Electrical Hypersensitivity, and EMF

[Guest guest]

Apologies because this is long, but it's from Shan's

MCS group about Electrical Hypersensitivity, please

pass on, to whom you feel would like it! Down in the

mid-range where the stars are, it gets interesting.

All Disabilites in Sweden are looked at from the

environmental aspect. Janice.

 

In Sweden, electrohypersensitivity (EHS) is an

officially fully recognized physical impairment (i.e.,

it is not regarded as a disease). Survey studies show

that somewhere between 230,000 - 290,000 Swedish men

and women report a variety of symtoms when being in

contact with electromagnetic field

(EMF)-sources.

 

The EHS persons have their own handicap organisation;

The Swedish Association for the ElectroSensitive;

http://www.feb.se (the website has an English

version). This organisation is included in the Swedish

Disability Federation (Handikappförbundens

SamarbetsOrgan; HSO).

 

HSO is the unison voice of the Swedish disability

associations towards the government, the parliament

and national authorities and is a cooperative body

that today consists of 43 national disability

organisations (where The Swedish Association for the

ElectroSensitive is 1 of these 43 organisations) with

all together about 500,000 individual members.

You can read more on http://www.hso.se (the site has

an English short version).

 

Swedish municipalities, of course, have to follow the

UN 22 Standard Rules on the equalization of

opportunities for persons with disabilities

( " Standardregler för att tillförsäkra människor med

funktionsnedsättning delaktighet och jämlikhet " ; about

the UN 22 Standard Rules, see website:

 

http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/enable/dissre00.htm). All

persons with disabilities shall, thus, be given the

assistance and service they have the right to

according to the Swedish Act concerning Support and

Service for Persons with Certain Functional

Impairments (LSS-lagen) and the Swedish Social

Services Act (Socialtjänstlagen).

 

Persons with disabilities, thus, have many different

rights and can get different kinds of support. The

purpose of those rights and the support is to give

every person the chance to live like everyone else.

Everyone who lives in the Swedish municipalities

should be able to lead a normal life and the

municipalities must have correct knowledge and be able

to reach the persons who need support and service.

Persons with disabilities shall be able to get extra

support so that they can live, work, study, or do

things they enjoy in their free time. The

municipalities are responsible for making sure that

everyone gets enough support. Everyone shall show

respect and remember that such men and women may need

different kinds of support.

 

In Sweden, impairments are viewed from the point of

the environment. No human being is in itself impaired,

there are instead shortcomings in the environment that

cause the impairment (as the lack of ramps for the

person in a

wheelchair or rooms electrosanitized for the person

with EHS). This environment-related impairment view,

furthermore, means that even though one does not have

a

scientifically-based explanation for the impairment

EHS, and in contrast to disagreements in the

scientific society, the person with EHS shall always

be met in a respectful way and with all necessary

support with the goal to eliminate the impairment.

This implies that the person with EHS shall have the

opportunity to live and work in an electrosanitized

environment.

 

This view can fully be motivated in relation to the

present national and international handicap laws and

regulations, including the UN 22 Standard Rules

and the Swedish action plan for persons

withimpairments (prop. 1999/2000:79 " Den nationella

handlingplanen för handikappolitiken - Från patient

till medborgare " ). Also the Human Rights Act in the EU

fully applies.

 

A person is disabled when the environment contains

some sort of impediments. It means that in that moment

a man or woman in a wheelchair can not come onto the

bus, a train, or into a restaurant, this person has a

disability, he or she is disabled.

 

When the bus, the train or the restaurant are adjusted

for a wheelchair, the person do not suffer from his

disability and are consequently not disabled. An

EHS-person suffers when the environment is not

properly adapted according to their personal needs.

Strategies to enable a person with this disability to

attend common rooms such as libraries, churches and so

on, are for instance to switch off the high-frequency

fluorescentlamps and instead use ordinary light bulbs.

Another example is the possibility to switch off - the

whole or parts of - the assistive listening systems

(persons with EHS are often very sensitive to

assistive listening systems).

 

In the Stockholm municipality - were I live and work

as a scientist with the responsibility to investigate

comprehensive issues for persons with EHS - such

persons have the possibility to get their home

sanitized for EMFs. It means for example that ordinary

electricity cables are changed to special

cables. ******

 

Furthermore, the electric stove can be changed to a

gas stove and walls, roof and floors can be covered

with special wallpaper or paint with a special shelter

to stop EMFs from the outside (from neighbours and

mobile telephony base stations). ******

 

Even the windows can be covered with a thin aluminum

foil as an efficient measure to restrain EMFs to get

into the room/home. ******

 

If these alterations turn out not to be optimal they

have the possibility to rent small cottages in the

countryside that the Stockholm municipality owns.

These areas have lower levels of irradiation than

others. The Stockholm municipality also intend to

build a village with houses that are specially

designed for persons who are electrohypersensitive.

This village will be located in a low-lewel

irradiation area.

 

Persons with EHS also have a general (legal) right to

be supported by their employer so that they can work

despite of this impairment. For instance, they can get

special equipment such as computers that are of

low-emission type, that high-frequency fluorescent

lamps are changed to ordinary light bulbs, no wireless

DECT telephones in their rooms, and so on.

 

Some hospitals in Sweden (e.g. in Umeå, Skellefteå and

Karlskoga) also have built special rooms with very low

EMFs so that persons who are hypersensitive can get

medical care. ******

 

****** Another example is the possibility for persons

who are electrohypersensitive to get a specially

designed car so that the person can transport

himself/herself between his/her home and their

workplace.******

 

Recently, some politicians in the Stockholm

municipality even proposed to the politicians

responsible for the subway in the Stockholm City that

a part of every trainset should be free from mobile

phones; that the commuters have to switch of the

phones in these selected parts to enable persons with

EHS to travel with the subway (compare this with

persons who have an allergy for animal fur whereupon

people consequently is prohibited to have animals,

such as dogs or cats, in selected parts of the

trainset).

 

In addition, when the impairment EHS is discussed it

is also of paramount importance that more general

knowledge is needed with the aim to better adapt the

society to the specific needs of the persons with this

impairment. The Swedish " Miljöbalk " (the Environmental

Code) contains an excellent prudence avoidance

principle which, of course, most be brought into

action also here, together with respect and

willingness to listen to the persons with EHS.

 

Naturally, all initiatives for scientific studies of

the impairment EHS must be characterized and marked by

this respect and willingness to listen, and the

investigations shall have the sole aim to help the

persons with this particular impairment. The presently

proposed WHO initiative seem to lack this aim and the

suggested research programme rather seems to question,

throw suspicion on, and - on very flimsy grounds -

psychologize the impairment EHS.

 

This is a set-up that completely is in contrast to

Rule

13 in the UN 22 Standard Rules which clearly says that

scientific investigations of impairments shall, in an

unbiased way - and without any prejudice - focus on

cause, occurrence and nature and with the sole and

explicit purpose to help and support the person with

the impairment. Nothing else!

 

In addition, it must also be mentioned that quite

recently, by the end of 2004, The Irish Doctors'

Environmental Association (IDEA) has announced

that " they have identified a sub-group of the

population who are particularly sensitive to exposure

to different types of electromagnetic radiation. The

safe levels currently advised for exposure to this

non-ionising radiation are based solely on its thermal

effects. However, it is clear that this radiation also

has non-thermal effects, which need to be taken into

consideration when setting these safe levels. The

electrosensitivity experienced by some people results

in a variety of distressing symptoms which must also

be taken into account when setting safe levels for

exposure to non-ionising radiation and when planning

the siting of masts and transmitters. (The Irish

Doctors' Environmental Association (IDEA), 2004, " IDEA

position on electro-magnetic radiation " ;

http://www.ideaireland.org/emr.htm)

 

Furthermore, the IDEA also points out the following: "

1. An increasing number of people in Ireland are

complaining of symptoms which, while they may vary in

nature, intensity and duration, can be demonstrated to

be clearly related to exposure to electro-magnetic

radiation (EMR).

 

2. International studies on animals over the last 30

years have shown the potentially harmful effects of

exposure to electro-magnetic radiation. In

observational studies, animals have shown consistent

distress when exposed to EMR. Experiments on tissue

cultures and rats have shown an increase in

malignancies when exposed to mobile telephone

radiation.

 

3. Studies on mobile telephone users have shown

significant levels of discomfort in certain

individuals following extensive use or even, in some

cases, following regular short-term use.

 

4. The current safe levels for exposure to microwave

radiation were determined based solely on the thermal

effects of this radiation. There is now a large body

of evidence that clearly shows that this is not

appropriate, as many of the effects of this type of

radiation are not related to these thermal effects. "

(The Irish Doctors' Environmental Association (IDEA),

2004, " IDEA position on electro-magnetic radiation " ;

http://www.ideaireland.org/emr.htm).

 

Finally, The Irish Doctors' Environmental Association

" believes that the Irish Government should urgently

review the information currently available

internationally on the topic of the thermal and

non-thermal effects of exposure to electro-magnetic

radiation with a view to immediately initiating

appropriate research into the adverse health effects

of exposure to all forms of non-ionising radiation in

this country, and into the forms of treatment

available elsewhere. Before the results of this

research are available, an epidemiological database

should be initiated of individuals suffering from

symptoms thought to be related to exposure to

non-ionising radiation. Those claiming to be suffering

from the effects of exposure to electro-magnetic

radiation should have their claims investigated in a

sensitive and thorough way, and appropriate treatment

provided by the State. The strictest possible safety

regulations should be established for the installation

of masts and transmitters, and for the acceptable

levels of potential exposure of individuals to

electro-magnetic radiation, in line with the standards

observed in New Zealand. " (The Irish Doctors'

Environmental Association (IDEA), 2004, " IDEA position

on electro-magnetic radiation "

http://www.ideaireland.org/emr.htm).

 

Of course, these very recent findings must also be

taken into serious consideration for any research

proposal.

 

With my very best regards Yours sincerely Olle J.

 

(Olle Johansson, assoc. prof. The Experimental

Dermatology Unit, Department of Neuroscience

Karolinska Institute 171 77 Stockholm Sweden)

 

(may have been attached by)

Dr. David Fancy

Department of Dramatic Arts Brock University St.

Catharines, Ontario, Canada

L2S 3A1 tel: 905-688-5550 ext 3584 fax: 905-984-4861

 

 

 

 

 

 

________

Find your next car at http://autos..ca

[Guest guest]

Hi Janice,

Could you send me the info on the MCS group

please? I am very interested in this as it is one big

problem for me. Thanks in advance.

lynn

 

 

 

Lynn

[Guest guest]

Lynn,

 

My daughter had MCS and I found a group of doctors who use reflex

muscle testing and acupressure type stimulations with techniques that

eliminate allergies. My daughter went from allergic to all but about

10 foods, on a rotation diet, allergic to all molds and pollens in

Tucson and having major issues with exhaust, perfumes, smoke, etc., to

having no allergies overnight with the treatments they use.

 

Allergies relate to one or more organs in the body not being able to

deal with the energy signature of the particular allergen.

Harmonizing the body to the allergen eliminates the allergy.

 

There are a few other things that are very important for maintaining

an allergy-free life once allergies are cleared - drinking plenty of

water, eating plenty of protein (red meat in particular), eating raw

fruits and vegetables, and limiting the amount of processed carbs you

take in.

 

It has been nearly three years since my daughter had MCS and she is

healthy, has no allergies, and lives a normal life. I have posted her

complete story at

http://health.touchandheal/message/8

 

Kat

 

, lynn sheer

<bigotterwv> wrote:

> Hi Janice,

> Could you send me the info on the MCS group

> please? I am very interested in this as it is one big

> problem for me. Thanks in advance.

> lynn

>

>

>

> Lynn