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It's vital that YOU have your say ...
Use of the electromagnetic spectrum today underpins the existence of multi-billion dollar industries around the globe. In many cases the associated engineering developments have taken place over much less than one human lifetime. With a rush to sales and profit possible harmful effects have not generally been scientifically investigated prior to manufacture and use.
Safety standards for EMR were often set decades ago from a position of scientific uncertainly - and indeed scientific ignorance (How many electrical engineers have any substantial understanding of human biology and cell electrochemistry even today ? ) - At the start of the process when a new device had been in operation for a while and no reports of illnesses had been made , then the device was assumed to be safe. Thus national standards varied wildly. For example in the old USSR the safety levels for RF energy exposure from RADAR for the general public were set as being 1000 times lower than that permitted in the USA.
The public thus now face a situation , in today's legalised decision making world , where vested interests protecting mega-markets may use financial power and legal process to block or drown out voices of members of the public who feel that EMR may be effecting their health in an adverse way. Just look at what tobacco company CEO's said under oath to the US Congress investigators when the safety of their product came under scrutiny !
The lesson of history is that unsafe products will come into being by the thousand if consumers do not act in concert and find advocates to fight for the consumer interest. Such efforts can save thousands of lives by forcing industry to look at safety issues. The action of Ralph Nader over the car 'unsafe at any speed' being the classic case study.
Products that may have an EMR health hazard present particular problems as any such adverse health effects may only be evident after long periods of use; may not easily be traceable in strict scientific terms to use of a given product; plus instruments, tests, and methods to assess the health effects may not even exist or may be very expensive to use. Like air pollution, asbestos contamination, or exposure to nuclear accidents, where statistically thousands will die as a result of the health hazard, cause and effect may not be provable in court in a specific case.
In such a climate it is only when a large number of the general public work together to build a body of evidence and seek to get objective testing methods devised that can then be used to document related illness that there is any chance of protecting public safety.
So it is vital that persons who find their health damaged speak up and tell of their experience. EMR Safety Network wants to hear from you if you have a case to relate. Write to us about your experiences. Please make letters to the point and reasonably short. 1 to 2 pages is sufficient for us to understand the issues and classify your problems. Remember it is very easy for industry and regulators to ignore the plight of one person - BUT it becomes much more difficult for them to ignore a large number of people reporting the same set of effects and illness !
Write to our coordinator : Betty Venables , 216 President Ave. Miranda NSW 2228
