Nexus - 0801 - New Times Magazine-pages

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had observed an effect of mobile phone radiation on human cog- specially prepared mice, when exposed to pulsed 900 MHz radia- nition—specifically, the speeding up of a choice reaction test.° tion for one hour a day for 9 to 18 months, showed a highly sig- However, given that he used 15 different tests on only two groups nificant doubling of B-cell lymphomas. At the time, the finding of 18 subjects exposed for two sessions of 30 minutes, the finding triggered controversy over its implications for human exposure. may easily have been a chance result. Also, the signal used did However, only now does it appear that an attempted replication is not exactly match that produced by a GSM phone—a deficit not —_ planned, which may or may not involve Dr Repacholi who cur- helped by the derisory grant from the Department of Health of a rently heads the World Health Organization's EMF Project in mere £3,000! Geneva. By contrast, Dr John Tattersall, based at Porton Down Chemical and Biological Defence base in Wiltshire, funded to the NRPB GUIDANCE BASED ON SAR tune of £113,000 by the DoH, recently reported effects of RF Current NRPB and international guidance is based on the SAR, radiation of rats' hippocampal brain the specific absorption rate, which is a sections at non-thermal levels well measure of how much radiation is below current NRPB guidelines.’ He absorbed per gram of tissue over a observed changes in the electrically Other research, by Professor given time. The NRPB focuses pure - evoked potentials and in long-term Leif Salford at Lund University, ly on preventing temperature rises potentiation that were not due to heat- age exceeding 1°C, and bases its guid- ing. Aside from his results, one has shows that radiation at ance on keeping any heating to less to ask why the DoH chose to give than 10 watts per kilogram k why the DoH chose to gi mobile phone frequency can han 10 watts per kilogram (10 W/kg) such a sum to Porton Down rather in any 10 grams of tissue, averaged than award it on the open university change the blood-brain barrier over 6 minutes. By contrast, the marketplace where one can be rea- that normally allows certain International Committee on Non- sonably assured that all results will be . Tonising Radiation (ICNIRP) uses 2 fully published. chemicals to cross and W/kg—five times lower (the US uses Meanwhile, at Nottingham 1.6 W/kg, but in 1 gram of tissue). University, Dr David de Pomerai keeps others out. The Stewart Report has recom- exposed nematode worms to mended that the UK fall into line microwaves from a Nokia 2110 with Europe and adopt the ICNIRP hone and found that their cells produced high levels of "heat- levels in place of current NRPB guidelines, which is at least a step shock proteins" (HSPs) at levels that did not produce a measur- in the right direction—and an embarassment to the NRPB. able temperature rise.* HSPs are so-named because they were However, the whole basis of using SAR as a reliable measure first observed to be produced in response to a considerable rise in of exposure, given the complexities of the signal, has been ques- temperature (at least 2°C), but in fact are produced whenever cells tioned. At a special seminar held at the House of Commons in start to experience any damage to the protein structure in DNA June 1999—with speakers including Professor Lai from the US and RNA. and the UK's NRPB, including Professor Richard Doll, and One of the first studies that drew attention to possible radiation attended by MPs and pressure groups—Professor Michael Kundi, azards was that by researchers at the Royal Adelaide Hospital in _ of the Institute of Environmental Health at the University of Australia, led by Dr Michael Repacholi.’ They found that 200 Vienna, presented five basic assumptions in using the SAR for specially prepared mice, when exposed to pulsed 900 MHz radia- tion for one hour a day for 9 to 18 months, showed a highly sig- nificant doubling of B-cell lymphomas. At the time, the finding triggered controversy over its implications for human exposure. However, only now does it appear that an attempted replication is planned, which may or may not involve Dr Repacholi who cur- rently heads the World Health Organization's EMF Project in Geneva. Other research, by Professor Leif Salford at Lund University, a= abe ta mobile phone frequency can change the blood-brain barrier that normally allows certain chemicals to cross and 2-15 15-60 >60 1.10 1.94 1.68 1.65 1.56 1.55 2.69 2.93 3.94 3.48 4.14 6.31 16.00 8.37 8.42 1.25 1.49 2.63 2.73 1.06 1.80 2.50 9.00 10.20 2.34 1.40 2.83 21.90 22.40 2.77 NEXUS - 19 shows that radiation at keeps others out. DECEMBER 2000 — JANUARY 2001