Insights on Cell Phone Safety Spotlighted at International Symposium Held in Istanbul, Turkey on May 23
Urgent Call Made for All Cell Phone Users and especially for Children, Workers, Pregnant Women and the Elderly to Avoid Using Cell Phones Next to the Brain or Body
Children, workers, pregnant women, the elderly and the general public must be better protected from microwave radiation from cell phones and other Electromagnetic Fields (EMF) producing devices. A symposium hosted by Environmental Health Trust (EHT) with experts from major research centers in Turkey, France, Greece, Italy, Austria, Israel and the U.S., convened on May 23 to discuss a range of scientific research supporting this conclusion.
Turkish publishers co-sponsored the symposium and released the Turkish edition of Disconnect: The Truth about Cell Phone Radiation, What Industry Has Done to Hide It and How to Protect Your Family, written by EHT President and award-winning author Dr. Devra Davis.
At the opening of the symposium Professor Dr. Murat Tuncer, Cancer Prevention Director of the Turkish Ministry of Health, announced that the Turkish government will be banning advertisements for cell phones with and for children.
In addition, symposium participants learned that the Turkish government plans to act to ensure that manufacturers of cell phones follow Turkish law requiring that the public be provided legible information at the point of sale about cell phone radiation levels.
The call for warning labels for cell phones is a key part of the Global Campaign for Safer Cell Phones, organized by EHT in North America, Europe, Latin America, Australia and Asia.
A broad array of pioneering studies produced over the past decade under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Nesrin Seyhan who is the Chair of Gazi University’s Biophysics Department, Director of GNRK, Turkish Representative of NATO RTO HFM, and Member of International Advisory Committee of WHO EMF Project, shows that current levels of cell phone radiation damage the newborn brain, liver and eyes of experimental animals. “We urgently need to revise our approach to cell phones and other microwave radiating devices”, Prof. Seyhan urged. “Children and workers immediately need special protections”.
Studies from Athens University, from the “Electromagnetic Biology Research Team” (Group Leader, Dr. Lukas H. Margaritis, Professor Emeritus) of the Department of Cell Biology and Biophysics were presented to the conference by Adamantia Fragopoulou (live) and Dr. Lukas Margaritis (via skype) revealing that cell phone signals significantly impair memory, alter the expression of neurological proteins and proteins of the brain metabolism and can damage reproductive organs and cause DNA damage.
Representative videos that show clearly the memory impairment can be found in the link
http://kyttariki.biol.uoa.gr/EMR-GROUP/Fragopoulou-et-al-2009b-videos.pdf
Mice that have learnt to run a water maze get lost after exposure to cell phone radiation.
The same group underlies that equally dangerous are other EMF sources besides cell phones, such as wireless DECT telephones, wireless networks (Wi-Fi), baby monitors, blue tooth and even the microwave oven.
The Symposium concurred with recent recommendations from the Council of Europe and advisories in Israel, U.K., France, India, and Russia that children and teenagers should only use cell phones as telephones on a limited basis, and that the young be encouraged to send text messages and use speakerphones. Prof. Dr. Seyhan also advised that Turkey
should exercise special caution about the location of base stations and take steps to ensure people not to overexposed and not to have direct contact with the base stations..
Prof. Annie Sasco, a physician-researcher from INSERM in Bordeaux and formerly with the World Health Organization, International Agency for Research on Cancer, noted that the City of Bordeaux has passed a law banning the installation of new cell phone antennas or the reinforcement of existing ones on schools, daycare centers or areas where young children congregate, such as playgrounds.
Dr. Davis noted, “Turkey is leading the world in producing first-class research on this important issue. Cell phones are here to stay, but must be made as safe as possible both in their design and in the ways that we use them. The Israeli government’s steps to curtail the spread of microwave radiation into schools should be taken seriously by the rest of the world”.
Key Highlights:
Arin Tomruk of Gazi University, presented a detailed study of Biophysics Dept. on the impact of microwave radiation from cell phones on pregnant and nonpregnant adult rabbits, their offspring, and
newborns. They found elevated patterns of well-established markers of cancer risk, including DNA base modification, oxidative stress parameters and other accepted biomarkers of chronic degenerative diseases.
Meric Arda Esmekaya of Gazi Univ. Biophysics Dept. revealed that pulsed digital cell phone signals destroyed or damaged lymphocytes—human blood cells that are critical to healing the immune system.
DNA damage in hair root cells derived from the region close to the antenna of the irradiating mobile phone near to the ear has been reported by Semra Tepe Çam, Gazi University, Biophysics Dept. She found that radiofrequency radiation similar to emitted by GSM mobile phones increase hydroxyproline” content of skin protein that is the first point of contact of mobile phone signals on the body.
Increase of carcinogenisity risk after EMF exposure has been supported by Prof. Dr. Livio Giuliani, ISPESL, Italy.
Prof. Dr. Süleyman Kaplan from Ondokuz Mayıs University, Samsun, documented histologically changes of two main regions of the brain, the hippocampus and cerebellum, related to memory and other functions.
Prof. Dr. Emin Oztas of Ankara’s Gulhane Military Research Institute described significant damage to human sperm from cell phone radiation, confirming studies that have been carried out in Australia, the US and Greece.
The studies reviewed at this conference showed that levels of microwave radiation produced by cell phones in the real world today significantly damage and reduce sperm, impair DNA and memory, and cause deficits in offspring whose mothers are exposed during pregnancy.
These new findings demand the attention of the Media and the action of the governments for the establishment of new biologically based guidelines taking the precautionary principle into account. The major advice would be to use cell phones and other EMF sources at a safe distance.
For more information log on to www.saferphonezone.com
Editor’s note: Scientific papers and bios available for media interested in learning more about the different studies.
About Environmental Health Trust
Environmental Health Trust (EHT) educates individuals, health professionals and communities about controllable environmental health risks and policy changes needed to reduce those risks. Current multi-media projects include: local and national campaigns to ban smoking and asbestos; working with international physician and worker safety groups to warn about the risks of inappropriate use of diagnostic radiation and cell phones, promoting research and awareness of environmental causes of breast cancer, and building environmental wellness programs in Wyoming and Pennsylvania to address the environmental impacts of energy development, the built environment and radon. EHT was created with the goal of promoting health and preventing disease one person, one community and one nation at a time. Capitalizing on growing public interest in Dr. Devra Lee Davis’s three popular books, When Smoke Ran Like Water, a National Book Award Finalist, The Secret History of the War on Cancer, and Disconnect--the truth about cell phone radiation, what industry has done to hide it and how to protect your family, as well as recent documentary films, the foundation’s website offers clear, science-based information to prevent environmentally based disease and promote health, for the general public, children, and health professionals. For more information about getting involved in the numerous special projects spearheaded by the EHT, please log on to http://www.saferphonezone.com.
Janet Vasquez
The Investor Relations Group
212-825-3210
jvasquez@investorrelationsgroup.com
Environmental Health Trust
www.saferphonezone.com
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