Whirlpool

On May 23rd 2006, Sweden's STV broadcast a segment in their current affairs program "Debatt" (svt.se/svt/jsp/Crosslink.jsp?d=28906 ) that raises some rather irksome health questions about WiMAX, the wireless broadband system heavily funded by Intel.

The week previously, the township of Göten had their first -- and hopefully last -- taste of modern wireless technology when their new WiMAX base-station was activated. Within hours, there were calls to the local hospital emergency service from residents near the base-station, ranging from sharp headaches to difficulty breathing, blurry vision, and even two cases of heart arrhythmia. All symptoms abated once the sufferer relocated away from the base-station.

Sweden was the first country to recognise electromagnetic hypersensitivity as a valid medical condition, and have set up a federal body to assist sufferers of EHS (www.feb.se). There has been a call for the Swedish government to close down the nation's WiMAX networks, pending further investigation into the claims.

According to the UN's World Health Organisation, who in December 2005 agreed that "EHS [Electo-HyperSensitivity] is a real and sometimes disabling condition" (see www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs296/en), approximately 3% of the world's population suffer ill effects when exposed to high frequency magnetic radiation. Britain, Canada and Argentina have all taken on the WHO's report, and have begun to actively pursue public research into the effects of EM fields on people. The WHO's EMF taskforce is currently looking at allegations that major players in the wireless technology industry have been down-playing, obscuring or in some cases even tampering results of EMF studies so as to prove that wireless technology poses no threat to health.

Brains writes...

The week previously, the township of Göten had their first -- and hopefully last -- taste of modern wireless technology when their new WiMAX base-station was activated.

Is quite laughable. I wonder how the sweds will comunicate when the GSM/3G/CDMA mobile phones, radios, television, CB radios, government radio networks are turned off. I guess the poilce will have to send runners back to the station when they need to get backup.

lol did you get this in an email?

Sounds like a joke to me heheh

This is not a joke ... I'm having side affects from the chariot wireless now ... i get headaches, restlessness and sometimes a arrhythmia .. these symptoms are usually caused by the blistering speeds chariot provide ... the seemed to disappear shortly after i changed to TPG ... HMMM

Hrm, I wonder if the Swedish cable/fibre companies had anything to do with this "report"? :)

THis could be tragic, for the entire telecommunications industry.

I wonder what whirlpool readers will have to say about these issues.

EMF sources radiate. With judicious use this unwired network technology has been able to coexist with life as we know it. I would say (as a shareholder of course) reduce our exposure to high levels of working life risk.

Studies like this are very important for understanding the effects of this technology on our working lives. I can't wait to get my copy.

well, if we don't take this stuff seriously, these folks do...

A recent edition of U.S. News and World Report highlighted several of these ‘wonder weapons’ (acoustics, microwaves, lasers) and noted that scientists are ‘searching the electromagnetic and sonic spectrums for wavelengths that can affect human behavior.’ 3 A recent Russian military article offered a slightly different slant to the problem, declaring that ‘humanity stands on the brink of a psychotropic war’ with the mind and body as the focus. That article discussed Russian and international attempts to control the psycho-physical condition of man and his decision making processes by the use of VHF-generators, ‘noiseless cassettes,’ and other technologies.

...sweet dreams.

www.lazyhorse.co.uk

And in other news, martians have kidnapped the president.

Seriously though what is the power output of a WiMAX BTS vs a run-of-the-mill GSM or 3G BTS ?

wimax bts has output power of +46dbm mostly

there's no research confirming any wireless based equipment at industry levels is bad for your health to date, so i would take it with a grain of salt.

sonix writes...

there's no research confirming any wireless based equipment at industry levels is bad for your health to date, so i would take it with a grain of salt.

Bad advice as too much salt is a known cause of hardening of the arteries;-)

Sounds like Tower in-Sanity have opened a Swedish office!

Bottom Dweller writes...

Bad advice as too much salt is a known cause of hardening of the arteries;-)

Sounds like Tower in-Sanity have opened a Swedish office!

hehe :P

But just to be on the safe side we should all be wearing an approved AFDB device. Anyone without one can find more technical details (including building your own AFDB) at zapatopi.net/afdb

Go on, make yours today. lol