WHO’s conflicting stance on risk needs strengthening, says 190 scientists

NEW YORK - Tuesday, May 12th 2015 [ME NewsWire]

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Today 190 scientists from 39 nations submitted an appeal to the United Nations, UN member states and the World Health Organization (WHO) requesting they adopt more protective exposure guidelines for electromagnetic fields (EMF) and wireless technology in the face of increasing evidence of risk. These exposures are a rapidly growing form of environmental pollution worldwide.

The “International EMF Scientist Appeal” asks the Secretary General and UN affiliated bodies to encourage precautionary measures, to limit EMF exposures, and to educate the public about health risks, particularly to children and pregnant women.

The Appeal highlights WHO’s conflicting positions about EMF risk. WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer classified Radiofrequency radiation as a Group 2B “Possible Carcinogen” in 2011, and Extremely Low Frequency fields in 2001. Nonetheless, WHO continues to ignore its own agency’s recommendations and favors guidelines recommended by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). These guidelines, developed by a self-selected group of industry insiders, have long been criticized as non-protective.

The Appeal calls on the UN to strengthen its advisories on EMF risk for humans and to assess the potential impact on wildlife and other living organisms under the auspices of the UN Environmental Programme, in line with the science demonstrating risk, thereby resolving this inconsistency.

Martin Blank, PhD, of Columbia University, says, “International exposure guidelines for electromagnetic fields must be strengthened to reflect the reality of their impact on our bodies, especially on our DNA. The time to deal with the harmful biological and health effects is long overdue. We must reduce exposure by establishing more protective guidelines.”

Joel Moskowitz, PhD, of University of California, Berkeley, says, “ICNIRP guidelines set exposure standards for high-intensity, short-term, tissue-heating thresholds. These do not protect us from the low-intensity, chronic exposures common today. Scientists signing the Appeal request that the UN and member nations protect the global human population and wildlife from EMF exposures.”

International EMF Scientist Appeal: EMFscientist.org

Video Statement (3 min.) by Spokesperson Martin Blank, PhD: EMFscientist.org

Video caption:

Video 1: Martin Blank, PhD of Columbia University representing 190 international scientists in an Appeal to the UN, UN Member States and the WHO on the risks of electromagnetic fields emitted by telecommunications and utility technologies. Cautioning strongly, Dr. Blank says, "The time to deal with the harmful biological and health effects is long overdue. To protect our children, ourselves and our ecosystem, we must reduce exposure by establishing more protective guidelines."

Contacts

EMFscientist.org

Elizabeth Kelley, MA, Director, 520-743-0125

info@EMFscientist.org

or

School of Public Health, UC Berkeley

Joel Moskowitz, PhD, 1-510-643-7314

jmm@berkeley.edu

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