A story: 'Nine fortress children's charities and a very hot potato.' Interconnections Appeal about EMR – End of Year Report Part I
This Appeal began in February 2014 and so is now eleven months in the making. Its broad aim has been to alert named CEOs of twenty children's charities in England to the international concern and evidence about dangers to foetuses, babies, children and teenagers from long-term exposure to non-ionising electromagnetic radiation.
This radiation comes from mobile phones, smart phones, wi-fi laptops, wireless baby alarms, iPads, smart meters, Satnavs and all the new wireless gadgets that appear on the market by the day. Because it is invisible and odourless most of us are not aware of its presence – let alone the dangers it can represent to our next generation.
There is now enough research for an intelligent and grown-up debate to take place among people in England who are genuinely concerned about the welfare of children. This is absolutely irrefutable. My assumption was that the CEO's of my twenty children's charities would want to get fully informed and join that debate.
The Interconnections Appeal has real urgency because there is no established charity or agency in England offering children and families information, support or strategies for protection. There are as yet no major champions for children growing up in this environmental toxin.
The aims of the Appeal have crystallised over the months into the following:
- To alert CEO's to the world-wide concern and evidence and provide them with a wealth of links to important sources.
- To ask CEO's to allocate staff time to properly study the research – perhaps in a collective effort with other charities to make best use of their limited resources.
- To ask CEOs to come to an organisational view on the dangers, make it publicly known and incorporate this information into their health and safety policies in protection of children and their staff.
- To ask CEOs to become the first champions for children and families once they have properly surveyed the research and acknowledge the dangers.
- To ask CEOs to purchase a low-cost monitor to survey radiation levels in their work places and in the settings they provide for children – and then to take immediate steps to keep babies, children and pregnant women away from the places with the most radiation.
My optimism
I perceive EMR as one of those dangers that we have to wake up to and then deal with eventually. In recent decades there has been uncertainty and worry about very many issues that were of concern long before the government of the day produced legislation. Legislation that has come out of this repeated process has brought about adult seat belts and child car seats, crash helmets for motorcyclists, pubs free of cigarette smoke, cleaner exhausts from road vehicles, lead free paint, protection from asbestos, etc.
I am sure a time will come when legislation offers children and pregnant women some protection from EMR in school and workplace – and even perhaps at home. The Appeal asks CEOs of 20 children's charities to help bring this about sooner rather than later and to become champions for children and families in the meantime.
The Interconnections Appeal is funded out of petty cash and has no other funding. For this reason the Appeal is limited to just twenty children's charities in England. The Appeal is to named CEOs because they carry the power to allocate resources and have responsibility for what their organisation does or does not do. I have made every effort, sometimes against the odds, to get this information to each CEO because is too important to be left or lost at lower levels in the charities' management structures.
The Appeal so far has consisted of letters to CEOs by e-mail and Open Letters and Interim Reports posted on teamaroundthechild.com. These Open Letters and Interim Reports are listed at the end of this Report in Appendix 2. *
The fact that I have had no response from CEO or Chair of nine major children's charities in England suggests to me that the subject is a very hot potato indeed which these organisations would prefer not to hear about, not to read about and not to talk about – the all-too-familiar three-monkey response.
I feel confident that the CEO of each of the fortress charities has seen the Interconnections Appeal by now – whether they choose to admit it or not.
Where a CEO has not personally acknowledged any of my communications I have written to their Chair and Trustees using 'Royal Mail Signed For 1st Class'. Nine of these have not responded yet and so I have characterised their charity as having a fortress mentality. Of course, they might be waiting for a Trustees' meeting before they respond but an acknowledgement would have been easy for them to send in the meantime – and would still be welcome.
Whom did I attempt to contact during the year?
The 20 CEO's are listed here in alphabetical order of the charity:
- Action for Children. CEO Tony Hawkhead.
- Barnardos. CEO. Javed Khan now. Was Peter Brook when the Appeal began.
- Children's Society. CEO Matthew Reed.
- CLIC Sargent. CEO Lorraine Clifton.
- Contact–a-Family (CaF). CEO Amanda Batten now. Was Paul Soames as Interim CEO when the Appeal began.
- Downs Syndrome Association (DSA). CEO Carol Boys.
- Fragile X Society. CEO Tim Potter.
- Kids. CEO Caroline Stevens.
- Mencap. CEO Jan Tregelles.
- National Autistic Society (NAS). CEO Mark Lever.
- National Blind Children's Society (NBCS) within Guide Dogs. CEO Richard Leaman.
- National Children's Bureau (NCB). CEO Anna Feuchtwang now. Was Hilary Emery when the Appeal began.
- National Deaf Children's Society (NDCS). CEO Susan Daniels.
- National Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC). CEO Peter Wanless.
- Scope. CEO Richard Hawk.
- Sense. CEO Gillian Morby.
- Shine. CEO Jackie Bland.
- WellChild. CEO Colin Dyer.
- Young Epilepsy. CEO Carol Long now. Was Lisa Farmer as Interim CEO when the Appeal began.
- Young Minds. CEO Sarah Brennan.
Responses so far
I have graded responses from CEOs into four categories:
First - CEOs who have responded in person in such a way that I can optimistically imagine a constructive dialogue continuing:
- Mencap
- Shine Charity
- Young Epilepsy
- Well Child
(In the case of proper on-going dialogue, I will not report content. I will simply report which, if any, of the five aims listed above they are complying with.)
Second - CEOs who have responded in person with something more than a mere acknowledgement to at least one of my communications:
- Action for Children
- Children's Society
- CLIC Sargent
- Fragile X Society
Third - CEOs who have responded in person with merely an acknowledgement of at least one of my communications:
- Barnardos
Fourth - CEOs who have done none of the above yet, i.e. have remained as hard-to-reach CEOs:
- CaF
- DSA
- Kids
- NAS
- NBCS/Guide Dogs
- NCB
- NDCS
- NSPCC
- Scope
- Sense
- Young Minds
Responses from Chairs
Which Chairs responded to my letter?
- Sense. Chair John Crabtree.
Which ones have not yet responded in any way directly to me? Alphabetical order of charity again:
- DSA. Chair Georgie Hill.
- Kids. Chair Hilary Sears.
- NAS. Carol Homden.
- NBCS/Guide Dogs. Chair John Stewart.
- NCB. Chair Elaine Simpson.
- NDCS. Chair Matthew Hilton.
- NSPCC. Chair Denise Platt.
- Scope. Chair Alice Maynard.
- Young Minds. Chair Carol Easton.
(Young Epilepsy. After writing to the Chair of Young Epilepsy I received a direct communication from the new CEO, Carol Long.)
The list of nine children's charities above records the nine charities whose CEO and Chair have, to my knowlege, not responded to me to date.
Until I learn otherwise, I am ascribing a fortress mentality to these nine charities because the CEOs and Chairs have chosen to ignore my communications. It feels to me as though the new information about dangers to children that I have freely offered has been perceived as such a great threat that senior management has felt it necessary to pull up the drawbridge.
Tailpiece
This came to me while writing this report. I offer it not as ultimate proof of anything but as yet another indicator of international concern and evidence about the dangers of this radiation. It comes from World Bulletin dated 12/11/2014.
Wi-Fi 'electrosmog' a risk to health, say scientists
People are facing a host of illnesses ranging from brain tumors and leukemia to poor memory and concentration as they become increasingly engulfed by an 'electrosmog' as Wi-Fi networks expand globally, scientists in Scandinavia have warned.
The team of experts told Anadolu Agency on Tuesday that it was already well established in the scientific community that electromagnetic fields (EMF) from mobiles, wireless LANs, baby calls and other wireless equipment based on microwaves can influence human blood circulation, respiration, temperature control, water balance and other bodily functions.
But Danish scientist Olle Johansson said the risks are increasing significantly as initiatives are taken all over the world to widen the already extensive network of Wi-Fi facilities.
'The wireless society is the largest human full-scale experiment ever, and it urgently needs to be addressed as such,' said Associate Professor Olle Johansson from the Department of Neuroscience at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm.
Johansson warned: 'We are literally enveloped by an electrosmog which contributes to increased sickness rates, and politicians need a totally different approach to the problem.
'Global populations are not sufficiently protected from the emerging communication and data transmission technologies that are being deployed worldwide and are now affecting billions of people.'
Read the full article here: http://www.worldbulletin.net/todays-news/148200/wi-fi-electrosmog-a-risk-to-health-say-scientists
Peter Limbrick
December 2nd, 2014
* This paragraph was amended on December 7th because I had omitted to mention the letters to CEOs by email.
Appendix 1: Template for letter to Chairs and Trustees of charities.
7th October 2014 - or thereabouts
Dear (Name)
Re: Dangers to children from long-term exposure to electromagnetic radiation (EMR)
I am writing to you as Chair of (name of charity) and to your fellow Trustees out of deep concern for:
- babies, children and teenagers who use facilities you provide anywhere in England
- women you employ who are pregnant or who intend one day becoming pregnant
- all children in England
My purpose is to alert you to the international concern and evidence about the ill effects children can suffer from long-term exposure to mobile phones, iPads, smart phones, wireless baby alarms, wi-fi laptops, satnavs, smart meters and all the new gadgets, tools and toys that rely on EMR and irradiate children. These ill effects are cumulative over time and range from debilitating radiation sickness to brain tumours and other cancers.
Earlier this year I launched an Interconnections Appeal to twenty children's organisations in England to alert named CEOs to these dangers. I have made public my reports on this endeavour and I offer links to those reports in an appendix to this letter. Downs Syndrome Association is one of the twenty. It is my intent that by the end of this year I can assert that these twenty named CEOs have been informed about the dangers and given full opportunity to learn more.
What else am I trying to achieve? The government and the telecommunications industry assert there is no danger. This does not mean much because governments of the day asserted there were no dangers from asbestos, from smoking and from secondary smoking. No children's organisation and no NHS department admit to the dangers which means concerned parents and teachers and older children have nowhere to go when they have concerns about the radiation. Similarly, there is no official body trying to protect younger children and foetuses.
My desire is that some children's organisations will make an effort to inform themselves about the dangers and then provide information and support to children, families, teachers and other relevant groups. As this effort gains momentum, MPs can be lobbied for improved legislation and guidance about long-term exposure to EMR.
The new technology is here to stay but the industry ought to be regulated to protect children. For instance, there could be legislation to have wired computers in schools instead of wi-fi. There could be government guidance to keep EMR away from babies, young children and pregnant women.
It might be helpful if I recap on my appeal so far to CEOS:
1. I have alerted them to the international concern and asked them to devote time to explore it. I have given a wealth of links to information about the dangers.
2. I have suggested they buy or rent a low-cost EMR monitor so that they can measure the radiation in their offices, children's settings, etc.
3. I have asked them to use this survey of EMR to protect children from the most affected locations.
4. I have asked them also to move pregnant women and those who intend becoming pregnant to safer work locations.
5. I have suggested they consult their insurance departments or agents on EMR issues to anticipate any future insurance issues.
6. I have suggested to CEOs that if they consult their health & safety departments they are likely only to be given assurances that the government states EMR is harmless.
This is a very big issue with massive implications and there will be many reasons why an organisation might want to look away from it. Regrettably, these can include putting the organisation's interests before the interests of children and families. It is salutary to consider Rotherham where so many executives and senior managers found a host of good reasons for not listening to what children and families were telling them. Sometimes this was to protect their organisation and sometimes to protect themselves. Child protection found its way to the bottom of the list.
I have already achieved part of my objective by formally alerting you to the international concern and evidence. I will have achieved even more if you now, as Chair and Trustees of (name of charity), offer your officers a lead in confronting this relatively new threat to the health and wellbeing of children and families in England.
I assume that now I have written to you with these serious concerns, the issue will be discussed at a future Board or Management Committee meeting. I will be very happy to provide further information and put you in touch with someone to guide you through the wealth of research and reports. I hope you will find time to acknowledge this letter.
Yours sincerely,
Appendix 2: Open Letters and Interim Reports
These are listed in chronological order starting with the first in February 2014.
Open Letter: NCB & England's children's organisations – editor's open letter to you about protecting children from microwave radiation - http://www.teamaroundthechild.com/allnews/researchsurveys/1384-ncb-a-englands-childrens-organisations-editors-open-letter-to-you-about-protecting-children-from-microwave-radiation.html
First Report: Interconnections appeal to twenty children's organisations in England: Report, April 2014– 'No one tells me this radiation is safe for children!' -
Second Report: 'Gas leak! Empty the school!' 'No need – we only have disabled children.' Report of Interconnections Appeal to 20 CEOs in England Phase 2 -
Third Report: 'Eleven hard-to-reach chief execs & dangers to children of long-term exposure to EMR' Interconnections Appeal phase 3 report -
Open letter to all Chairs, Trustees, Supporters and Friends of England's Children's Organisations – about dangers to our children -
