Welcome to ESC Newsletter

February 2025

News from the Board

About our lobbying activities

So far, we have been accepted as an interested party in two EU bodies: the Health Technology Assessment Network and the Health Policy Platform. This gives us the opportunity to create more understanding about EHS.

• In the Health Technology Assessment Network, we had the opportunity to put together a group of experts to provide input on the assessment of EMFs emitted by new medical devices, also taking into account patients with additional needs for low radiation levels. The group is already actively preparing a guideline that will serve as a reference for new medical devices to be assessed under the new EU regulation.
  
  
• ESC is now a member of EU Health Policy Platform's The AGORA Network where we can publish news related to ESCs activities and to stimulate discussion about EMF health concerns and provide an easy way for us to share our knowledge and good practices with other stakeholders and medical professionals.
  
  
• There will be a webinar organised by us in cooperation with the Health Policy Platform. We found three knowledgeable scientists showing various negative side effects of digitisation, in particular for children. The invitation will go through the EU network, reaching up to 40,000 people interested in health issues the EU is addressing. In this way, we expect to find a way to spread our message beyond our own circles and reach many people that are still unaware of the risks of EMF’s.

Alain Thill: The Biological Effects of EMF on Insects

The film from the EHS conference in Kassel.

The presentation summarises his systematic review and meta-analysis that examined the biological effects of electromagnetic fields (EMF) on insects to understand the potential impacts of man-made technologies. Watch the film here (Several language subtitles are available)

Klaus Buchner: Damage Mechanisms of EMFs and Their Consequences for Politics and Law

The film from the EHS conference in Kassel.

In the presentation Mr. Buchner was speaking about international institutions and ICNIRP. Then he mentioned Political solutions in Germany - at the Federal and local level. He also told about health impact - chromosomal damage, opening of calcium channels in cell membranes, cancer. Watch the film here (Several language subtitles are available)

Venue 2026

The conference at Kassel was a great success, so we want to meet again. We plan to organise an event in 2026. This time the focus will not be on science. Like the gathering in Rièzes in 2023, we will focus on the work we need to do as ESC and European organisations. So, it will be a hands on gathering with working groups but also a time to enjoy and relax. We have chosen to organise the event preferably in southern Germany so that it will be easier for people living in southern Europe to come and participate as well. We need a quiet place with low EMFs and accommodation up to 200 people to stay and/or camp. If you know a place in southern Germany where we can hold this event, please be so kind to let us know. rob.esc@protonmail.com

ECS Article: Who can be sure wireless is safe? EMFs do have non-thermal effects!  

Can mobile phones be a health hazard? This question has occupied minds for decades. In 2011, there was sufficient reason for the WHO to designate radiation from mobile phones as possibly carcinogenic. Since then, science has not been idle. There is debate about the need for a new paradigm that recognises non-thermal effects of EMFs.

Several scientists argue that with today's knowledge, the assessment should no longer be possibly carcinogenic, but probably or even definitely carcinogenic. And there are other health effects associated with wireless use that are of concern. Thousands of studies have been conducted since the 1990s. Most independently funded studies indicate adverse effects even well below exposure limits.

This is worrying because EMF exposure will continue to increase with plans for a smart future where everything and everyone will be wirelessly connected. It is time for WHO to rethink its assessment of the risks of wireless. That is why WHO commissioned systematic reviews. However, the systematic reviews conducted so far raise many questions.

Please read more here

Patient Data Security

In some countries we currently have a strong debate about how to keep personal medical information safe when more and more details are added to huge databases as ”patient-data”, and AI is able to decipher basically anything given a few data points.

Our politicians seem to be reluctant to accept that this is very risky business! This could be a threat to especially people who are ill or disabled and have specific problems.

Could you tell us about the situation in your country?

Please answer to: PatientData.esc©protonmail.com

News from ESC working groups

Exposed Children - video project. Can you help?

Francesco Filippi (member of ESC Children Working Group) wants to make a simple video that shows children exposed to high levels of wireless radiation from cell towers, wifi or cell phones in different countries.

If you have a good radiation meter in microWatt/m2 (such as Safe & Sound Pro II) and a video recording device (such as a smartphone in airplane mode) you can go to a place where children are (indoor or outdoor) and check the exposure as this image shows.

If you can help before March 16th, please download this instruction sheet.

News from our members

France: Poem26

The Poem26 association (prevention of electromagnetic waves in the Drôme) and the Santé Sans Onde collective (electro-hypersensitive medical and paramedical professionals) are launching a national petition to demand healthy living environments: homes, workplaces, healthcare facilities and public places free from artificial electromagnetic radiation for people with EHS (electro hypersensitivity) or intolerance to artificial electromagnetic waves.

And please have a look also at the French survey ‘Discrimination and difficulties suffered or encountered by people with EHS-MCS’ by ASSOCIATION DES MALADES ENVIRONNEMENTAUX (A.M.E). A large number of you are needed to respond to show the public authorities that they can no longer ignore this issue.

Belgium: Beperk de Straling

For 10 years the Flemish organisations VEHS and Beperk De Straling have been campaigning for a radiation-free alternative to the digital meter.

Beperk de Straling gives a historical overview about the smartmeter discussions: from how the right to a cabled digital meter came about to how this right was eventually trampled by Fluvius. This history helps clarify why Fluvius' current “solution” with 4G outdoor antenna is not an acceptable alternative.

This document ends with an urgent call to the Belgian ministry in charge to come to a solution for a suitable alternative for people with EHS.

Please send us news from your organisation to share in future newsletters.

News from around the world

The OneName Project

The discussion about which abbreviations and names are most descriptive when humans react to EMF has been ongoing for many years. A group of well-known people in the EHS community took the initiative to propose a common worldwide name. After much deliberation, the group came up with a new name. Based on rich and varied input, top leaders of the movement from the US, Canada, and Europe have suggested one, singular, name to label the condition that many of us share:

Formal Name: Electromagnetic Radiation Syndrome

Common Name: EMR Syndrome

Acronym: EMR-S

Read more here: www.emr-s.org/home

ESC is considering if this new name can replace the commonly used names.

Counterarguments to the last WHO study

The International Commission on the Biological Effects of Electromagnetic Fields has published a Letter to the Editor in the journal Environment International regarding the scientific flaws of the WHO backed cell phone radiation cancer study by Karipidis et al. (2024). We found the review does not provide a reliable assessment of the evidence on brain cancer risk associated with the use of cell phones and other wireless technologies.

The European Business Review about the risks of wireless

The article The Invisible Poison: Unmasking the Health Risks of EMF Radiation by Marcelina Horrillo Husillos was recently published by The European Business Review. It is about the risks of the modern lifestyle in the hyper connected world. She opens with ‘As we continue to push the boundaries of technology, it’s crucial that we also invest in understanding its potential impacts on our health. The concerns surrounding EMF radiation are not just a matter for scientists and policymakers; they affect each of us in our daily lives.’ The magazine targets entrepreneurs and leaders. This well written overview of the adverse effects of wireless technologies might change the minds of many.

New Science

Can proteomics break the stalemate around EHS?
EHS people experience health symptoms after radiation exposure. Unlike EHS, hypersensitivity to various environmental factors is widely recognized in science. In the case of ionizing radiation, there is no debate about whether it can be felt. Although Dariusz Leszczynski finds the existence of EHS plausible, he believes that the research done so far unfortunately cannot prove or deny that EHS is caused by EMFs. On Frontiers he explains why and advocates the use of proteomics to better understand the relationship between EMFs and EHS. Proteins can be analysed more efficiently today.

Read the study here

The Collision between Wireless and Biology
The power and telecommunications industries have used two arguments to support their view that human exposures to non-thermal non-ionizing radiation are inoffensive. Firstly, the radiation is non-ionising. Secondly, the energy quanta of the radiation are too weak to overcome the competing energy of thermal motion.

We contribute a new view of the physics and biology of non-ionising electromagnetic radiation hygiene which explains many epidemiological, toxicological and scientific observations. The health effects of non-thermal non-ionising radiation presently observed are in fact completely supported by physics. Furthermore, the expansion of wireless data rates is in direct conflict with preservation of a healthy environment.

Read the study here

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Europeans for Safe Connections