Wireless Safety Summit, October 5 and 6, 2011 Citizens Call for Action by the Congress and the Administration
On behalf of the American people, we request that the Congress and the Administration take three actions immediately to ensure greater health and safety protection from electromagnetic radiation hazards for precautionary reasons:
1. Convene Congressional hearings to feature testimony from scientific experts and public advocates regarding the experimental, clinical and epidemiological evidence on human health and environmental effects of electromagnetic radiation. 2. Ask the U.S. Surgeon General issue a report and call for precautionary warnings on the use of cell phones, Wi-Fi, and other radiofrequency/microwave emitting devices, including transmitters that are creating chronic, involuntary exposure conditions. The report should be accompanied by a public health advisory, supported by a review of similar advisories and policies, that have been issued world-wide, recommending greater health and safety protection, especially those that relate to children, pregnant women, people who wear surgically implanted electronic electronic or metal devices for medical reasons, people who are mildly to severely electromagnetically hypersensitive, people who work under more intensive radiofrequency/microwave exposure conditions, and other major risk factors. It should also include special consideration of recent independent evaluations, such as those issued by the International Agency on Research on Cancer for the World Health Organizationi, the U.S. Presidents Cancer Panel Report of 2009-10ii, and the U.S. National Academy of Sciences Report on radio frequency radiation, of 2008iii. 3. Place an immediate moratorium on Federal funding intended to further deploy the smart grid infrastructure pending an independent review of how the goals of connectivity, speed and accuracy can be met with technologies that do less harm and do not endanger national security and individual privacy.
Moms for Safe Wireless DBA Center for Safer Wireless * P.O. Box 166 * Haymarket, Virginia 20168 *U.S.A.* 703-431-1558
www.centerforSaferwireless.org
There are eight actions we ask Congress and the Administration to take in 2012 to further provide health and safety protections for the American people:
1. Repeal federal laws and regulations that preempt state and local control over the siting and management of cellular antennas, smart grid and wireless broadband infrastructure to permit local control over antenna placement, setting up buffer zones, reduce the number of multiple carriers and require pooling of services, monitoring of emissions with full public disposure and enforcement, and require transparent, federal interagency procedures for setting public health based electromagnetic field human exposure standards. 2. Initiate a federally sponsored, sustained and independent EMF research program to focus on the biological and health effects of electromagnetic fields. The mission of this program would be to conduct, sponsor and review research; to review proposed technologies for their potential impact on health and the environment; to develop biologically based standards; and, to make policy recommendations that protect health and safety. 3. Direct the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to adopt lower, interim Specific Absorption Ratio (SAR) standards for wireless communications devices, pending development of biologically based data. 4. Expand the U.S. Department of Environmental Protections mission and staffing to participate in the development of safety standards, including interim electromagnetic radiofrequency human exposure guidelines for transmitting antennas pending development of biologically based guidelines. 5. Direct the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to regulate the radiological properties of consumer products that emit microwave-level radio frequency radiation, including cell phones, personal Wi- Fi, baby monitors, cordless phones, smart utility meters, childrens toys, etc. 6. Reestablish the U.S. Environmental Protection Agencys capability to test electromagnetic radiation emissions from antennas, to monitor and report emissions from antennas, and inform citizens about what they are being exposed to, and to recommend mitigation techniques at no or low cost. 7. Provide federal incentives to encourage local zoning that permits low EMF zones that do not have wireless transmitters or power lines where people can choose to live and work. 8. Ensure current Federal disability and civil rights legal protections are available to people who have surgically implanted electronic or metal devices for medical reasons, or who are electromagnetically hypersensitive, and to assist these people to gain equal access to health care, housing, jobs, transportation, education, and other public services, and have their needs fairly accommodated.
Center for Safer Wireless * P.O. Box 166 * Haymarket, Virginia 20168 *U.S.A.* 703-431-1558 www.centerforSaferwireless.org
Congress and the Administration urgently need to take action.
The science on EMF has progressed rapidly in recent years, leading to the World Health Organization adopting the classification of radio frequency radiation as a Class 2B, a possible human carcinogen, as determined by the International Agency on Research on Cancer in May 2011. Many nations worldwide have taken action to issue precautionary advisories and policies. U.S. policymakers need to get current on the latest research and actions that have taken place worldwide so they can take action to protect the public through the formulation of public policy. The issuance of a U.S. Surgeon Generals Report would be a critically important step in bringing public attention to the need to take more precaution. Our nations doctor could then issue a public health advisory to the American people, recommending safer use of products that use electromagnetic energy, especially wireless radio frequency emitting devices, including cell phones, cordless phones, and Wi-Fi routers. Special emphasis should be placed on protecting children and the unborn, and guiding young people on limited use of these devices. This health advisory should be accompanied by a national campaign, e.g., public service announcements, educational programs at schools, warning labels on wireless devices, etc. Infrastructure deployment should proceed with incentives to apply safer communications technologies than wireless applications, such as fiber optic cable and other hard-wired alternatives, including conventional analog meters for electric, gas and water utility meters, instead of smart meters, that are creating layers of electronic pollution throughout the United States. It is the cumulative effect on health and the environment from chronic long-term exposure to low intensity radiation that is unknown and this is of great concern to scientists, medical doctors, engineers and other experts. The moratorium would also provide time for consideration of the impact of new infrastructure on citizen and worker rights, their health and well-being, their privacy, and their pocket books, protecting them from higher utility bills and medical expenses. These latter issues have spawned a plethora of lawsuits and other civil actions at the state and local level and need to be addressed before further infrastructure build-out proceeds.
i
References: World Health Organizations International Agency on Research on Cancer, Press Release, IARC Classifies Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Radiation as Possibly Carcinogenic to Humans, May 31, 2011. http://www.iarc.Fr/en/mediacentre/pr/2011/pdfr/pr208-E.pdf
ii
U.S. Presidential Cancer Panel Report, Reducing Environmental Cancer Risk, What We Can Do Now? 2009-10. http://deainfo.nci.nih.gov/advisory/pcp/annualReports/pcp08-09rpt/PCP_Report_08-09_508.pdf
iii
National Academy of Sciences National Research Council, Identification of Research Needs Relating to Potential Biological or Adverse Health Effects of Wireless Communications, 2008. http://www8.Nationalacademies.org/opinenws/Newsitem/aspx?RecordID=12036
Center for Safer Wireless * P.O. Box 166 * Haymarket, Virginia 20168 *U.S.A.* 703-431-1558 www.centerforSaferwireless.org
