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Thursday, November 1, 2018

Action Alert: 5G Technology

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High Powered Cell Towers are Coming…To Your Street

New wireless technologies are coming—whether you like it or not. Action Alert!

Telecom companies are preparing to unleash the next wave of wireless technology in neighborhoods across the nation, deployed block by block. The telecoms industry, with an assist by the federal government, is barring the ability of local governments to manage how the new technologies get installed. We must speak out to prevent telecom giants and their government cronies from taking away our rights and threatening our health.

Telecom companies are installing the infrastructure needed for “5G” networks, which are up to 1,000 times faster than the current 4G networks. Setting up 5G networks requires “small cells” to be placed on streetlights and utility poles throughout neighborhoods and cities. These “small cells” include antennas, power supplies, electric meters, switches, bundles of cables, and boxes—all strapped to the poles. Some have refrigerator-sized containers on the ground. These cells are supposed to be placed every 500 feet along residential streets and through commercial districts.

Homeowners worry that the small cells are unattractive and will affect property values. Even more disturbing are the health concerns. Small cells emit microwave radiation and essentially function as cell towers. Placing these units every 500 feet means that communities will be bathed in radiation. We’ve written before about the health implications of over-exposure to microwaves. Microwave radiation can negatively affect mitochondrial function, cause cell damage and DNA breaks, accelerates aging, and puts us at a higher risk for chronic disease. A recent study from the National Toxicology Program showed rats exposed to cell phone radiation at the federally allowable level had an increased risk for brain and heart tumors. Animal studies have demonstrated the health dangers of the radio frequencies used by 5G, including: arrhythmias in frogs, immune system effects in healthy mice, lens opacity (linked with cataracts) in rats, and more.

Traditional cell towers are bad enough—which, by the way, the federal government has prevented the public from opposing based on environmental or health concerns. Now telecom companies want to put a small cell tower right in your front yard, and your neighbor’s yard, and all over the town or city. It will be impossible to escape exposure to the radiation emitted by small cells. Any health concerns there are now about exposure to microwave radiation will only intensify with 5G.

It’s no surprise, then, that many communities are fighting back, but the telecom giants and the feds continue to threaten local autonomy.

Telecom companies are working with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to steamroll local governments into kowtowing to whatever industry says it needs. The FCC recently approved rules that limit the fees local governments can charge telecom companies for use of public utilities and property. Other rules already on the books have “streamlined” small cell deployment by reducing the time cities and counties have to review applications. The agency is studying how they could limit cities’ requirements on the look and design of small cells. Ajit Pai, the FCC commissioner and a former attorney for Verizon, also created a committee (mostly of wireless industry representatives) to develop model codes that cities can adopt to speed the approval of small cells and reduce costs to industry.

It will be an even harder uphill battle if local governments want to reject 5G tech altogether. Municipalities in many states are preempted by state laws that limit local regulation of wireless facilities. More often, though, people simply are not aware of the dangers of widespread exposure to microwave radiation, and see the advent of 5G networks as a good thing.

Congress is also getting in on the action—on the side of telecom firms. A number of bills in the House and Senate would make it easier and less costly for small cells to be installed on federal land, exempting the technology from environmental reviews. The sponsors of these bills are among the top lawmakers who have received the most money from the likes of AT&T and Verizon.

This is unacceptable. Special interests are using the power of the federal government to ignore local laws and endanger our health. We must not let them get away with it.

Action Alert! Write to Congress and the FCC, telling them to stop throttling the ability of local governments to control whether and how 5G networks fit into their communities and that the federal government should study the health effects of 5G networks. Please send your message immediately.

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Two-Thirds of Americans Drink Industrial Waste Daily

New evidence reveals additional dangers of adding fluoride to drinking water. Action Alert!

Fluoride has been added to drinking water in towns across the United States since 1945 for the purpose of improving dental health. Now, 66% of people in the US receive drinking water with added fluoride. Evidence pointing to the dangers of this fluoride exposure for human health has accumulated, along with evidence that water fluoridation is no longer even necessary. Recently, two new studies have added to this body of work; it is time for the EPA to stop the artificial fluoridation of drinking water.

The two studies showed that 1) adults who are iodine deficient and have high levels of fluoride in their system have a greater risk of an underactive thyroid, and 2) mothers with higher fluoride exposure during pregnancy were more likely to have children with symptoms of ADHD. (Note that this wasn’t the first study to link water fluoridation with ADHD.)

These are just the newest studies demonstrating the risks of water fluoridation. There is substantial evidence, including more than fifty human population studies, that links elevated fluoride levels with neurological effects, especially lower IQ. Fluoride also accumulates in the body, including the blood vessels, where it can contribute to calcification. A National Research Council report concluded that the EPA’s standard for fluoride in drinking water is unsafe and should be lowered. The report highlighted damage that can be done to the teeth, bones, brain, endocrine system, thyroid, and pineal gland—all from drinking fluoride.

If it’s so dangerous, why add fluoride to water in the first place? The history starts in the early 20^th century when scientists noticed a correlation between stained teeth in certain areas and lower rates of dental decay. In the 1930’s a chemist working for ALCOA, an aluminum company, was concerned the dental staining was connected with their bauxite mining operation. The chemist’s research showed the presence of elevated levels of fluoride in the water. This led to research on the effect of fluoride on dental health, and researchers found that children in cities with fluoride in the water had fewer cavities. In 1945, Grand Rapids, Michigan became the first town to purposely add fluoride to their drinking water, and comparisons with the next town over (Muskegon) that did not fluoridate its water showed that children in Grand Rapids had better dental health. In 1951, Muskegon fluoridated its water.

A story that isn’t often told, however, is the gift that water fluoridation is to special interests. Since sodium fluoride is a waste product of the aluminum production process, water fluoridation meant that the aluminum industry could profit from their industrial waste. The government also called for initial studies on fluoride under the authority of Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon—who was a founder of the ALCOA aluminum company.

Today it’s even worse. Fluorosilicic acid (FSA), an inorganic fluoride compound, is a waste product of synthetic fertilizer production. Breathing FSA’s fumes causes severe lung damage or death; an accidental splash on skin leads to burning and extreme pain. Yet FSA is put into barrels and shipped across the US to be drip-fed into drinking water.

Even if there weren’t any safety concerns with drinking fluoride, there would still be the question of whether we need to do it in the first place. The world is different than it was 100 years ago, especially when it comes to dental health. Most of us use toothpaste, and many people use fluoridated toothpaste, making fluoride in water unnecessary. Other parts of the world that do not fluoridate their water, like Western Europe, have seen dental decay rates decline just as much as they have in the US.

Water fluoridation is unsafe, unnecessary, and only benefits industries who can turn their toxic waste into cash. Some groups have sued the EPA after the agency denied a petition to ban the practice of fluoridating water. The case is currently in federal court.

Science and good sense demand that we stop this practice, but decades of inertia and special interest lobbying stand in the way.

Action Alert! Write to Congress and the EPA, telling them to stop water fluoridation. Please send your message immediately.

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FDA Feeling the Heat on Bioidentical Hormones

Thanks to your activism, the FDA has agreed to study bioidentical hormone replacement therapy. But the threat to hormones still looms. Action Alert!

For months now, we’ve been telling you about the FDA’s attack on estriol, progesterone, and other bioidentical hormones that are made for individual patients at specialized pharmacies. Now, thanks to the activism of ANH members and other stakeholders, the agency has recently announced that they have asked the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) to conduct a study on bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT). This is a qualified victory: it shows that the FDA feels enough pressure from the public that they can’t ban bioidentical hormones outright. But the fight is far from over, and we must remain vigilant to ensure the future of bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT).

According to the announcement, “NASEM will provide a report evaluating the available scientific evidence relating to the safety and effectiveness of compounded bioidentical hormone replacement therapy.” No details are provided about the timeline of the study. The FDA states that it will use the conclusions of the study to determine whether bioidentical hormones can be compounded at larger “outsourcing” pharmacies, but the results will almost certainly also be used to determine whether hormones will be banned at “traditional” pharmacies as well. For traditional pharmacies, bioidentical hormones have been nominated to the FDA’s “Difficult to Compound” list; items that appear on the completed list will not be able to be compounded. The FDA is currently in the process of reviewing nominations and proposing what should and should not be included on the final list.

Given the FDA’s demonstrated hostility towards compounded bioidentical hormones, it’s been our contention that the agency wants to ban BHRT to protect the profits of Big Pharma. In its communications the FDA never tires of pointing out that compounded medicine—medicines made for individual patients at specialized “compounding” pharmacies—is not FDA approved—meaning they haven’t paid millions to the agency like the drug companies have.

Due to the public backlash from ANH members, the FDA may think that they need more cover to eliminate access to these hormones, which is likely what drove them to ask for the NASEM study. But make no mistake: the FDA wants to use the study to bury BHRT. If the study committee is independent, objective, and fairly reviews the evidence, however, this will be a victory for BHRT. As we’ve said numerous times, BHRT done properly is safer and often more effective than conventional hormone replacement therapy. If the committee is stacked with opponents of BHRT, however, it could be the nail in the coffin for compounded bioidentical estriol, estradiol, and progesterone. ANH-USA is closely monitoring this process and putting together potential candidates to nominate to the study committee to ensure the needs of the natural health community are represented.

This study is also important in light of where bioidentical hormones are in the FDA’s process right now. Over the last couple of years, the FDA and their advisory committee have been slowly evaluating substances nominated to the Difficult to Compound List. Part of the problem with trying to mount an effective defense of bioidentical hormones is that the FDA provides little notice for when the advisory committee will discuss certain substances. Estriol could come up a month from now, or six years from now. This makes it difficult—likely by design—for the natural health community to respond with expert testimony and rigorous scientific data. The silver lining, then, is that it seems unlikely the FDA will make a move on BHRT until the study is complete, giving the community at least some indication of the FDA’s timing.

We’re not waiting around for the agency to eliminate compounded BHRT. We will continue to hold the agency’s feet to the fire and demand that they preserve consumer access to compounded BHRT.

Action Alert! Write to Congress and the FDA, telling them to preserve consumer access to compounded BHRT. Please send your message immediately.

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