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Ailing residents blame radiation
China Created: 25 Oct 2009
RESIDENTS in a northwest China city are blaming the electromagnetic radiation from a mobile telecommunications base station built close to their homes for deteriorating health .
Worsening eyesight, sore necks, insomnia and hair losses have recently become a hot topic among the nearly 100 residents of more than 60
households in Pingliang City’s Kongtong District, yesterday’s China Youth Daily reported.
They pin the blame on EMR from the base station for their ailments.
Those suffering the most are residents living closest to the base station, they said.
Liu Shuwen, who runs a hair salon in the neighborhood, told the newspaper that nearly all her customers complained of hair loss, including young children. She is also a victim, said the report.
Her neighbor Zhou Biying, 43, is nearly bald.
Zhou and her husband, both natives of Sichuan Province, moved to the neighborhood in October 2004, attracted by the low rent, the couple told the newspaper.
They plan to move out.
The base station was set up in 2002, according to Lu Xiulian, who has lived here for 20 years. The station is about 10 meters away from her house.
Most of the other residents moved there after 2003.
In another area, retired medical professionals of Pingliang People’s Hospital have lodged a protest over a mobile telecom base station
built nearby, citing health concerns, the report said.
“We are professionals and know how EMR can harm people’s health ,” Hao Youfu, a senior pharmacist, told the newspaper.
Hao, 76, joined a protest with more than 30 other residents against the tower in October 2008.
The residents have forwarded their concerns to the city government.
Their efforts proved in vain as the tower was built only 10 meters from their homes.
Pharmacist Zhang Wei, 46, said he was suffering insomnia and hair loss.
Along with the residents’ complaints, an argument is going on in the industry over the health hazards of EMR.
But it is agreed that within a safe range EMR poses no harm to people’s health .
China’s official radiation limit is 40 microwatts, according to Wang
Yi, EMR expert with the Ministry of Environmental Protection.
Shanghai Daily 22 oct. 2009
Jane Chen
Source: Iris Atzmon

Ailing residents blame radiation
China Created: 22 Oct 2009
RESIDENTS in a northwest China city are blaming the electromagnetic radiation from a mobile telecommunications base station built close to their homes for deteriorating health.

Worsening eyesight, sore necks, insomnia and hair losses have recently become a hot topic among the nearly 100 residents of more than 60 households in Pingliang City's Kongtong District, yesterday's China Youth Daily reported.

They pin the blame on EMR from the base station for their ailments.

Those suffering the most are residents living closest to the base station, they said.

Liu Shuwen, who runs a hair salon in the neighborhood, told the newspaper that nearly all her customers complained of hair loss, including young children. She is also a victim, said the report.

Her neighbor Zhou Biying, 43, is nearly bald. Zhou and her husband, both natives of Sichuan Province, moved to the neighborhood in October 2004, attracted by the low rent, the couple told the newspaper. They plan to move out.

The base station was set up in 2002, according to Lu Xiulian, who has lived here for 20 years. The station is about 10 meters away from her house. Most of the other residents moved there after 2003.

In another area, retired medical professionals of Pingliang People's Hospital have lodged a protest over a mobile telecom base station built nearby, citing health concerns, the report said.

"We are professionals and know how EMR can harm people's health," Hao Youfu, a senior pharmacist, told the newspaper.

Hao, 76, joined a protest with more than 30 other residents against the tower in October 2008. The residents have forwarded their concerns to the city government.

Their efforts proved in vain as the tower was built only 10 meters from their homes.

Pharmacist Zhang Wei, 46, said he was suffering insomnia and hair loss.

Along with the residents' complaints, an argument is going on in the industry over the health hazards of EMR.

But it is agreed that within a safe range EMR poses no harm to people's health.

China's official radiation limit is 40 microwatts, according to Wang Yi, EMR expert with the Ministry of Environmental Protection.

Read more: http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/?id=417059&type=National#ixzz0UgpG4WS6
Click here to view the source article.
Source: Shanghai Daily, Jane Chen, 22 Oct 2009

China's 3G Base Station Radiation Standard Stricter Than Foreign Countries
China Created: 9 Aug 2009
According to Guo Keli, vice director of Beijing Communications Administration, China currently implements strict standards to limit electromagnetic radiation of communication facilities such as 3G base stations and these standards are even stricter than those in some developed countries.

Guo said after the issuance of 3G licenses in China, large-scale constructions of 3G base stations have been started across China. At the same time, the electromagnetic radiation conditions of these base stations have been questioned by people, especially in major cities like Beijing, where the construction was affected by such problem.

In response to the worry, Guo revealed while attending a meeting in Beijing that according to the relevant regulations in China, radio facilities should be evaluated before starting construction. China's environmental protection departments and health departments have issued several regulations and technical standards, including Regulations for Electromagnetic Radiation Protection and Measures on Management of Electromagnetic Radiation Environmental Protection, to prevent electromagnetic radiation pollution and to safeguard the public.

Guo explained that these regulations prescribe that the electromagnetic radiation of communication base stations in China should be limited to 40 microwatt per square centimeter, which is even stricter than some developed countries. So far, all base stations of Chinese telecom operators can meet the standard.
Click here to view the source article.
Source: China Tech. News, 03 Aug 2009

In 2006 Beijing moved TV and Radio masts out of city
China Created: 7 Aug 2009
Beijing will move four radio and TV masts to new sites in the next five years to reduce downtown radiation pollution, according to a municipal environmental protection official.

Two China National Radio towers and a Beijing Radio mast in Chaoyang District, as well as a backup China Central TV tower in Yuetan Park, will all be moved, said Du Shaozhong, deputy director of the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau.

"Electromagnetic radiation from the four towers is within limits, but they represent too high an electromagnetic radiation risk for densely-populated nearby residential areas," said Du.

Du did not say where the four masts would be relocated.

In the next five years, Beijing will impose strict environmental protection requirements on the location of new electromagnetic radiation facilities, according to Du.

The capital would also deal with other polluting emission masts, relocating them as necessary, Du said.

A radioactive waste storehouse in the suburbs of Beijing will soon be completed and commissioned, according to Du.
Click here to view the source article.
Source: gov.cn, Xinhua / Mo Honge, 30 Nov 2006

900-MHz microwave radiation enhances gamma-ray adverse effects
China Created: 20 Jun 2009
Mobile phones are widely used globally - However, the biological effects due to exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF) produced by mobile phones are largely unknown.

Environmental and occupational exposure of humans to gamma-rays is a biologically relevant phenomenon.
Consequently studies were undertaken to examine the interactions between gamma-rays and EMF on human health.

In this study, exposure to 900-MHz EMF expanded gamma-ray damage to SHG44 cells.
Preexposure EMF enhanced the decrease in cell proliferation induced by gamma-ray irradiation and the rate of apoptosis.
The combination of EMF and gamma-ray exposure resulted in a synergistic effect by triggering stress response, which increased reactive oxygen species, but the expression of hsp70 at both mRNA and protein levels remained unaltered.

Data indicate that the adverse effects of gamma-rays on cellular functions are strengthened by EMF.
Click here to view the source article.
Source: Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Cao et al., 2009

Cataract & RF in China
China Created: 24 Mar 2009
Effect of Superposed Electromagnetic Noise on DNA Damage of Lens Epithelial Cells Induced by Microwave Radiation
Ke Yao,1 Wei Wu,1 Yibo Yu,1 Qunli Zeng,2 Jiliang He,3 Deqiang Lu,2 and
Kaijun Wang1

http://www.iovs.org/cgi/mjgca?allch=&SEARCHID=1&AUTHOR1=yao&FIRSTINDEX=0&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&gca=iovs%3B49%2F5%F2009&allchb=
http://www.iovs.org/
http://www.arvo.org/eweb/startpage.aspx?site=arvo2

in chinise media
Link
http://big5.people.com.cn/gate/big5/health.people.com.cn/GB/14740/21471/8698677.html
Click here to view the source article.
Source: NF

Faulty DNA Repair May Explain EMF Role in Childhood Leukemia
China Created: 16 Dec 2008
This could be a breakthrough, a major breakthrough - It could explain how power lines promote childhood leukemia. It could identify which children are at greatest risk. And it could shed new light on the pivotal role played by EMF-induced DNA breaks.

Chinese researchers have found that children who carry a defective version of a gene that would otherwise help repair damaged DNA are much more likely to develop leukemia if they also live near power lines or transformers. Xiaoming Shen and coworkers at the Jiao Tong University School of Medicine in Shanghai have reported that children with this genetic variant —known as a polymorphism or snp (pronounced "snip") —and who lived within 100 meters of these sources of EMFs had over four times more leukemia than neighboring children with a fully functional version of the same gene.

After so many have spent the last 30 years trying to understand how EMFs could promote childhood leukemia, Shen has come up with a relatively simple explanation: Children exposed to power-line EMFs suffer more DNA breaks, but those who carry this modified gene cannot repair the damaged DNA, making them more susceptible to cancer. Childhood leukemia is now generally believed to be initiated by a chromosomal rearrangement that occurs in the womb, followed by some environmental insult after birth. The power-line-induced DNA breaks could be one of many such possible secondary events.

Writing in the December issue of Leukemia & Lymphoma, Shen warned that children who carry this snp "could be particularly sensitive to the carcinogenic effects of EMF." He went on to suggest that it may be possible to prevent some leukemias by eliminating these children's exposures to EMFs. You Yang is the first of six authors of the paper.

As early as 1997, Henry Lai and N.P. Singh showed that power-line EMFs lead to higher levels of DNA breaks in rats. Even though their work has been repeated in a number of labs over the last decade —for instance, by Britt-Marie Svedenstål in Sweden, Hugo Rüdiger in Austria and Primo Schär in Switzerland— it remains controversial, partly because some others have failed to see the same effect and partly because some physicists continue to insist that the only way to accumulate DNA breaks is by breaking chemical bonds and EMFs don't have the necessary photon energy to do so (even this latter argument has been challenged).

In that first 1997 paper, Lai and Singh suggested that what they might be seeing is a modulation of DNA repair rather than broken DNA bonds. "A possible explanation of the present observations," they wrote, "is that 60 Hz magnetic fields affect enzymatic processes involved in DNA repair, leading to an accumulation of DNA strand breaks." Their hypothesis was later supported by a group led by Kim O'Neill in Utah. Shen's new finding introduces a genetic component and raises the possibility that there are two independent processes that impair DNA repair.

This gene in question is called XRCC1 and is one of many known to help repair DNA damage. The variant studied by Shen has the same sequence as its more common, wild-type version except for the substitution of one single base, an adenine (A) for a guanine (G). This snp is known by a variety of designations: "rs25489," "Ex9+16G>A" and "Arg280His."

Others have previously shown that the same Ex9+16G>A polymorphism makes its carriers more likely to develop breast and prostate cancer. For instance, researchers in Cyprus, France and the U.S. have all reported that women with this snp have higher rates of breast cancer. Women who smoked cigarettes were typically at the greatest risk —here, the chemical carcinogens in cigarette smoke would cause the DNA breaks. Similarly, male smokers in China who carry this same snp have been found to have higher rates of prostate cancer. (For more on polymorphisms and cancer, see reviews from IARC and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center; both are free downloads.)

Shen's finding may also explain why children in Mexico City have one of the highest incidences of leukemia in the world. According to statistics compiled by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Mexican-Americans are much more likely to carry the Ex9+16G>A snp than non-Hispanic (white and black) Americans: over 20% compared to 6-8%. Juan Manuel Mejía-Aranguré has also reported that children in Mexico City also have higher magnetic field exposures than those in other countries, often more than 0.6 µT (6 mG).

Shen told Microwave News that 4-6% of his study population, who live within 500 km of Shanghai carry the Ex9+16G> polymorphism.

One last, but far-reaching, implication of Shen's study is that, if proved correct in further studies, it would implicate extremely weak magnetic fields, certainly less that 0.1 µT (1 mG). Shen found that the leukemia risk among carriers of the Ex9+16G>A snp extended out to at least 100 meters. Even at 500 meters more of these children had leukemia, but here the increase was no longer significant. Though this finding is surprising, it is consistent with a large 2005 study by Gerald Draper in the U.K., who found higher risks among children living 200 meters from high-voltage power lines. Draper also saw a risk out to 600 meters, which only just attained significance. (The British and Chinese used different epidemiological techniques and their risk estimates are not comparable.)

In his response to a barrage of attacks, Draper wrote: "We have been criticized for publishing alarming results that we cannot explain. We should have preferred to delay publication until we could analyze magnetic field exposure data and, if possible, explain our results. It would have been unethical, however, not to publish results of potential health significance." The results of Draper's magnetic field analysis are expected next year.

We await for the reaction to Shen's breakthrough. He has tied together so many loose ends, it simply cannot be ignored.
Click here to view the source article.
Source: Microwave News, Louis Slesin, 15 Dec 2008

Anti-radiation maternity clothes in China
China Created: 21 Jul 2008
Here's one for the guys at Mythbusters. Many Chinese women guard against supposed computer radiation using these special anti-radiation maternity dresses. I've always found it strange that these dresses are so commonplace in China, but yet I haven't seen them in any other countries.
A quick search on eBay for "anti-radiation maternity dress" gave 13 results, all of them China-based sellers.
Companies such as Leyun, Shaoxing, and Tianxiang all sell these protective aprons. Alibaba is full of 'em, too. Very few Chinese women whom I've spoken to question the supposed negative effects of radiation coming from their monitors. It appears to be common knowledge that these special aprons are needed if you're pregnant. But yet the WHO says in this 2007 fact sheet "that there are no substantive health issues related to ELF electric fields at levels generally encountered by members of the public".
Nevertheless, companies such as Leyun are including this kind of rhetoric in their marketing:

Knowledge of electromagnetic radiation
Computer has become an indispensable part of our daily life. It’s used at work, games and for entertainment purposes. However, the radiation of computer and the electromagnetic wave it generates can cause harm to human body on such aspects as:

Dizziness, fatigue, insomnia and neurasthenia syndromes, etc.
Cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, palpitation and autonomic dysfunction;
Abortion, fetus abnormal and chromosome aberration;
Female menstrual cycle disorder, male sexual function decline, hair loss and white hair;
Leukemia (especially more dangerous for children), cancer, tumors, causes harm to human body's immune system and thus silently hurts our health.
Production Introduction
Leyun Anti-Radiation Maternity Dress uses the most advanced materials of metal and fiber blended with Nano-silver ion fabrics. Tested by the Shanghai Testing Centre, the screening result of these fabrics could achieve above 99.9% screening effect. Its screening frequency ranges from 50HZ-12GHZ.The expected screening effects are: Main frequency ≥ 30 DB, shortwave ≥ 35 DB, FM ≥ 30 DB and far-infrared radiation rate of ≥ 80%.
Leyun Anti-Radiation Maternity Dress is elegant and graceful. It fits particularly for office lady who enjoy beauty and aspire life quality. With its special features such as antibacterial, anti-static, wash-resistant, soft-to-touch, air-penetratable and comfortable to wear, it is the ideal clothing for pregnant women in terms of protection and fitness. It keeps you from the harm of computer radiation and provides you a healthy office and living environment.
Click here to view the source article.
Source: Martin Weatherall

Electricity flows
China Created: 2 Oct 2007
A As a typical urban dweller, you are surrounded by electrical devices. Even now you are probably sitting under a fluorescent tube. It is likely you spend a lot of time in front a computer screen, and you are sure to have many conversations a day on your mobile phone (and even if you do not, lots of people around you do). Microwave ovens are common. Electromagnetic radiation is, clearly, all around us.
Most of us do not actually notice any of this, though we may have heard claims that mobile phones can cause brain damage or that it is not a good idea to
stay too close to microwave ovens for a long time.
Some people, however, suffer greatly from being exposed to all these electromagnetic fields (EMFs).
They are victims of electrosensitivity, otherwise called electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS).

C EHS-sufferers report a number of symptoms. These include almost all the usual signs of illness: headaches, nausea, dizziness, poor sleep, exceptional
tiredness, stomach problems, ringing in the ears, fast pulse rates and even hair loss. With such unpleasant side-effects they find it difficult to function
normally and have to take a lot of sick leave or even retire early.

It is unclear how many people are electrosensitive.
Different surveys have given very different answers.
Figures range from one to five per cent, but even at the lower end that is a lot of people who find living in a world of mobile phones with EMFs all around them very difficult.

E There is no particular treatment recommended.
Sufferers have tried everything from acupuncture to vitamins, but avoidance seems to bring the only real relief. Aluminium foil on the walls and silvered
material over the windows can help shield one from EMFs. Keeping out of popular restaurants and crowded public transport where lots of people are using their phones or BlackBerry's is also necessary. It does not make life easy.


There is one extra problem. Many, if not most, scientists do not think that EHS exists. They say there is no reason why microwaves at the level we
experience them in the urban environment should have this sort of effect on people. Some think there may be some sort of allergy involved, but probably not to EMFs. Others just say it is all in the mind. Certainly, there have been experiments with people who claim to have EHS. They are placed in rooms where there may or may not be lots of microwave radiation, but their feelings of illness do not match the actual conditions.

If you are sure you feel ill whenever you use mobile phones or stay near an EMF source, you will be upset and angry if you are told it is all your imagination.
Some say the research is not good because the mobile phone and other electrical goods companies want to protect their markets. It seems there will have to be a lot more careful work to try to sort this out.
South China Morning PostSouth China Morning Post
SECTION: YOUNGPOST; hkcee; Pg. 8
Written by Philip Leetch
Source: Sylvie

Effects of 1.8GHz radiofrequency field on DNA damage and expression of heat shock protein 70 in human lens epithelial cells.
China Created: 20 Oct 2006
To investigate the DNA damage, expression of heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) and cell proliferation of human lens epithelial cells (hLEC) after exposure to the 1.8GHz radiofrequency field (RF) of a global system for mobile communications (GSM). An Xc-1800 RF exposure system was used to employ a GSM signal at 1.8GHz (217Hz amplitude-modulated) with the output power in the specific absorption rate (SAR) of 1, 2 and 3W/kg. After 2h exposure to RF, the DNA damage of hLEC was accessed by comet assay at five different incubation times: 0, 30, 60, 120 and 240min, respectively. Western blot and RT-PCR were used to determine the expression of Hsp70 in hLECs after RF exposure. The proliferation rate of cells was evaluated by bromodeoxyuridine incorporation on days 0, 1 and 4 after exposure. The results show that the difference of DNA-breaks between the exposed and sham-exposed (control) groups induced by 1 and 2W/kg irradiation were not significant at any incubation time point (P>0.05). The DNA damage caused by 3W/kg irradiation was significantly increased at the times of 0 and 30min after exposure (P<0.05), a phenomenon that could not be seen at the time points of 60, 120 or 240min (P>0.05). Detectable mRNA as well as protein expression of Hsp70 was found in all groups. Exposure at SARs of 2 and 3W/kg for 2h exhibited significantly increased Hsp70 protein expression (P<0.05), while no change in Hsp70 mRNA expression could be found in any of the groups (P>0.05). No difference of the cell proliferation rate between the sham-exposed and exposed cells was found at any exposure dose tested (P>0.05). The results indicate that exposure to non-thermal dosages of RF for wireless communications can induce no or repairable DNA damage and the increased Hsp70 protein expression in hLECs occurred without change in the cell proliferation rate. The non-thermal stress response of Hsp70 protein increase to RF exposure might be involved in protecting hLEC from DNA damage and maintaining the cellular capacity for proliferation.
Lixia S,
Yao K,
Kaijun W,
Deqiang L,
Huajun H,
Xiangwei G,
Baohong W,
Wei Z,
Jianling L,
Wei W.
Eye Center of the 2nd Affiliated Hospital, Medical College of Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310009, China.
PMID: 17011595 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Mutat Res. 2006 Sep 29; [Epub ahead of print]
Source: Iris Atzmon

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