Letter to All Superintendents and Chief Executive Officers of the Public Schools in Maryland by Dr. Ronald Powell August 25, 2016

TO:  All Superintendents and Chief Executive Officers of the Public Schools in Maryland

 August 25, 2016

This is the message that scientists and physicians, who are conducting research on the impact of wireless devices on health, want you to hear:

The radiofrequency/microwave radiation produced by wireless devices, like Wi-Fi, wireless computers, cell phones, cordless phones, and smart meters, is harmful to human health.

For this reason, it is vital that the mandatory irradiation of children, not to mention teachers and staff, in the Maryland Public Schools be ended.

If you doubt that such radiation is harmful, please see the two attached documents which will point you to major references on this subject:

• The first document is "Message to Schools and Colleges about Wireless Devices and Health".  It will introduce you to the health issues associated with wireless devices, with an emphasis on Wi-Fi.
• https://www.scribd.com/document/289778053/Message-to-Schools-and-Colleges-about-Wireless-Devices-and-Health
• The second document is "The Health Argument against Cell Phones and Cell Towers".  It will provide additional information about the health risks of cell phones by describing the link between cellular radiation and tumors, including malignant brain cancer.  That link has just been reinforced by a new study from the National Toxicology Program at the National Institutes of Health.
• https://www.scribd.com/document/320935636/The-Health-Argument-against-Cell-Phones-and-Cell-Towers

If you still think that wireless technology is safe, please consider these questions:

• Which sources of information are assuring you that wireless technology is safe?
• Do those sources have any vested interest in wireless technology?  Do they sell, install, or service wireless devices?
• Will those sources give you written evidence, for public scrutiny, that backs up their claims of safety for the wireless devices that they advocate that you use in your schools?
• Does the expertise of those sources match, in any way, the expertise of the world's leading scientists and physicians, referenced in the attached documents, including those at the National Institutes of Health, who are actively conducting research on the health effects of the radiation from wireless devices.

If you would like to read the views, of scientists, doctors, and other knowledgeable individuals, already provided to the Montgomery County Public Schools, please find the letters that they have submitted here:

http://safetechforschoolsmaryland.blogspot.com/2016/08/letters-to-montgomery-county-public.html

If you have any doubts about the safety of wireless technology, what is the prudent step to take?

• Keep irradiating the children, and add even more sources of radiation, such as wireless thermostats and virtual-reality cell-phone devices, throughout the schools and without concern for the consequences to either the children or the decision makers advocating irradiation.
• OR, take Precautionary Action by stopping the irradiating of the children, while awaiting additional evidence sufficient to convince you that the radiation is either harmful or safe.

If you elect Precautionary Action

You can largely resolve the problem of the mandatory irradiation of children in the schools by moving fromwireless connectivity, like Wi-Fi, to shielded wired connectivity, like the following:

• shielded Ethernet cable
• coaxial cable which is inherently shielded
• optical fibers which do not need shielding because they do not radiate at all.

If you feel that you need help in assessing the impact of wireless devices on health, please seek competent advisors.  They should be individuals with biomedical backgrounds, particularly scientists and doctors involved in research on the biological effects of radiofrequency/microwave radiation.   And they should be free of conflicts of interest, such as funding from the wireless industries.

Who am I?

I am a retired U.S. Government career scientist.  I hold a Ph.D. in Applied Physics from Harvard University.  My background is described in both of the attached documents.

Thank you for your attention to this important issue.

Regards,

Ronald M. Powell, Ph.D.

See all of Dr. Ronald Powell's letters at this link. 

https://www.scribd.com/document/291507610/Documents-on-Wireless-Technology-and-Health-by-Ronald-M-Powell-Ph-D

Letters To the Montgomery County Public School District on Wi-Fi Health Risk by Scientists, Doctors and Researchers

Please click on the hyperlink to get a PDF of these letters from experts who wrote the MCPS School System about the health concerns posed by MCPS Wi-Fi networks. 

"Wi-Fi in schools, in contrast to wired internet connections, will increase risk of neurologic impairment and long-term risk of cancer in students. Promoting wireless technology in schools disregards current health warnings from international science and public health experts in this field." 
-Lennart Hardell, MD, PhD, and Michael Carlberg, MSc, Department of Oncology, Orebro University Hospital, Swedenhttps://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8Oub2Nx5eSLQmU1OUhDdXlXbjg/view

"Wi-Fi and Cell Towers are "likely hazardous and unsafe for students, staff and teachers...Some 100 years back, we learned the hard lessons of ionizing radiation and the need for strict health protections – now we must openly face the possibility that we must take a seat in life’s school and learn again. This time it is about non-ionizing radiation."
-Dr. Olle Johansson, Karolinska Institute
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8Oub2Nx5eSLcy0zWFJjdk01VXM/view

"Radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation from wifi and cell towers can exert a disorganizing effect on the ability to learn and remember, and can also be destabilizing to immune and metabolic function. This will make it harder for some children to learn, particularly those who are already having learning or medical problems in the first place."
- Dr. Martha Herbert, Harvard Pediatric Neurologist 
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8Oub2Nx5eSLMzlIT0RuQnNFb3c/view

"Wi-Fi networks in schools and cell towers on your school grounds could significantly increase the cancer risk in your community,"
- Anthony B. Miller, MD FACE, Professor Emeritus Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, World Health Organization Advisor, 
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8Oub2Nx5eSLQmxoVksxWHBRS0E/view

"The exposure levels of the Federal Communications Commission are totally outdated and do not protect the health of the public, especially of children. I urge you to abandon any plans for wireless communication within schools. It is of course critical that all children have access to the internet, but when this is done through wired connections they will not be exposed to excessive electromagnetic fields."
-David O. Carpenter, M.D. University of Albany
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8Oub2Nx5eSLVFd1TDl4RXRwZlU/view

"In 2015, 206 international scientists signed a statement sent to the United Nations Secretary General and to member states, stating that international safety guidelines and standards are inadequate to protect human health [6].  Each of these 206 scientists from 40 countries had scientific publications on biological effects of such EMFs and therefore each is well qualified to judge this.  It can be seen from this statement to the UN, that there is a strong scientific consensus that current safety guidelines and standards are inadequate because they do not take into consideration all of the non-thermal health effects produced by various EMF exposures. "
-Martin L. Pall, Professor Emeritus, Biochemistry and Basic Medical Sciences,  Washington State University,  https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8Oub2Nx5eSLQkFNcWRYT3dQS1k/view 

"Compelling research raises the possibility of very serious harm to children from radiofrequency radiation exposures well below “FCC compliant” levels. Legal does not mean safe."
-Devra Davis, PhD MPH, President and Founder Environmental Health Trust Visiting Professor of Medicine The Hebrew University, Hadassah Medical Center, Associate Editor, Frontiers in Radiation and Health https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8Oub2Nx5eSLenRqcmFfMEFRSTg/view

"Numerous studies have shown generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that can cause oxidative damage of DNA. This is a well-known mechanism in carcinogenesis for many agents. The broad biological potential of ROS and other free radicals makes radiofrequency radiation a potentially hazardous factor for human health, not only cancer risk but also other health effects."
-Mr. Mikko Ahonen, PhD, Research manager of Finland, Institute of Environmental Health and Safety, Tallinn, Estonia & Partner, FinlandMrs. Lena Hedendahl, MD Practitioner, Luleå, SwedenMr. Tarmo Koppel, MSc., PhD Department of Work Environment and Safety, Tallinn University of Technology, Tallinn, Estonia, December 13, 2015https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8Oub2Nx5eSLSUNnNEJZSTJkZW8/view

"The data in this report cannot therefore be used to infer safety, or lack of safety, of children in any of the tested locations."
-Cindy Sage. MA, Sage Associates, Co-Editor, BioInitiative 2007 and 2012 Reports
Prof. Trevor Marshall, PhD. Director, Autoimmunity Research Foundation,Senior Member IEEE, Founding chair (retired) IEEE EMBS (Buenaventura Chapter)Fellow, European Association for Predictive, Preventive and Personalised Medicine (Brussels) International Expert Council, Community of Practice: Preventative Medicine (Moscow)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8Oub2Nx5eSLZlY3YnVVM0xzajg/view


“Despite assurances of safety from the FCC and the wireless industry, the international biomedical research community is showing, in study after study, that current exposure limits are not even close to being protective of living things.  The limitations of that guidance have been highlighted by other agencies of the U.S. Government and by medical organizations.”  
Dr. Ronald Powell, retired U.S. Government scientist (Ph.D., Applied Physics, Harvard University)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8Oub2Nx5eSLWVN3OWE0Y1BjYm8/view

"The implications of failure of schools to act with caution now regarding wireless radiation and technology, could potentially be horrific in both scope and magnitude, and may constitute neglect of children. Please act now to safeguard your children’s future."- ----Cris Rowan, BScBi, BScOT, SIPT,
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8Oub2Nx5eSLSmlOX1ExRnBrSVU/view

"Finally, there is the issue of liability. Will your Wi-Fi vendor or cell tower carrier be liable, or have they already exempted themselves from liability for health in their contact? If you find there are health concerns, can you get out of a cell tower contract with a wireless carrier? If you don’t look at the research after being informed about it, does the state of willful ignore exempt you from liability?"

Peter Sullivan . Founder and CEO Clear Light Ventures

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8Oub2Nx5eSLTXVqY1RIWlRVbnc/view?pref=2&pli=1

"We cannot afford to experiment in this manner on our children and grandchildren...In 2008 my seemingly healthy 56 year old husband had a grand mal seizure and diagnosis of a lethal brain tumor. Ironically our son worked for Senator Ted Kennedy in his private office. Just 10 days after my husband’s diagnosis the Senator suffered the same fate. His family felt it was his cell phone that caused his tumor and subsequent death but they chose to keep that quiet."
-Ellie Marks, Director of the California Brain Tumor Association
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8Oub2Nx5eSLakoweFlpYU1GaHc/view

"Finally, multiple human epidemiological studies from a number of major industrial countries report statistically significant risks for brain, eye, hearing nerve, salivary gland, and leukemia cancers from exposure to RFR. Additionally, there are cell, animal and human studies showing deleterious effects on sperm including but not limited to sperm DNA fragmentation."  
-Lloyd Morgan, Engineer, Scientific Advisor,  Environmental Health Trust https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8Oub2Nx5eSLY0tBdUd2U09naUE/view

"The Environmental Protection Agency drafted Stage I RF-exposure guidelines in 1995, and sent them around to other agencies for their comment prior to planned release of the guidelines in early 1996. Stage I was for thermal effects. EPA announced that Stage II guidelines, to protect against non-thermal effects, would be ready in 1998. TheTelecommunications Industry Association lobbied Congress to prohibit the EPA from releasing any guidelines."
- Arthur Firstenberg of the Cellular Task Force
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8Oub2Nx5eSLM2JzNWFzdl9VVWM/view

"FCC standards do not consider the effects of radiofrequency radiation (RFR) emitted by WiFi on children or pregnant women "
-Katie Singer, Medical journalist, December 1, 2016
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8Oub2Nx5eSLVjBTZmZWamZpdk0/view

"In the absence of a higher authority able to tell them what to do, our School Committee adopted the attached Best Practices for Mobile Devices to at least do what the manufacturers advised with creating distance, and turning devices and wi-fi off when not in use.  Little did I know we were the first public school in the nation to take even this first step."
-Cece Doucette, President of the Ashland Foundation
http://safetechforschoolsmaryland.blogspot.com/2015/12/massachusetts-public-school-district.html

Thousands of Doctors recommend that children reduce exposure to cell phones and wireless.
Click here for a Full Compilation of Medical Doctors Statements and Letters on Wi-Fi in Schools including the American Academy of Pediatrics Recommendations on Cell Phones/Wi-Fi and Electromagnetic Fields.

Every parent can do this simple step today:

• Please download these letters and share them with your elected officials. 
• Share these publicly and by email with school district decision makers, PTA's and Parent listserves.  
• Whenever you give public comment, please add this as an attachment.

Protest Against Wi-Fi in School Planned at Office of the Health Officer

Two hour protest planned in Victoria BC 

 in front of the Office of Health Officer, Dr. Perry Kendall. 

Wireless Causes Cancer in Rats: Video Released of NIH National Toxicology Program Presentation

Radio frequency Radiation Boosts Cancer and DNA Damage in Exposed Rats
says the US National Toxicology Program
Watch the Video Presentation below of the $25 Million U.S. National Toxicology Program Study at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in June 2016. Rats received full body exposure to radiofrequency as do children in schools.

Peel School District Parents Advocate for Wires (not Wi-Fi) to Protect Children's Health

Canadian parents are working hard to remove Wi-Fi from schools. Former Microsoft Canada Frank Clegg is featured in this video.

Bethesda and Takoma Park Schools Featured in Montgomery County School Wi-Fi Radiation Video

Footage from Churchill, Blair , Wheaton, Bells Mill and Takoma Park Middle Schools are featured in this video. In addition the radiation levels are compared to a Chromebook used in Montgomery County Schools. 

C-Span US Presidential Candidate Jill Stein Speaks on Lead, School Wifi Health Risks and NIH Cell Phone Cancer Study

US presidential Candidate Harvard trained Dr. Jill Stein is asked on C-Span why she has raised concerns about wireless in schools. Stein answers that the NIH NTP study raises safety questions about wireless radiation. (The study found increased cancer in rats exposed for years to radio frequency at “legal” low level radiation levels.) 

Stein also comments how other countries are taking action to reduce exposures to the public and banning Wi-Fi in school. Stein also states she supports the precautionary principle and talks about how lead is toxic and if the country had followed the precautionary principle with lead decades ago we would not be in the situation we are in. 

Montgomery County Public School Radiation Levels are shown in this video! Takoma Park Middle School, Blair High School, Churchill High School, Greenbank Elementary School,  (where there is no wireless or cell towers) and Wheaton High School

Public Radio covered Stein on this issue.

"She's also pointed to some studies that raised questions about the effects of Wi-Fi on children's brains, saying that a regulatory agency should look at the issue."

Jill Stein Wins Green Party Nomination, Courting Disaffected Sanders Supporters

Note: Safe Tech for Schools does NOT support any candidate but DOES support this issue being a part of the presidential debates. Safe Tech is a group of parents and teachers who represent ALL political parties and ALL ideologies but share the concern to protect our children from untested radiation in schools. 

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Lecture on Children and Cell Phone Wi-Fi Radiation

2011 Lecture at National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), Dr. Davis provides a state of the art science review and concludes that current evidence indicates that cellphone radiation has biological impacts. She summarizes technical studies relying on lab specimens, animals and exposure modeling of children and adults. She also features case reports on young women with unusually located breast cancers who kept phones in their bras and developed tumors located under the phone antennas.

 

Wi-Fi Increases Oxidative Stress in the Brain

Wi-Fi study shows exposure increases oxidative stress in the brain.  

Highlights From Study

• Oxidative stress plays important role in biology of Wi-Fi (2.45 GHz)
• 2.45 GHz increased oxidative stress in brain and liver pregnant rats and their newborns.
• Brain seems sensitive to oxidative injury in the development of newborns.

An excessive production of reactive oxygen substances (ROS) and reduced antioxidant defence systems resulting from electromagnetic radiation (EMR) exposure may lead to oxidative brain and liver damage and degradation of membranes during pregnancy and development of rat pups. We aimed to investigate the effects of Wi-Fi-induced EMR on the brain and liver antioxidant redox systems in the rat during pregnancy and development.

Sixteen pregnant rats and their 48 newborns were equally divided into control and EMR groups. The EMR groups were exposed to 2.45 GHz EMR (1 h/day for 5 days/week) from pregnancy to 3 weeks of age. Brain cortex and liver samples were taken from the newborns between the first and third weeks. In the EMR groups, lipid peroxidation levels in the brain and liver were increased following EMR exposure; however, the glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity, and vitamin A, vitamin E and β-carotene concentrations were decreased in the brain and liver. Glutathione (GSH) and vitamin C concentrations in the brain were also lower in the EMR groups than in the controls; however, their concentrations did not change in the liver.

In conclusion, Wi-Fi-induced oxidative stress in the brain and liver of developing rats was the result of reduced GSH-Px, GSH and antioxidant vitamin concentrations. Moreover, the brain seemed to be more sensitive to oxidative injury compared to the liver in the development of newborns.

Read Oxidative stress of brain and liver is increased by Wi-Fi (2.45 GHz) exposure of rats during pregnancy and the development of newborns

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0891061815000745

Music Video For Teens on Safe Technology: Cell Phones Increase Brain Cancer Risk

Environmental Health Trust (EHT) releases award-winning music video of Aspen Jacquet’s “A Little Chat.” Directed and produced by Peter Prestrud of Alarm Clock Films, shot in beautiful Jackson Hole WY, starring EHT Grand Prize 2015 Practice Safe Tech Contest Winner singer songwriter Jacquet plus several teenagers from Jackson Hole High School. The video will be screened at the Jackson Hole High School Talent Show on May 23, 2016. The song is about safer ways to use cell phones and specifically, how to reduce radiation exposure.

“This is an issue that is close to home because I’m around young adults every day all day who use technology unsafely. They text and drive, they put their cell phones in their pants pocket and up to their ears. Because of this, I was really motivated to write a song about little ways that can make a big difference when it comes to keeping themselves safe where technology is concerned.”

-Aspen Jacquet