900-MHz RF radiation had led to the development of malignant schwannoma, a rare form of tumor in the hearts of male rats. Furthermore, an independent analysis of the NTP data for overall cancer incidence detected in any organ or tissue inside the animal showed that rats exposed to GSM and CDMA cellphone RF radiation had significantly higher overall or total primary tumor incidence than the concurrent controls….
 
The NTP findings of clear evidence that RF radiation can cause cancer was already reaffirmed by the Ramazzini Institute study from Italy [10]….
 
In 2019, NTP announced a new genotoxicology project designed to examine how RF radiation causes cancer….
 
Apparently, now, close to five years later, the new project has never progressed beyond the feasibility studies with the compact exposure chambers. Moreover, the NTP located in Research Triangle Park, NC, USA, no longer plans to study biological effects from cellphone RF radiation. NTP has decided that “the research was technically challenging and more resource-intensive than expected.” This effectively marks the end of the nonmilitary governmental project in the United States to study the biological effects of cellphone or RF radiation. Any future NTP publications on the topic would come from the feasibility studies only [3].
 
Unfortunately, whether the U.S. civilian government halts doing the important research on mechanistic causes for cancer from low-level chronic exposure to RF radiation or not, nearly 100% of all Americans are being cast as subjects in a massive health experiment without a formal protocol. Furthermore, billions of people worldwide, including the young and older adults, are being exposed to unnecessary levels of human-made wireless RF radiation.
 
The obvious question is, what happened? Should we all forget about NTP’s findings of clear scientific evidence that lifelong exposure to low-level RF radiation causes cancer from a federal government health agency that prides itself in telling the nation that its product is “science you can depend on for decisions that matter”?
 
Postscript: It is interesting to recall that the recently announced termination of NTP’s RF research program on how RF radiation causes cancer practically halts most, if not all, biological research of RF radiation supported by the civilian U.S. government. In contrast, the military arm of the U.S. government through its Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has initiated a new research program on the roles RF radiation may have in biological systems [11]. DARPA’s historical and contemporary contributions to scientific and technological advancements are widely known. Thus, it poses the question, what does DARPA know about RF radiation on biological systems?
 
For the complete article, see https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10523054
James C. Lin biography: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/author/37278769800

5G pollution
Erasmo Venosi, Il Corriere Nazionale, 7 May 2024

Some Italian regions place moratoriums on 5G deployment pending safety studies.

A dutiful application of the Principle of Responsibility, Precautionary and Good Policy should have led the Public Defender to change the limits of radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation only as a result of a rigorous verification of the effects of 5G technology…

https://www.corrierenazionale.net/2024/05/07/inquinamento-da-5-g/

See Google translation from Italian into English

Letter to Italian officials from ICBE-EMF, translated into English and Italian.

This letter supports the appeal by Network (6 V/m en 6″) of the new Italian law that raises the radiofrequency radiation(RFR) limits. Sostegno all’appello della Rete 6×6 (6 V/m in 6’) che si oppone alla nuova legge italiana che aumenta la radiofrequenza di esposizione alle radiazioni (RRF).

Letter to Italian officials (Italian)

Letter to Italian officials (English)

Microwave news reports, on March 13, 2024, the International Commission on the Biological Effects of Electromagnetic Fields sent a letter to Italian public officials critical of the new law it passed on December 30, 2023, increasing the Italian radiofrequency radiation human exposure limits. For over two decades, Italy has had a lower exposure threshold. ICBE-EMF expressed support in this letter for the 6×6 Network, a collaborative Italian advocacy group, composed of scientists, physicians, advocacy groups and citizens, who have organized in opposition to oppose the new law.

https://microwavenews.com/short-takes-archive/italys-6vm-risk

ICBE-EMF letter – English

ICBE-EMF letter – Italian

U.S. NTP Quits RF
Promised Studies on Mechanisms Never Done

The U.S. National Toxicology Program (NTP) has closed down its RF radiation research program. Indeed, it appears that work effectively stopped some time ago.

ICBE-EMF is cited in the following news story.

Ushuaia prohibits the installation of 5G antennas in the city; joins three other national municipalities

Like Commune of Lechmann (Santa Fe), Azul (Buenos Aires) and Capilla del Monte (Córdoba), they will not enable the installation of antennas until they have precise information that the radiation from 5G antennas does not affect the health of the inhabitants of those communes; In the world, 5G has 1.6 billion users

La Nacion, January 3, 2024

 

Why did NIH abruptly halt research on the harms of cell phone radiation?

by Devra Davis, Opinion Contributor – 02/01/24 8:00 AM ET

In a shocking reversal, the National Toxicology Program (NTP) of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences has quietly disclosed that it will stop studying the biological or environmental impacts of cell phone radiofrequency radiation.

Brain Tumor Rates Are Rising in the US: The Role of Cell Phone & Cordless Phone.

Head and neck tumors associated with cell phone use have increased in the U.S. since 2000

Electromagnetic Radiation Safety, Feb 1, 2024

Since the year 2000, the U.S. has experienced significant increases in the age-adjusted incidence rates of four head and neck tumors associated with cell phone use, including the most serious malignant brain tumor (glioblastoma), a non-malignant tumor on the outer covering of the brain (meningioma) and cancers of the salivary and thyroid glands. Among youth less than 20 years of age, nonmalignant meningioma and thyroid cancer significantly increased.

Article by Microwave News: Paul Brodeur, Microwave Pioneer. dies at age 92 on August 17, 2023.

In the summer of 2012, Paul Brodeur sent me an email that began, “Don’t forget that when I croak, you’re supposed to give some credit to me as the original microwave pioneer.” I came across it in my files after learning that Brodeur had died on August 2nd at the age of 92. It was among his many letters, notes and clippings I had stashed away over the last 50 years…

Statement by ICBE-EMF’s Chairperson, Ronald L Melnick, Ph.D.

New publication!

The European Union assessments of radiofrequency radiation health risks – another hard nut to crack (Review)

Nyberg R, McCredden J, Hardell L. The European Union assessments of radiofrequency radiation health risks – another hard nut to crack (Review).

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View the recordings from the ICBE-EMF-Sponsored Workshop/Webinar held at the Royal Society of Medicine in London on June 14, 2023

RADIOFREQUENCY RADIATION FROM WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS SOURCES: ARE SAFETY LIMITS VALID?

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August 7, 2023. Italy has the lowest EMF exposure limits in Europe. EMF experts and citizens successfully opposed a poposal by the Italian government to increase the radiofrequency exposure limits.

https://www.breakinglatest.news/business/skip-emf-raising-asstel-italy-has-the-lowest-limits-in-europe-insufficient-connection/

See Appeal submitted by the Scientists for Electromagnetic Safety

IEEE Microwave Magazine, June 2023
RF Health Safety Limits and Recommendations

By James C. Lin, Electrical Engineer and professor at the University of Illinois in Chicago, IEEE life member, and former ICNIRP Board Member

PDF download

In this article, Dr. James C Lin agrees with the findings made by ICBE-EMF in its October 2022 peer reviewed scientific paper entitled:  “Scientific evidence invalidates health assumptions underlying the FCC and ICNIRP exposure limit determinations for radiofrequency radiation: implications for 5G”

Cell phone radiation exposure limits and engineering solutions

Published: April 4, 2023

Summary Statement
This paper details six low-cost engineering fixes that could dramatically reduce cellphone radiation. The paper also discusses seven blind spots in the way we have set emissions standards for cellphones. Those blind spots suggest that current standards are inadequate and that no one can be assured that cellphones on the market today are safe.

News Release

For the full media kit, click here

What to know about cell phone radiation, by Peter Elkind, ProPublica on January 4, 2022

ProPublica recently examined how the federal government, based on quarter-century-old standards, denies that cellphones pose any risks.
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The Turin Court of Appeal upholds worker compensation for worker with acoustic neuroma.


Microwave News reports: “Dissident Scientists Seek Stricter RF Exposure Limits – New Challenge to ICNIRP – Will They Succeed Where Others Failed?” (November 1, 2022)
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James C. Lin’s new paper “Carcinogenesis from chronic exposure to radio-frequency radiation” October 31, 2022
Lin is one of the world’s most renowned scientists who has studied the effects of radio frequency (RF) radiation, and a distinguished former member of the two organizations that created the RF exposure limits, the International Commission on Nonionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), challenges the validity of these safety limits.
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On October 18, 2022 we published our first paper.
See the Events page.

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