Scandal concerning incorrect cancer investigation and mobile phones
Mobile phone discussion needs to be more objective
29.02.2008
Alongside public scaremongering, publication of the results has had a negative impact not only on the Austrian mobile phone industry in terms of network development and how the industry is seen by the public, but also in how the technology is rated. "That is why mobilkom austria, who is the current owner of the concerned location, together with all Austrian mobile phone operators have decided to call on Dr. Gerd Oberfeld in a letter from a solicitor to retract his statements," explained Maximilian Maier, managing director of FMK [Forum Mobilkommunikation = Forum for Mobile Communication]. This was communicated to the relevant regional and federal governmental offices as well as the respective politicians in official letters.
The history: a class C network station was never installed at the location
"During the first 10 years of the specified investigation period from 1984-1997 no mobile phone station was installed at this location. It is irresponsible when cases of cancer are linked to a mobile phone station that did not exist," said Heinz Münzer, Head of Infrastructure Styria at mobilkom austria since 2001. "mobilkom austria has thoroughly reviewed the data more than once and inspected all the archives, because we simply could not believe that this error had been made. However, the facts are clear," he confirmed, and are substantiated by the official records in the data archives of the Head Office for Post and Telecommunication, by the 3 affidavits provided by contemporary witnesses as well as by the chronology of this location. "A class C network station never existed at this location." The photo in the present report, which has been distributed officially shows a class D network station, which was installed at this location in 1994 for 6 months as an interim arrangement. Afterwards this class D network antenna (class D network is the successor of the class C network) was installed on a 33 m high mast on the same piece of land.
Due to the wide-reaching consequences of the report a qualified retraction of the statement is demanded "The responsible people in Austria should not be allowed to go back to life as normal," demanded Claudia Übellacker, Head of the Environment Team at mobilkom austria, "because this is not simply a study on paper, but affects the real fates of people in Hausmannstätten and Vasoldsberg, who have been led to believe that the cause of their cases of cancer and suffering were being investigated." She describes the research work carried out for this location and under investigation by the environment doctor as "grossly negligent". Oberfeld contacted mobilkom austria in August 2007 regarding general class C network data in Austria. Specific enquiries by mobilkom austria as to the purpose of the required data and concrete questions as to the area of study have not been answered by the author of the investigation to this day. Margit Kropik, involved in external affairs and EMF at T-Mobile Austria, is just as annoyed about "the dreadful negligence and insecurity brought about by scaremongering". Without wanting to anticipate the current statistical investigations of this work by public offices and universities, it is already clear that "the 121-fold increased risk has been calculated from completely insufficient numbers of cases. Essential comparisons with case numbers from the official Austrian cancer register are totally missing [from Dr. Oberfeld’s research]. It is therefore not apparent what the basis is for this increase." Kropik goes on to criticise that "the work also includes cases of cancer before 1994, thus for 10 of the 13 years of the period of investigation no mobile phone station existed there at all."
The Oberfeld Study is proof that this methodology leads to incorrect results
"It is time at last to clear up the Salzburg milliwatt or even microwatt myth," said Johann Killian, Environment and EMVU [Elektromagnetische Umweltverträglichkeit = electromagnetic impact on the environment], One. In Austria, the threshold values for electromagnetic fields in mobile telephony recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Council of the European Union are made mandatory nationwide by the E 8850 standard set by the ÖVE/ÖNORM [Österreichischer Verband für Elektrotechnik = Austrian Association for Electrotechnology/Österreichische Norm = Austrian standard]. These threshold values have been observed for years by mobile phone operators as the current state of science and technology. In the daily operation of mobile phone stations these values are even significantly lower than the threshold values.
"The politically motivated demands could only be satisfied by switching off the mobile phone stations," explained Killian. This is also supported by the results of the report by the Swiss Federal Office for Communication (BAKOM = Bundesamt für Kommunikation) from February 2002 and more recent investigations from Germany. Killian noted that especially in alpine tourist areas such as Salzburg the reliable availability of mobile telephony should not be ignored: "The demands requested in Salzburg mean that at the same time the only area-wide emergency system would be switched off for the general public. It's amazing that this factor is being strictly ignored or negated by the people responsible for public health."
UMTS – new technology with lower transmitting power
Just how dubious the political demands coming from Salzburg are is also indicated by the technical remarks described by the environmental doctor in a report on UMTS. "In this area, incorrect technical statements can be metrologically double-checked," explained Harald Daspelgruber, EMVU Communication Manager, Hutchison 3G Austria. UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) is a new mobile communications system that allows higher data rates and thus faster connections than in GSM networks and at the same time operates with lower transmitting power - in contrast to the claims made by the environmental doctor from Salzburg. Transmitting power is only just as high as is required for a good connection at the respective point in time. GSM mobile phones have a maximum transmitting power of 2 watt, UMTS mobile telephony uses only one eighth of this (0.25 watts).
Clear minds and clear concepts are what the mobile phone discussion of the future needs
"This kind of scaremonger report has taken the objectivity out of mobile phone discussions in Austria for a long time. Even the politically responsible people are put under pressure from it," said Maximilian Maier. This oddity is not least apparent in the fact that Dr. Gerd Oberfeld is a member of the same group of experts that was assigned the study for appraisal by the Ministry of Health.
The mobile phone industry demands that a final line be drawn in order to be able to move on to more objectively held discussions on mobile telephony, which Maier sketched out as follows:
• Recognition of the existing guidelines for good research practice (e.g.: independent repeatability, statistical capacity, exclusion of co-factors...)
• Research should be able to stand up to scientific revisal
• EMF-measurements must be taken by accredited measurement and testing institutes in Austria
• Assessment of overall scientific state of knowledge
• Interdisciplinary research
• Precise revisal of assignment of tax money for research work
• Annual series of measurements in order to inform the public objectively
Maier concluded: "Austria needs serious mobile phone policies that follow up any suspected risks without adding to fears and scaremongering. This is a task that requires clear minds as much as clear concepts," said Maier.
He refers to the scientific state of knowledge on radio waves and health ascertained in fact sheet no. 304 by the World Health Organisation (WHO) from May 2006, according to which, a causative connection between radio waves and cancer is regularly negated by scientific experts. The studies have provided no evidence that radio waves from transmitters increase the risk of cancer.
Links:
Service: WHO fact sheet no. 304 http://www.who.int/entity/ionizing_radiation/pub_meet/factsheets/bs_fs_304_german.pdf
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