April 2010.  In this 60 min. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) program, host Michael Enright provides an investigation into a complicated debate and a frightening question: Do cell phones cause brain cancer? Across the world, medical and scientific researchers are grappling with the idea that emissions from cell phones, WIFI and DECT portable phones might be harmful to humans, especially children. This program looks at all sides of the argument.

The panellists are Dr. Krewski – head researcher of the Canadian portion of the Interphone Study on Cell Phones and Brain cancer – who feels that the “weight” of the evidence is weak.

On the opposing side is Dr. Henri Lai: Department of Bioengineering University of Washington – Dr. Fred Gilbert: Dean of Lakehead University – Dr. Magda Havas: Associate Professor of Environmental Studies at Trent University who all feel precautions need to be implemented as soon as possible.

Click HERE TO LISTEN to the podcast.

Click HERE  TO DOWNLOAD the broadcast for your mp3 player.

April 2010.  International experts were invited to Ottawa to present information about the health effects of radio frequency radiation to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health (HESA).  The hearing  took place on April 27 and 29, 2010 in Ottawa and among those invited to participate are  Olle Johansson (Sweden), Andrew Goldsworthy (UK), Claude Monnet (next-up.org), Francois Therrien (Laval University, Quebec), Daniel Krewski (University of Ottawa, Canada), Magda Havas (Trent University, Canada) as well as reps from the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association, Health Canada, and Industry Canada.

Click here to download the audio of the HESA day 1 proceedings
(81MB MP3, 1 hr 36 min)

Click here to download the audio of the HESA day 2 proceedings
(76MB MP3, 1 hr 30 min)

Click here to download the audio of the combined day 1 & 2 proceedings
(157MB MP3, 3 hr 7 min)

Some interesting quotes from the participants.

Former New Brunswick Premier Bernard Lord, who now heads up the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association, said the industry is “fully compliant” with Health Canada’s regulations, and the science that supports the industry is independent.

“We know there is scientific, peer-reviewed studies done around the world and they all come to the same conclusion. The standards that are set ensure the devices are safe. There’s no credible study that has come to the conclusion that there is a risk to human health.”

Beth Pieterson, director general of Health Canada’s environmental and radiation health sciences directorate, said her department was constantly evaluating research and, if necessary, revising Safety Code 6.

Magda Havas said that there are more than 6,000 publications dealing with harmful effects of radiowave radiation. She also pointed out that the most recent version of Canada’s Safety Code 6 had removed the reference stating that “some persons are more sensitive to the effects of electromagnetic fields ( EMF) than others.” She wanted to know why that paragraph was removed.

Click here to visit the Committee’s website to learn more about the participants. The secretariat of the Standing Committee on Health can be reached via email at HESA@parl.gc.ca

Click here and here to read Dr. Havas’ written submission.

Read articles from The Toronto Sun, The Globe and Mail , and the Ottawa Citizen

View Video from Global Newscast

April 21, 2010, Washington, D.C. A new report, “The BRAG™ Antenna Ranking of Schools” (‘BRAG™ Ranking’), will be unveiled April 28th  by Professor Magda Havas, PhD of Trent University, Canada, along with Jim Turner, Esq., Chairman of Citizens for Health, Camilla Rees, Founder of ElectromagneticHealth.org, Janet Newton, President of the EMR Policy Institute, The ElectroSensitive Society, and Christine Hoch, Executive Director of Moms for Safe Wireless. The BRAG™  Antenna Ranking of Schools report will be introduced in a Media Teleconference on Wednesday, April 28th at 2:30 p.m. Eastern. RSVP to Emily@electromagnetichealth.org for dial-in instructions.

This long awaited BRAG™ Report documents antennas near more than 6,000 schools in the United States and provides recommendations on how to reduce exposure to electrosmog in school environments.

For more information and to view the 7-page Media Advisory, click here.

“The BRAG™ Antenna Ranking of Schools” — Can Your School Brag?

• TO REGISTER for the Media Teleconference Call on Wednesday, April 28th at 2:30 p.m. (Eastern) please RSVP to Emily@electromagnetichealth.org. Dial-in instructions will be sent.

• To REGISTER for the 1st Teleclass for Parents, Teachers and School Administrators with Magda Havas, PhD the following week – Friday, May 7th at 11:00 a.m. (Eastern).   Please contact Emily@ElectromagneticHealth.org. Capacity is limited. For notice of future teleclasses, sign up for the Face Book page, Campaign for Radiation Free Schools.

November 2009.

Magda Havas gave an interview to Bottom Line/Personal and this is what they wrote: Don’t stand in front of the Microwave. Radiation Dangers from phones, plasma TVs and computers, too . . .

Click here for pdf.

November 25, 2009

1,500 attend meeting on power lines

By CBC News

Around 1,500 people attended a rally at Edmonton’s Rexall Place Tuesday night to demand the province bury an above ground, high-voltage transmission line proposed to run near the city.

Around 1,500 people attended a rally at Edmonton’s Rexall Place Tuesday night to demand the province bury an above-ground, high-voltage transmission line proposed to run near the city.

“It’s kind of playoff hockey time here, so to speak,” said John Kristensen, a member of the group Responsible Electricity Transmission for Albertans, which organized the rally. “We need to impress upon Alberta Energy and the entire Alberta Government that we need this line buried.”

The 500-kilovolt line, which would be built by Epcor and Alta Link, would connect the so-called industrial heartland northeast of the city to existing power facilities near Edmonton along one of four proposed routes, which could run along either the western or eastern borders of the city.

Many people at the meeting worried about the effects of the line on their health and property values if it remains above ground.

“They are going in my backyard and I don’t want them there,” said Monica Benson. “I came to get educated and find out more about it so that I could pressure the government officials and try and get them buried.”

“We are concerned because our house is the last row of houses in Sherwood Park that is a proposed route for these power lines,” said Joanne Mikula.

Consumers will pay cost of buried lines, companies say

The power companies have warned burying the lines could cost anywhere from four to 20 times as much as the above-ground option, and could be impractical. But Mikula said the extra cost would be worth it.

“Even if it was 20 bucks a month, it isn’t really that big of a deal,” she said.

Magda Havas, an associate professor from Trent University in Ontario, spoke to the crowd about research that suggests exposure to above-line power lines can cause cancer.

“Burying the power lines gets rid of so many problems associated with the high-voltage above-ground lines,” she told CBC News.

The power companies are researching whether burying the lines is a feasible option.

“We’re not opposed in anyway at all to underground installation,” said Tim LaRiche from EPCOR. “In fact, we at EPCOR already have 125 kilometres of underground transmission in the city of Edmonton. None of it is at 500 kilovolts. So this is much larger that’s being proposed here.”

EPCOR and Altalink are planning to narrow down the four route options to two before the end of the year.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/edmonton/story/2009/11/25/edmonton-power-line-meeting-rexall-place.html?ref=rss

November 25, 2009.

Thousands turn up for power-line protest

ctvedmonton.ca

About 1,500 people filed into Rexall Place Tuesday evening with a strong message against the construction of massive power-lines.

The rally’s organizer, the Responsible Electricity Transmission for Albertans group (RETA), are against 500 kilovolt power-lines the province wants to run around Edmonton.

The government is looking at four different routes, and all of them pass near bedroom communities around the city.

“Bury the lines when they go by schools, houses daycares, hospitals, environmentally sensitive areas,” said Bruce Johnson with RETA.

The government’s proposal is also drawing in fierce criticism from area residents. Many would rather have the more expensive option of running the lines underground.

“It’s simple, bury the buggers. We don’t want them,” said resident Monica Benson.

Medical expert Dr. Magda Havas revealed to the crowd Tuesday her studies, which have shown higher rates of cancer around voltage lines.

“The higher the magnetic field, the greater the risk of developing childhood leukemia,” said Havas. “The area around high voltage lines is a wasteland and it should never be a place where we put schools or playgrounds.”

Rally participants also signed a petition hoping their message reaches government officials who have the power to make adjustments.

“It’s our government,” said Johnson. “They’re the ones that are making the policy and they are the ones that need to change the policy.”

Those who attended the rally also received an update on a feasibility study being done in the idea of underground lines. Those results are due out in January.

With files from Bill Fortier

© 2008 All Rights Reserved.

November 25, 2009.

Residents fight proposed power expansion

ctvedmonton.ca

Thousands are expected to rally Tuesday evening at Rexall Place to fight a proposed power expansion in Alberta.

A massive power-line is proposed to go in one of four routes around the city. The organizers of the rally say an expected large turnout will help them get their message out loud and clear to the Alberta government.

“The larger the turnout, the stronger we feel the message as far as sending the Alberta government the message that we need to start burying these (power) lines like they are in the rest of the world,” said John Kristensen with Responsible Electricity Transmission for Albertans (RETA).

The group says they’ve asked a researcher from Trent University to help with their fight.

Magda Havas says burying the power-lines is the safest way to go. And that would help to eliminate electrical fields and weaken magnetic ones. Havas believes Health Canada should be doing more to protect Canadians.

“The area around high voltage lines is a wasteland and it should never be a place where we put schools or playgrounds,” said Havas.

And many Edmontonians plan on attending Tuesday’s rally to support RETA’s message.

“I think everybody needs to get involved in it and make sure that the right thing is done,” said Diane Shusheski.

Two reports are still expected to come out soon, which will give residents a better sense of how much underground lines in and around the city will cost.

A decision on the power transmission routes is expected sometime in January.

With files from CTV’s Rob McAnally

© 2008 All Rights Reserved.

November 25, 2009.

Tuesday night, thousands of people attended a meeting to promote the undergrounding of a 500 kilo volt transmission line proposed for Alberta. The meeting, organized by RETA (Responsible Electricity Transmission for Albertans) drew between 2,000 and 4,000 people and was held in Rexall Place, where the Edmonton Oilers play their games. The evening started with a procession of children carrying glow sticks and reminded those attending the purpose of the meeting, which was to protect those living near these high voltage power lines. Talks, interspersed with video interviews of leukemia sufferers, juxtaposed the scientific statistics with the real life drama of living with leukemia. For more information read “High-voltage rally to draw thousands” and “Mass Power-Line Protest” in the Edmonton Journal and visit the RETA website.

September 2008.

Epilepsy 360 decrees: In the News Magazine — CFLs, dirty electricity and epilepsy.

While lighting authorities assure CFLs to be safe to use in homes, people with epilepsy, migraines and Multiple Sclerosis (MS) are raising concerns about experiencing discomfort when using them. A variety of reasons have been postulated, such as flicker rate, mercury vapor or the radio wave frequencies produced by CFLs. However, very little research is available to confirm these effects and influence governments to reconsider their course of action at present.

Click here to view an electronic brochure in pdf that details the effects of CFL bulbs.