Solutions
There are four types of solutions for the general public. The first is to do what you can to remediate EMF impact where you live, work, learn and play. The second is to educate your local community. The third is to educate your legislators and help shape public policy. The fourth is to pursue legal action when the law is broken. Those who work in the industry can work toward biologically safe technology solutions.
Quick On-Line Training
Experts at the non-profit Wireless Education have distilled the facts into easy to learn on-line courses that only take @ a half hour to understand the basics of this issue. You will learn the science, risks, what other countries are doing to protect their public, and medically recommended best practices for safer technology .
Please consider taking one or both of the following and asking your loved ones and colleagues to do the same as a way to level-set with the facts. It will take the burden off of you to have to convince them this issue exists; then you can start the conversation on how to transition to safe technology. A printable safety tip sheet is available at the end of each course with handy reminders. There is a small fee for each course to help keep this non-profit afloat:
Bulk rates are available to train entire schools and workplaces.
Community Conversations
The award-winning film Generation Zapped (Best Documentary, DC Independent Film Festival; Winner, Women's Independent Film Festival; Official Selection, United Nations Association Film Festival) features leading world scientists, doctors, public health experts and patients who explain how wireless came to market, its impact on health and environment, and choices we can all make for safer technology.
Many communities have screened Generation Zapped at their local libraries to start the technology safety conversation. It is also available via personal download and DVD as well. Please be respectful of the licensing fees as this is how the producer makes her living after spending four years to produce the film.
https://generationzapped.com/#gen-trailer
Note: Subsequent to the film's release, the U.S. National Toxicology Program's $30M study reported "clear evidence" of tumors (cancer) and DNA damage. This was corroborated by another large study by Italy's Ramazzini Institute. See Cancers page. It is imperative we protect ourselves, our families and communities from wireless radiation until public policy catches up to the science.
Community Actions
Americans for Responsible Technology has a tool kit to empower citizens to learn and take action:
You can Join a Group if one exists in your area, or they provide resources to Start a Group, and a Tool Kit to organize your neighbors and loved ones. Once you have a group of residents well enough informed you can go to local town leaders and begin educating them so together you can ensure safe technology in your community.
Note: Do not go it alone. One voice is too easily dismissed when the industry has been so successful at promoting the convenience benefits of wireless technology while suppressing the harm. However, a group of well-informed, diplomatic, persistent tax payers/voters/citizens who consistently show up to present safe solutions cannot easily be dismissed.
The industry has our towns believing they have to roll over and let toxic technology in, but that is not true and many are pushing back. See 5G & IoT page. The Tool Kit contains a sample town-level ordinance for small cells, culling best practices from communities across the U.S. Give this to your town.
Wireless networks are highly profitable for industry but they are not as fast, secure, reliable or energy-efficient as wired systems. The policy paper, “Re-Inventing Wires: The Future of Landlines and Networks," indicates the U.S. should instead invest in hard-wired telecommunications infrastructure to support economic growth, bridge the digital divide and diminish risks to security, privacy, public health and the environment. Give this to your town too.
Likewise, the Tool Kit has a sample bill to examine health and environmental impacts of wireless radiation, especially in light of small cell infrastructure flooding our communities for 5G and the Internet of Things (IoT). Several states already have legislation introduced, and New Hampshire and Oregon have passed laws to investigate. Give the sample bill to your legislators and ask them to sponsor one in your state.
This 2019 article, "Building science and radiofrequency Radiation: What makes smart and healthy buildings" is written by industry experts, engineers, doctors, researchers and building biologists. It is a good roadmap to safe technology in the built environment. Give this to your friends, loved ones, colleagues and towns. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360132319305347
Communities should aim for ALARA, As Low As Reasonably Achievable, which is a radiation principle used in Europe and by the CDC. Look to the Building Biology Instutute levels and/or the BioInitiative Report recommendations for exposure limits: https://slt.co/Downloads/Education/EMF-Exposure-Guidelines-For-Sleeping-Areas.pdf
Measure Your Exposures
Radiofrequency radiation detection meters allow you to measure the amount of radiation your devices are emitting:
Check with your local Board of Health or Public Library to see if your community has one you can borrow as Ashland, MA pioneered with the Acoustimeter. Pittsfield and Sunderland, MA libraries now have the Safe and Sound Pro II Broadband RF Meter equivalent to the Acoustimeter. If not, perhaps there is a local grant fund to which you could apply to purchase meters for your community to use. Librarians are also welcome to contact the Environmental Health Trust which may have a small grant fund to help: ehtrust.org/emf-meters-at-u-s-libraries-to-measure-cell-tower-radiation/
Engineer Jeromy Johnson of EMF Analysis lists his favorite meters here.
Magnetic Sciences offers meters to purchase or rent ($3/day) as well.
Here is a three-minute YouTube demonstration by building biologist Kathy Cooke of the radiation being measured in Bluetooth-enabled hearing aids.
EMF Exposure Standards & Guidelines, Various Sources from Around the World:
Biologically based exposure limit recommendations are provided in the Seletun Scientific Committee Resolution: Scientific Panel on Electromagnetic Field Health Risks: Consensus Points, Recommendations, and Rationales
Physicians for Safe Technology also lists them, along with conversion charts for the various measurement standards:
https://mdsafetech.org/conversion-and-exposure-limits-emr-emf/
Manufacturers should be held accountable for making products that do not pulse RF continuously. JRS makes ECO Wireless Routers that switch to an RF-free standby mode when no wi-fi devices are connected, and Apple is working on products designed for human safety:
https://mdsafetech.org/conversion-and-exposure-limits-emr-emf/
In the U.S. you can gain an understanding of the number of cell towers and antennas in your area through the AntennaSearch website: http://www.antennasearch.com/
The 2012 BioInitiative Report offers the following recommendations in their Conclusions section:
DEFINING A NEW ‘EFFECT LEVEL’ FOR RFR: On a precautionary public health basis, a reduction from the BioInitiative 2007 recommendation of 0.1 uW/cm2 (or one-tenth of a microwatt per square centimeter) for cumulative outdoor RFR down to something three orders of magnitude lower (in the low nanowatt per square centimeter range) is justified.
A scientific benchmark of 0.003 uW/cm2 or three nanowatts per centimeter squared for ‘lowest observed effect level’ for RFR is based on mobile phone base station-level studies. Applying a ten-fold reduction to compensate for the lack of long-term exposure (to provide a safety buffer for chronic exposure, if needed) or for children as a sensitive subpopulation yields a 300 to 600 picowatts per square centimeter precautionary action level. This equates to a 0.3 nanowatts to 0.6 nanowatts per square centimeter as a reasonable, precautionary action level for chronic exposure to pulsed RFR.
These levels may need to change in the future, as new and better studies are completed. We leave room for future studies that may lower or raise today’s observed ‘effects levels’ and should be prepared to accept new information as a guide for new precautionary actions.
The following websites also offer ways to safeguard against EMFs:
The Baby Safe Project provides a clear overview and steps to reduce exposure to wireless radiation, applicable to the general public as well as pregnant women and their fetuses: http://www.babysafeproject.org/
Camilla Rees, MBA, Founder www.ElectromagneticHealth.org and Campaign for Radiation Free Schools (Facebook); Co-author with Magda Havas, PhD of “Public Health SOS: The Shadow Side of the Wireless Revolution” offers 50+ EMF Safety Tips: http://electromagnetichealth.org/electromagnetic-health-blog/50-tips/
Dr. Devra Davis, Nobel Peace Prize Co-Laureate and renown scientist, founded Environmental Health Trust, which offers a wealth of information on wireless radiation: https://ehtrust.org/
The Environmental Health Trust also shares the Collaborative for High Performance Schools' New Construction and Renovation Criteria' Low-EMF Best Practices:
http://ehtrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/US-CHPS_Criteria_2014_Low-EMF-Criteria102314.pdf
EHT also offers free downloadable posters, information cards and fact sheets you can share with others:
http://ehtrust.org/resources-to-share/printable-resources/
The American Academy of Pediatrics offers a Family Media Plan wizard to help establish thoughtful and appropriate media use in line with family values: https://www.healthychildren.org/English/media/Pages/default.aspx#home
See the Wireless Education blog for ways to hard-wire an iPad or iPhone, or an Android device: https://www.wirelesseducation.org/blog/
Responsible iPad Use in Classrooms offers an OctoWired solution to hard-wire iPads and other tablets: https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnx1bmRlcnN0YW5kaW5nZW1mc3xneDoxMjEzNGRmZWY1ZjUwZTk
The National Association for Children and Safe Technology (NACST) is a parent based organization dedicated to safeguarding children's health and well being. They offer up-to-date information and opportunities for advocacy to help protect our children: http://www.nacst.org/welcome.html
You may wish to join the Campaign for Radiation Free Schools facebook page to receive updates on EMFs: https://www.facebook.com/groups/110896245588878/
No Radiation for You aims to help you "Know, Monitor, Reduce, Protect": http://www.norad4u.com/knowledge
Wi-fi Radiation: How to Protect Yourself: http://www.electricsense.com/3544/wifi-radiation-how-to-protect-yourself/
GEOVITAL Academy is an Austrian based natural health clinic that has developed shielding solutions and assessment protocols based on its experience with patients and their health recoveries, over the last 35 years. They have their own shielding paint (T98), fabric, shielding mesh and circuit cut-off switches, and are expending their network of consultants globally: www.en.geovital.com
WikiHow offers the following tips for cell phone use protection: http://www.wikihow.com/Protect-Yourself-when-Using-a-Cell-Phone
This Huffington Post article recommends banning or limiting children's technology exposure by age: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cris-rowan/10-reasons-why-handheld-devices-should-be-banned_b_4899218.html
Zone'in Programs, Inc. offers solutions for families, educators and clinicians to help manage technology with healthy living: http://www.zonein.ca/
There are plug-and-play devices on the market that allow you to plug a DLAN adapter into a wall socket and then an Ethernet cable into your device. This saves having to run Ethernet cables in the wall to each room, but this Ethernet over Powerline (EOP) solution looks to be biologically hazardous: https://en.geovital.com/ethernet-over-power-line-eop-powerline-powerlan-and-health-effects/
It may also cause interference with other frequencies, such as transistor and citizen's band radios which many rely on for communication in remote areas: https://www.teltarif.de/powerline-devolo-kurzwelle-test/news/59169.html?page=2
Educate Your Community
Please, use your voice if this issue matters to you: at the grass roots level, do your research then talk to your loved ones and acquaintances, see what folks know about EMFs. Feel free to share this site with them.
Here are steps you might consider to act locally:
Purchase or rent a meter so you can show people what the issue is, maybe share the cost with a friend(s) who is also concerned. I paid $110 through Amazon for the Trifield 100XE EMF Meter. Later, I learned this meter is good for identifying dirty electricity but does not measure the digital spiked pulses which are biologically harmful, so I took a deep breath and paid $400 for an Acoustimeter RF Meter Model Am-10. It has been well worth the investment in both remediating my own home, work, car and leisure spaces as well as giving demonstrations to others new to the conversation. I have since learned the Cornet is a nice consumer level meter and StopSmartMeters.org is offering them for @ $140, well below what Amazon charges. The Safe & Sound Pro 2 meter was recommended at the EMF Medical Conference for health care practitioners to loan out to their patients.
In your town, contact your local leaders (school committees, health boards, libraries, family physicians) and get the conversation started or join an existing one. It's going to take a little time for folks to get their heads around EMFs if they're just learning about this issue. Be patient, but persistent as the damage is being done now. Being able to demonstrate with an EMF meter really brings it home. I started the conversation in Ashland, MA in 2013, and in 2014 Ashland Public Schools implemented Best Practices for Mobile Devices. Our staff and students are trained to always keep devices on a surface other than their bodies, to pre-download applications and turn off wi-fi when not needed, and to keep at least 12" from screens. See attached for our training materials: slides used with staff on opening day, a slide used with staff hired after the start of the school year, and a sign laminated and posted in every K-12 classroom.
Industry-led solutions don't have to be the only solutions. Westminster, Maryland built their own hard-wired fiber-optic internet access system through a public-private partnership: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1b8-AaBzok&feature=youtu.be&t=42m57s.
One polite, diplomatic voice can make a difference, especially when so many others have done so much work around the world already to scientifically prove the health risks. Our local public servants' in-boxes are too swamped these days to meaningfully open this conversation via email, so scheduling 1:1 meetings with key decision makers and talking them through the issue will likely be your best bet. Then you can follow up via email with supporting information. Note, fired-up emotion will only give them reason to doubt you and they may shut down; do your best to be pleasant and factual so you don't trigger their innate fight, flight or freeze response.
Following is a 12-minute video of my update to the Ashland Public Schools' School Committee in 2016 after the U.S. National Toxicology Program confirmed electromagnetic radiation causes cancer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELkPq2Y1qes&feature=youtu.be
The video below is my initial 33-minute conversation with the Ashland, MA Board of Health. Rather than raising this issue through the public comments section of a meeting, you may wish to first meet with the chair of your local health board to educate, then request that EMFs and public health be added to an upcoming meeting agenda so proper time can be allocated to educate the community. Also ask that your local cable TV station or another source videotape the meeting so you can later share it with your community: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9T-4Aj6gb7A
A parent in Pepperell, MA, found my work and we presented to his schools and health board too. Their cable station wanted to help educate the public and invited us to create a five-part series, The Dangers of Wi-Fi. To view on YouTube, click below; links to documents referenced in the series are given in each video description: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMAz9ZRXjYmpbGE51zvScTaphFPybdGl2
Click below for a flyer with the links that you can share with your local cable station and ask them to consider airing it in your community too: https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnx1bmRlcnN0YW5kaW5nZW1mc3xneDoyZTFjZmJkNDQzZWFlNzkw
In 2015 I applied for and was awarded a grant to place an Acoustimeter in circulation at the Ashland Public Library so our residents can borrow it to measure and remediate wi-fi radiation in their spaces. Our local cable-TV station, WACA, created a public service video demonstrating how to use it: https://vimeo.com/159873631
Our Friends of the Ashland Library also hosted a six-part film and discussion series titled, "Electromagnetic Radiation (EMR) and Health" to educate the public: www.ashlandfarmersmarket.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/2015-16-The-Wif-Fi-Film-Series-Handout-revised6.pdf
This site shares a sample letter from a concerned parent to a school but a face-to-face conversation will be best to start. Folks are so busy that emails often go unread: http://www.electricsense.com/4608/how-to-stop-wifi-from-being-introduced-into-your-kids-school/
Educate Your Legislators
While we can do our best to remediate our personal spaces now, and open the conversation in our communities, many will fail to act to protect our health until our Federal Communication Commission policies change or state laws are put in place. Please ask your legislators to ensure our government policies are changed soon. At the federal level, our FCC standards are under formal review. Medical and environmental experts are urging the FCC to set public health standards that protect our citizens and our planet, but corporate interests may influence the outcome otherwise. If we look at how other public health issues have been handled at the federal level, like smoking, asbestos, or genetically modified foods, we know it can take decades for our country to do right by its citizens instead of being influenced by powerful corporate stakeholders.
In the meantime, manufacturers and expert marketeers will continue to create an artificial need to buy the latest and greatest wi-fi device and uninformed consumers will continue to purchase them. Former FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler secured the go-ahead to bring 5G to market, which will bring faster data speeds but also requires millions of small cell antennas be placed in our municipalities and neighborhoods. Our legislators likely do not understand that these expose our citizens to biologically hazardous microwave radiation 24/7/365.
Reach out to your State and Federal Legislators and let them know about this issue. They usually hold office hours where you can go in and speak to them directly in your district. Consider purchasing an EMF meter so you can demonstrate how much radiation is coming out of their own laptops, iPads, cell phones, etc. Ask for their help in creating swift solutions; they represent us and if they don't hear from us how will they know what we need? I know it made me nervous the first time I spoke up about an issue that was important to me, but most Senators and Representatives truly do want to hear from their constituents. Public input is critical to giving them voice to propose changes.
I took my meter to Massachusetts State Senator Karen Spilka's community office hours in a local coffee shop, knees knocking, and asked to measure her cell phone and her aide's laptop. Both emitted radiation so high it was literally off the chart. She put me in touch with a staff member and together we introduced legislation to start the conversation and raise awareness of wi-fi radiation health risks. Other citizens have educated their legislators on this issue too and there are now 20 Massachusetts bills addressing several aspects of EMFs and public health.
Other states are taking action too, New Hampshire and Oregon have already passed bills to investigate wireless radiation.
It's important to ask how your legislature works. Do they address important issues as they come up as New Hampshire has done, or do they have legislative priorities already established at the start of each session and keep their attention on those? If it's the latter, ask what those strategic imperatives are and see how you can dovetail the EMF issues into their priorities.
Americans for Responsible Technology offers a sample state law any state can customize and introduce, along with other resources you can use from their Tool Kit.
The FCC in 2013 stated in ET Docket No. 13-84:
The FCC looks forward to developing a complete record by soliciting the input of qualified expert agencies and organizations and the public, to determine whether the current rules and policies should remain unchanged, or should be relaxed or tightened.
The FCC has received over a thousand formal submissions, which can be viewed in their raw state here. Dr. Joel Moskowitz of the University of California, Berkeley has organized a selection of them here for easier reference. However, years have gone by and the FCC has failed to update the allowable radiation levels to mirror science and protect the public; instead, they continue to rush to be first-to-market with new untested wireless technology like 5G.
If this issue is important to you, please use your voice. Americans for Responsible Technology has built the Tool Kit to provide you with credible resources to do so.
Encourage the development of biologically safe mobile technology. Scientists in China are investigating communication without particle transmission; any new technology must be biologically safety tested before coming to market still: https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-have-achieved-direct-counterfactual-quantum-communication-for-the-first-time
Closing Thoughts
“We’ve never had our injustices rectified from the top, from the president or Congress, or the Supreme Court, no matter what we learned in junior high school about how we have three branches of government, and we have checks and balances, and what a lovely system. No. The changes, important changes that we’ve had in history, have not come from those three branches of government. They have reacted to social movements.” Thank you, Howard Zinn, for the reminder to use our voices at the grassroots level, in our own communities, when something needs to change. If we can do so with honesty, diplomacy, understanding and compassion, all the better for humanity.
Note: The information provided here is publicly available on the Internet.
It is intended to provide a starting point to inform you of EMF dangers.
Please do your own research, draw your own conclusions, and act accordingly to protect those you love.