French Quarter Radiation Free Inc. (FQRF)

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Pittsburgh Cancer Center Warns of Cell Phone Risks

Mobile Phones 'More Dangerous than Smoking'

Letter to the Mayor of New Orleans, City Councilmen/women & Other Agencies

Critics Decry 'Cell Towers' in Historic French Quarter

Hear Tell: Invisibility, Invasiveness and the Cell Phone

Editorial: Cell Antennae Spoil the Vieux

Videos: News & Interviews on Cell Phone Tower Health Risks

Video: Cell Phone Towers In Disguise

Cell Phone War: Court Victory is a First for Cell-Phone Programmers

What are the Dangers of Living Near Cell Phone Towers?

Cancer Clusters at Cell Phone Towers

Electro Magnetic Field Factsheet

French Quarter Safety Health Alert Flyer

Become a member of French Quarter Radiation Free (FQRF)

Video: Interview with French Quarter Radiation Free Attorney Thomas Schmidt

Attorney Notes of Thomas Schmidt

Thomas R. Schmidt
Attorney At Law

828 Royal St., Ste. 293

New Orleans, LA 70116

(504)453-9732

November 27, 2007

New Orleans Dept. Safety & Permits
Mike Centineo, Director
City Hall
1300 Perdido St.
New Orleans, LA 70112

Michael Darnell
New Orleans City Council Member
City Hall
1300 Perdido St.
New Orleans, LA 70112

Stacy Head
New Orleans City Council Member
City Hall
1300 Perdido St.
New Orleans, LA 70112

Cynthia Willard Lewis
New Orleans City Council Member
City Hall
1300 Perdido St.
New Orleans, LA 70112

City of New Orleans Health Dept.
Kevin Stephens, Sr., MD, Director
1300 Perdido Street, Room 8E18
New Orleans, LA 70112

Re: 14 cell phone towers to be installed on streets of historic Vieux Carré/French
Quarter.

Dear City of New Orleans Officials:

Please be advised that I represent Save Our Vieux Carre Inc. (SOVC), and a number of concerned French Quarter business owners and residents soon to be incorporated under the name of French Quarter Radiation Free, Inc. (FQRF). Unfortunately, because of the trauma suffered by SOVC, FQRF and their members from Hurricane Katrina, it has only recently been discovered that your City agencies have approved 14 cellular radio towers to be installed on the streets of our once unique and distinct Vieux Carré. These street level towers are not only a terrible visual blight upon the historic Vieux Carré, but pose a serious health issue.

It is now well documented that telephone cell towers emit Radio Frequency (RF) radiation harmful to human health. This is especially true for children. Your permission for construction of these towers at street level poses a special risk that could potentially jeopardize not only the health and welfare of local residents, but the future of our entire tourist industry , upon which we all depend. Such poles will also wreak havoc upon property values. No person in his or her right mind will want to sleep or work next to these radio frequency (RF) radiation emitting towers. What tourists will want their children walking within 3 feet of these radiating, buzzing, black iron monsters?

Is it fair to the employees of Regents Bank on the corner of Chartres and Toulouse, or to the tenant on the corner of Chartres and St. Philip, or to the home owner on the corner of Bourbon and Dumaine, or to the tourists sleeping in the Montelone Hotel in the rooms on the corner of Royal and Iberville that a Radio Frequency radiation emitting tower has been installed a few feet from their offices or bedrooms?

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences panel this year designated power frequency electromagnetic fields (EMF) as possible human carcinogens. Internationally acknowledged experts in the field of RF research have shown that RF of the type used in digital cellular antennas and phones can have critical effects upon cell cultures, animals, and people in laboratory tests. They have also found epidemiological evidence (studies of communities, not in the laboratory) of serious health effects at non-thermal levels, where the intensity of the radiation was too low to cause heating. They have found:

1. Increased cell growth of brain cancer cells¹
2. A doubling of the rate of lymphoma in mice²
3. Changes in tumor growth in rats³
4. An increased number of tumors in rats⁴
5. Increased breaks in double and single stranded DNA, our genetic material⁵
6. 2 to 4 times as many cancers in Polish soldiers exposed to RF⁶
7. More childhood leukemia in children exposed to RF⁷
8. Changes in sleep patterns and REM type sleep⁸
9. Headaches caused by RF exposure⁹
10. Neurologic changes¹⁰ including:
    1. Changes in the blood-brain-barrier¹¹
    2. Changes in cellular morphology (including cell death)¹²
    3. Changes in neural electrophysiology (EEG)¹³
    4. Changes in neurotransmitters (which affect motivation and pain perception)¹⁴
    5. Metabolic changes (of calcium ions, for instance)¹⁵
    6. Cytogenetic effects (which can affect cancer, Alzheimer's, neurodegenerative diseases)¹⁶
11. Decreased memory, attention, and slower reaction time in school children¹⁷
12. Retarded learning in rats indicating a deficit in spatial ?working memory¹⁸
13. Increased blood pressure in healthy men¹⁹
14. Damage to eye cells when combined with commonly used glaucoma medications²⁰

Many national and international organizations have recognized the need to define the true risk of low intensity, non-thermal RF exposure, calling for intensive scientific investigation to answer the open questions. These include:

1. The World Health Organization, noting reports of cancer, reduced fertility, memory loss, and adverse changes in the behavior and development of children.²¹
2. The U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)²²
3. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC)²³
4. The Swedish Work Environmental Fund²⁴
5. The National Cancer Institute (NCI)²⁵
6. The European Commission (EC)²⁶
7. New Zealand's Ministry of Health²⁷
8. National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia²⁸
9. Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research Organization of Australia (CSIRO)²⁹

Non-thermal effects are recognized by experts on RF and health to be potential health hazards. Safe levels of RF exposure for these low intensity, non-thermal effects have not yet been established.

The FDA has explicitly rejected claims that cellular phones are safe.³⁰

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has rejected the current (ANSI/IEEE) safety standards because they are based on thermal effects alone.³¹

Many scientists and physicians question the safety of exposure to RF. The CSIRO study, for example, notes that there are no clear cutoff levels at which low intensity exposure has no effect, and that the results of ongoing studies will take years to analyze.³²

The county of Palm Beach, FL, the state of California, and the country of New Zealand have all prohibited cellular antennas near schools due to safety concerns.

Your actions not only rip out the historic architectural integrity of the Vieux Carré, but also disregard the health and welfare of the residents and tourists of this community.

Sincerely,

Attorney for Save Our Vieux Carré Inc.

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Footnotes:

1. Drs. Czerska, Casamento, Ning, and Davis (working for the Food and Drug Administration in 1997) using "a waveform identical to that used in digital cellular phones" at a power level within our current standards (SAR of 1.6 W/Kg, the maximum spatial peak exposure level recommended for the general population in the ANSI C95.1 1991 standard) found increases in cellular proliferation in human glioblastoma cells. This shows that "acceptable" levels of radiation can cause human cancer cells to multiply faster. The authors note that "because of reported associations between cellular phone exposure and the occurrence of a brain tumor, glioblastoma, a human glioblastoma cell line was used" in their research.
   E.M. Czerska, J. Casamento, J. T. Ning, and C. Davis, "Effects of Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Radiation on Cell Proliferation," [Abstract presented on February 7, 1997 at the workshop 'Physical Characteristics and Possible Biological Effects of Microwaves Applied in Wireless Communication, Rockville, MD] E. M. Czerska, J. Casamento Centers for Devices and Radiological Health, Food and Drug Administration, Rockville, Maryland 20857, USA; H. T. Ning, Indian Health Service, Rockville, Maryland 20857, USA; C. Davis, Electrical Engineering Dept., Univ. of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA

2. Dr. Michael Repacholi (in 1997, currently the director of the International Electromagnetic Fields Project at the World Health Organization) took one hundred transgenic mice and exposed some to radiation for two 30 minute periods a day for up to 18 months. He found that the exposed mice developed lymphomas (a type of cancer) at twice the rate of the unexposed mice. While telecommunications industry spokespersons criticized the experiment for using mice with a mutation which predisposed them to cancer (transgenic) the researchers pointed out that "some individuals inherit mutations in other genes...that predispose them to develop cancer, and these individuals may comprise a subpopulation at special risk from agents that would pose an otherwise insignificant risk of cancer."
   Dr. Repacholi stated "I believe this is the first animal study showing a true nonthermal effect." He repeated the experiment in 1998 using 50 Hz fields instead of the 900 MHz pulsed radiation (the type used by cellular phones) used in the original experiment and found no cancer risk. He stated that this new data had implications for his original cellular phone study: "the control groups for both our RF and 50 Hz field studies showed no statistical differences, which lessens the possibility that the RF study result was a chance event or due to errors in methodology."
   It is extremely important to note that Dr. Michael Repacholi was Chairman of the ICNIRP at the time its Statement on Health Issues Related to the Use of Hand Held Radiotelephones and Base Transmitters was developed in 1996.
   M. Repacholi et al., "Lymphomas in Eµ Pim1 Transgenic Mice Exposed to Pulsed 900 MHz Electromagnetic Fields," Radiation Research, 147, pp.631 640, May 1997

3. Dr. Ross Adey (Veterans Administration Hospital in 1996) found what appeared to be a protective effect in rats exposed to the type of radiation used in digital cellular phones. The rats were exposed to an SAR of 0.58 0.75 W/Kg 836 MHz pulsed radiation of the TDMA type two hours a day, four days a week for 23 months, with the signals turned on and off every 7.5 minutes, so total exposure was 4 hours a week. Interestingly this effect was not present when a non digital, analog signal was used. Rats exposed developed cancer less often. This study shows that low power fields of the digital cellular frequency can influence cancer development. Whether they would protect or promote in our children is a question for further study.
   Ross Adey of the Veterans Administration Hospital of Loma Linda, CA presented the results of pulsed (digital cellular) radiation on June 13, 1996 at the 18th Annual Meeting of the Bioelectromagnetics Society in Victoria, Canada. He presented the findings of the analog cellular phone radiation effect at the June 1997 2nd World Congress for Electricity and Magnetism in Biology and Medicine in Bologna, Italy. Reviews can be found in Microwave News issues July/August, 1996 and March/April 1997.

4. Dr. A. W. Guy reported an extensive investigation on rats chronically exposed from 2 up to 27 months of age to low level pulsed microwaves at SARs up to 0.4 W/Kg. The exposed group was found to have a significantly higher incidence of primary cancers.
   A. W. Guy, C. K. Chou, L. Kunz, L, Crowley, and J. Krupp, "Effects of Long Term Low Level Radiofrequency Radiation Exposure on Rats." Volume 9. Summary. Brooks Air Force Base, Texas, USAF School of Aerospace Medicine, USF SAM TR 85 11; 1985

5. Drs. Henry Lai and N. P. Singh of the University of Washington in Seattle have reported breaks in both single stranded and double stranded DNA in the brains of rats exposed to radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation at an SAR of 1.2 W/Kg. DNA is the carrier of the genetic information in all living cells. Cumulated DNA strand breaks in brain cells can lead to cancer or neurodegenerative diseases.
   H. Lai and N. P. Singh, "Single and Double Strand DNA Breaks in Rat Brain Cells After Acute Exposure to Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Radiation," International Journal of Radiation Biology, Vol 69, No. 4, 513 521, 1996

6. Dr. Stanislaw Szmigielski has studied many thousands of Polish soldiers. He has found that those exposed to radiofrequency and microwave radiation had more than double the cancer rate of the unexposed servicemen analyzing data from 1971 1985. He has presented further data suggesting a dose response relationship with soldiers exposed to 100 200 W/cm2 suffering 1.69 times as many cancers as the unexposed, and those exposed to 600 1000 W/cm2 suffering 4.63 times as many cancers. 1000 W/cm2 is the level considered safe for the public according to FCC regulations. Occupational exposure up to 5000 W/cm2 is allowed.
   S. Szmigielski, "Cancer Morbidity in Subjects Occupationally Exposed to High Frequency (Radiofrequency and Microwave) Electromagnetic Radiation," The Science of the Total Environment 180:9 17, 1996

7. Dr. Bruce Hocking found an association between increased childhood leukemia incidence and mortality in the proximity of television towers. The power density ranged from 0.2 8.0 W/cm2 nearer and 0.02 W/cm2 farther from the towers.
   B. Hocking, I. R. Gordon, H. L. Grain, and G. E. Hatfield, "Cancer Incidence and Mortality and Proximity to TV Towers," Medical Journal of Australia 165: 601 605; 1996

8. Drs. Mann and Röschke investigated the influence of pulsed high frequency electromagnetic fields of digital mobile radio telephones on sleep in healthy humans. They found a hypnotic effect with shortening of sleep onset latency and a REM (Rapid Eye Movement) suppressive effect with reduction of duration and percentage of REM sleep. "REM sleep plays a special physiological role for information processing in the brain, especially concerning consolidation of new experiences. Thus the effects observed possibly could be associated with alterations of memory and learning functions."
   K. Mann and J. Röschke, "Effects of Pulsed High Frequency Electromagnetic Fields on Human Sleep," Neuropsychobiology 33:41 47, 1996

9. Dr. Allen Frey has been researching microwave radiation for over 3 decades. Here is the abstract on a paper concerning headaches and cellular phone radiation. "There have been numerous recent reports of headaches occurring in association with the use of hand held cellular telephones. Are these reported headaches real? Are they due to emissions from telephones? There is reason to believe that the answer is "yes" to both questions. There are several lines of evidence to support this conclusion. First, headaches as a consequence of exposure to low intensity microwaves were reported in the literature 30 years ago. These were observed during the course of microwave hearing research before there were cellular telephones. Second, the blood brain barrier appears to be involved in headaches, and low intensity microwave energy exposure affects the barrier. Third, the dopamine opiate systems of the brain appear to be involved in headaches, and low intensity electromagnetic energy exposure affects those systems. In all three lines of research, the microwave energy used was approximately the same in frequencies, modulations, and incident energies as those emitted by present day cellular telephones, Could the current reports of headaches be the canary in the coal mine, warning of biologically significant effects?"
   A. H. Frey, "Headaches from Cellular Telephones: Are they Real and What Are the Implications?" Environmental Health Perspectives Vol 106, Num. 3, pp.101 103, March 1998

10. Henry Lai's review of the literature concerning neurological effects of RF: Existing data indicate that RF of relatively low intensity can affect the nervous system. Changes in blood brain barrier, morphology, electrophysiology, neurotransmitter functions, cellular metabolism, and calcium efflux, and genetic effects have been reported in the brain of animals after exposure to RF. These changes can lead to functional changes in the nervous system. Behavioral changes in animals after exposure to RR have been reported.
    Even a temporary change in neural functions after RF exposure could lead to adverse consequences. For example, a transient loss of memory function or concentration could result in an accident when a person is driving. Loss of short term working memory has indeed been observed in rats after acute exposure to RF.
    Research has also shown that the effects of RF on the nervous system can cumulate with repeated exposure. The important question is, after repeated exposure, will the nervous system adapt to the perturbation and when will homeostasis break down? Related to this is that various lines of evidence suggest that responses of the central nervous system to RF could be a stress response. Stress effects are well known to cumulate over time and involve first adaptation and then an eventual break down of homeostatic processes.
    H. Lai, "Neurological Effects of Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Radiation Relating to Wireless Communication Technology," Paper presentation at the IBC UK Conference: "Mobile Phones Is There a Health Risk?" September 16 17, 1997, Brussels, Belgium

11. Blood Brain Barrier: The blood brain barrier (BBB) is primarily a continuous layer of cells lining the blood vessels of the brain. It is critical for regulation of the brain's activity. Lai notes that "Even though most studies indicate that changes in the BBB occurs only after exposure to RF of high intensities with significant increase in tissue temperature, several studies have reported increases in permeability after exposure to RF of relatively low intensities....Pulsed RF seems to be more potent than continuous wave RF." Pulsed RF is the type used in digital cellular systems. Effects on the BBB were noted at the 0.2 W/cm2 level, and even at SAR of 0.016 5 W/Kg. These effects could lead to local changes in brain function.
    H. Lai, Ibid

12. Cellular Morphology: RF induced morphological changes of the central nervous system are shown only to occur under relatively high intensity or prolonged exposure to the radiation. However, there are several studies which show that repeated exposure at relatively low power intensities caused morphological changes in the central nervous system. Again here pulsed (as in digital phone use) RF produced more pronounced effects. Certain drugs given to nonhuman primates sensitized them, for instance allowing eye damage to occur at very low power intensities. Dr Lai notes "Changes in morphology, especially cell death, could have an important implication on health. Injury induced cell proliferation has been hypothesized as a cause of cancer." Some of these experiments were in the range of SAR 0.53 W/Kg or even 0.26 W/Kg.
    H. Lai, Ibid

13. Neural Electrophysiology: Changes in neuronal electrophysiology, evoked potentials, and EEG have been reported. Some effects were observed at low intensities and after repeated exposure, suggesting cumulative effect. Energy density levels were as low as 50 W/cm2.
    H. Lai, Ibid

14. Neurotransmitters: Neurotransmitters are molecules which transmit information from one nerve cell to another. Early studies have reported changes in various neurotransmitters (catecholamines, serotonin, and acetylcholine) in the brain of animals only after exposure to high intensities of RF. However, there are more recent studies that show changes in neurotransmitter functions after exposure to low intensities of RF. For example, effects were seen at 50 W/cm2 in one experiment.
    RF activates endogenous opioids in the brain. Endogenous opioids are neurotransmitters with morphine like properties and are involved in many important physiological and behavioral functions, such as pain perception and motivation.
    The response to RF depends on the area of the brain studied and on the duration of exposure. Exposure to RF has been shown to affect the behavioral actions of benzodiazepines (these are drugs such as Valium).
    H. Lai, Ibid

15. Metabolic Changes in Neural Tissue: Several studies investigated the effects of RF exposure on energy metabolism in the rat brain. Surprisingly, changes were reported after exposure to relatively low intensity RF for a short duration of time (minutes). The effects depended on the frequency and modulation characteristics of the RF and did not seem to be related to temperature changes in the tissue.
    Calcium ions play important roles in the functions of the nervous system, such as the release of neurotransmitters and the actions of some neurotransmitter receptors. Thus changes in calcium ion concentration could lead to alterations in neural functions. This is an area of considerable controversy because some researchers have also reported no significant effects of RF exposure on calcium efflux. However, when positive effects were observed, they occurred after exposure to RF of relatively low intensities and were dependent on the modulation and intensity of the RF studied (window effects). Some studies had SARs as low as 0.05 0.005 W/Kg.
    H. Lai, Ibid

16. Cytogenetic effects: Cytogenetic effects have been reported in various types of cells after exposure to RF. Recently, several studies have reported cytogenetic changes in brain cells by RF, and these results could have important implication for the health effects of RF. Genetic damage to glial cells can result in carcinogenesis. However, since neurons do not undergo mitosis, a more likely consequence of neuronal genetic damage is changes in functions and cell death, which could either lead to or accelerate the development of neurodegenerative diseases. Power densities of 1 mW/cm2 were employed, a level considered safe for the public by the FCC.
    RF induced increases in single and double strand DNA breaks in rats can be blocked by treating the rats with melatonin or the spin trap compound N t butyl phenylnitrone. Since both compounds are potent free radical scavengers, these data suggest that free radicals may play a role in the genetic effect of RF. If free radicals are involved in the RF induced DNA strand breaks in brain cells, results from this study could have an important implication on the health effects of RF exposure. Involvement of free radicals in human diseases, such as cancer and atherosclerosis, have been suggested. Free radicals also play an important role in the aging process, which has been ascribed to be a consequence of accumulated oxidative damage to body tissues, and involvement of free radicals in neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's, Huntington, and Parkinson, has also been suggested. One can also speculate that some individuals may be more susceptible to the effects of RF exposure.
    H. Lai, Ibid

17. Dr. A. A. Kolodynski and V. V. Kolodynska of the Institute of Biology, Latvian Academy of Sciences, presented the results of experiments on school children living in the area of the Skrunda Radio Location Station in Latvia. Motor function, memory, and attention significantly differed between the exposed and control groups. The children living in front of the station had less developed memory and attention and their reaction time was slower.
    A. A. Kolodynski, V. V. Kolodynska, "Motor and Psychological Functions of School Children Living in the Area of the Skrunda Radio Location Station in Latvia," The Science of the Total Environment 180:87 93, 1996

18. Dr. H. Lai and colleagues in 1993 exposed rats to 45 minutes of pulsed high frequency microwaves at low intensity and found that the rats showed retarded learning, indicating a deficit in spatial "working memory" function.
    H Lai, A. Horita, and A. W. Guy, "Microwave Irradiation Affects Radial Arm Maze Performance in the Rat," Bioelectromagnetics 15:95 104, 1994

19. Dr. Stefan Braune reported a 5 10 mm Hg resting blood pressure rise during exposure to a radiofrequency electromagnetic field of the sort used by cellular phones in Europe. The Lancet, the British medical journal where the report appeared, stated that "Such an increase could have adverse effects on people with high blood pressure."
    S. Braune, "Resting Blood Pressure Increase During Exposure to a Radio Frequency Electromagnetic Field," The Lancet 351, pp. 1,857 1,858, 1998

20. Dr. Kues and colleagues (of Johns Hopkins University and the Food and Drug Administration) found that placing timolol and pilocarpine into the eyes of monkeys and then exposing them to low power density pulsed microwaves caused a significant reduction in the power density threshold for causing damage to the cells covering the eye and the iris. In fact the power was reduced by a factor of 10, so that it entered the "acceptable, safe" level of the FCC, 1 mW/cm2! Timolol and pilocarpine are commonly used by people suffering from glaucoma. This is a very important study, as it points to the fact that laboratory experiments under "ideal" conditions are rarely what one finds in real life. The "safe" level of radiation exposure for healthy people is likely to be very different than for those of us who suffer from illness, take medications, or are perhaps simply younger or older than those in the experiments.
    H. A. Kues, J. C. Monahan, S. A. D'Anna, D. S. McLeod, G. A. Lutty, and S. Koslov, "Increased Sensitivity of the Non Human Primate Eye to Microwave Radiation Following Ophthalmic Drug Pretreatment," Bioelectromagnetics 13:379 393, 1992

21. The World Health Organization states that "concerns have been raised about the safety of cellular mobile telephones, electric power lines and police speed control 'radar guns.' Scientific reports have suggested that exposure to electromagnetic fields emitted from these devices could have adverse health effects, such as cancer, reduced fertility, memory loss, and adverse changes in the behaviour and development of children." Therefore, "In May 1996, in response to growing public health concerns in many Member States over possible health effects from exposure to an ever increasing number and diversity of EMF sources, the World Health Organization launched an international project to assess health and environmental effects of exposure to electric and magnetic fields, which became known as the International EMF Project. The International EMF Project will last for five years." "A number of studies at [frequencies above about 1 MHz] suggest that exposure to RF fields too weak to cause heating may have adverse health consequences, including cancer and memory loss. Identifying and encouraging coordinated research into these open questions is one of the major objectives of the International EMF Project."
    World Health Organization Fact Sheet N181, "Electromagnetic Fields and Public Health, The International EMF Project," reviewed May 1998 and World Health Organization Fact Sheet N182, "Electromagnetic Fields and Public Health, Physical Properties and Effects on Biological Systems," reviewed May 1998, underlining added

22. The U. S. Food and Drug Administration in a January 14, 1998 letter to the House Telecommunications Subcommittee stated it "believes additional research in the area of RF is needed." In 1997 the agency established the following priorities:
    1. Chronic (lifetime) animal exposures should be given the highest priority.
    2. Chronic animal exposures should be performed both with and without the application of chemical initiating agents to investigate tumor promotion in addition to tumorigenesis.
    3. Identification of potential risks should include end points other than brain cancer (e.g. ocular effects of RF radiation exposure).
    4. Replication of prior studies demonstrating positive biological effects work is needed. A careful replication of the Chou and Guy study (Bioelectromagnetics, 13, pp.469 496, 1992) which suggests that chronic exposure of rats to microwaves is associated with an increase in tumors, would contribute a great deal to the risk identification process for wireless communication products.
    5. Genetic toxicology studies should focus on single cell gel studies of DNA strand breakage and on induction of micronuclei.....
    6. Epidemiology studies focused on approaches optimized for hazard identification are warranted....
    Food and Drug Administration Recommendations quoted in Microwave News, March/April, 1997

23. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) is planning a multicountry, multimillion dollar study of cancer among users of wireless phones, beginning 1998.
    Microwave News, January/February, 1998

24. The Swedish Work Environmental Fund initiated a new epidemiological study on cellular phone radiation and brain tumors in 1997.
    Microwave News, November/December, 1997

25. The National Cancer Institute announced plans for a 5 year study of brain tumors and cellular phone radiation in 1993.
    Microwave News, January/February, 1993

26. The European Commission (EC) Expert Group on health effects of wireless phones called for a 5 year research program with a $20 million budget, reported 1997.
    Microwave News, January/February, 1997

27. A report commissioned by New Zealand's Ministry of Health stated that "It is imperative that the scientific issues be clarified as soon as possible, as there is much at stake." It called for more research to examine the potential health effects of RF radiation.
    Microwave News, November/December, 1996

28. The National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia announced its sponsorship of a 5 year, $3.5 million project on potential health effects of mobile phone technology in 1996.
    Microwave News, November/December, 1996

29. Finally, the Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) of Australia concluded in 1995 that the safety of cellular telephones cannot be resolved "in the near future." Dr. Stan Barnett, a principal researcher of CSIRO, states that "My goal is to establish a national committee to approach this problem by coordinating relevant and focused research." He estimated a budget of $3 million over a 3 year period would be necessary.
    Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research Organization, "Status of Research on Biological Effects and Safety of Electromagnetic Radiation: Telecommunications Frequencies," a report prepared by Dr. Stan Barnett, as sited in Microwave News, September/October, 1995

30. On July 19, 1993 Dr. Elizabeth Jacobson, Deputy Director for Science, Center for Devices and Radiological Health, Food and Drug Administration criticized Thomas Wheeler, President of the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association:
    "I am writing to let you know that we were concerned about two important aspects of your press conference of July 16 concerning the safety of cellular phones, and to ask that you carefully consider the following comments when you make future statements to the press. First, both the written press statements and your verbal comments during the conference seemed to display an unwarranted confidence that these products will be found absolutely safe. In fact, the unremittingly upbeat tone of the press packet strongly implies that there can be no hazard, leading the reader to wonder why any further research would be needed at all.....More specifically, your press packet selectively quotes from our Talk Paper of February 4 in order to imply that FDA believes that cellular phones are "safe." ("There is no proof at this point that cellular phones are harmful.") In fact, the same Talk Paper also states, "There is not enough evidence to know for sure, either way." Our position, as we have stated it before, is this: Although there is no direct evidence linking cellular phones with harmful effects in humans, a few animal studies suggest that such effects could exist. It is simply too soon to assume that cellular phones are perfectly safe, or that they are hazardous either assumption would be premature. This is precisely why more research is needed."
    Full text of letter can be found in Microwave News, July/August, 1993

31. In 1993 the Director of the Office of Radiation and Indoor Air of the Environmental Protection Agency suggested that the FCC not adopt the 1992 ANSI/IEEE standard "due to serious flaws," among them (1) "the ANSI/IEEE conclusion that there is no scientific data indicating that certain subgroups of the population are more at risk than others is not supported by NCRP and EPA reports" and (2) "the thesis that ANSI/IEEE recommendations are protective of all mechanisms of interaction is unwarranted because the adverse effects level in the 1992 ANSI/IEEE standard are based on a thermal effect."
    Letter from Margo T. Oge, Director, Office of Radiation and Indoor Air to Thomas Stanley, Chief Engineer, Office of engineering and Technology, FCC, dated Nov 9, 1993

32. A brief sampling of the report, "Status of Research on Biological Effects and Safety of Electromagnetic Radiation: Telecommunications Frequencies" follows:
    Problems in studies of human populations published to date include imprecise estimates of exposure. As a result, such epidemiological studies may underestimate any real risk. The likelihood of epidemiological studies providing useful information is questionable, particularly if the biological end point cannot be predicted. Its value in the short term (less than 10 years) must be negligible unless there was an enormous increase in the rate of cancer growth. Interestingly, the incidence of brain tumors in the EC countries has increased substantially in recent years....
    [RF] safety cannot be assessed in the absence of reported serious effects when so little research has been aimed at the problem. It is somewhat surprising, and rather disappointing, to find that although the literature contains many hundreds of publications, there are very few areas of consensus....At low levels the absence of clear thresholds and [the] presence of intensity and frequency windows have created questions rather than provided answers....
    There is no doubt that the interpretation of bioeffects data has been clouded by a preoccupation with thermally mediated processes. In fact, development of the ANSI/IEEE standard is based only on well established thermal effects, and ignores the more subtle nonthermal processes that are more difficult to interpret and apply to human health....
    Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research Organization, "Status of Research on Biological Effects and Safety of Electromagnetic Radiation: Telecommunications Frequencies," a report prepared by Dr. Stan Barnett, as sited in Microwave News, September/October, 1995