Building Biology Blog

The Parliamentary Assembly in Europe concluded on May 6th—after an in-depth examination of evidence—that cell phones and Wi-Fi should be banned in schools. Why? Because of their “potentially harmful” effects on humans…especially “little” humans. And in breaking news today, the World Health Organization is now labeling mobile phones a “carcinogenic hazard”—like lead and chloroform.

Children are always the most vulnerable victims of environmental pollution. For instance, because of their size, they absorb 50 percent more air pollution than adults. When it comes to EMFs, studies have shown that their inner skulls and bones allow them to absorb twice the amount of radiation as an adult. EMFs can more deeply penetrate their brain tissue, which is more conductive than an adult’s because it contains a higher concentration of fluid and ions. One study found that a cell phone call lasting only two minutes causes brain hyperactivity that persists for an hour in children.

Because they’re growing 24/7, children’s cells are dividing at breakneck speed. The more cells that divide, the greater the risk for damage at critical junctures. EMFs can cause breaks in the blood-brain barrier, which is more permeable in children. That breach can allow toxins to travel to the brain through the bloodstream and can result in oxidative stress, damage to nerve tissue, and adverse effects to brain hormones such as dopamine and serotonin.

Reprinted with the kind permission of Edge on Health and Dr. Ann Louise Gittleman.

Children today are still coming into contact with carcinogenic chemicals that were eliminated by law from their pajamas 30 years ago. 80% of baby mattresses, high chairs, and car seats (among many other baby products still on the market today) were found to contain flame-retardant chemicals that were long ago deemed too dangerous, according to research published last week in Environmental Science & Technology. Researchers tested 101 baby products and found that the vast majority contained known and identifiable carcinogenic flame retardants. Click here to read the article.

Do you know of similar article or studies, or have you had a personal experience with carcinogens in baby products? Please share with us and our readers by clicking below to “Leave a comment”.

The National Institute of Mental Health is currently conducting $120 million worth of research into autism. The medical director coordinating the research has said that what has become increasingly clear is that some environmental factor is, or many environmental factors are, interacting with certain gene types, yielding who knows how many different pathways to the same disease. And although many parents think they know with instinctual certainty what that factor was in their own child, researchers haven’t yet found anything that looks like a smoking gun.

Do you have a child with autism, or do you know someone who has such a child? Please share with us here what you’ve learned or been told by your doctor, by clicking on Leave a comment, below.

The Environmental Health Trust (EHT), an environmental nonprofit in Canada, is set to launch its Global Campaign for Safer Cell Phones all across Canada. According to its president, Devra Lee Davis, PhD, MPH, EHT is taking the lead in alerting “the planet’s five billion cell phone customers that heavy use of phones next to the body increases infertility, cancer and neurological problems.”

The U.S. remains far behind its neighbor on this issue, yet we as individuals can take the initiative to push us as a nation toward joining in and leading the information campaign. Share your thoughts on this here by leaving a comment, let us know what you are doing and would like to see done.