top of page
Initiatives to follow

Archbishop Makarios Hospital III Launches Initiative To Minimize Wireless Radiation Exposures To Children

In Cyprus, at the Archbishop Makarios Hospital in the Pediatric care and Neonatal unit, WiFi is disabled as a new safety initiative. This is replaced with Ethernet connections. In addition, nurses educate parents to keep cell phones away from children outside of the pediatric the hospital as well. (This is in contrast to some pediatric hospitals, which have iPads in the Neonatal unit so mothers can see their babies from outside the unit.)


If parents carry cell phones into the hospital they must be in flight mode. Parents are also educated that they can still take pictures, video, and play prerecorded music in this mode.

​

Dr. Andreas Neophytou, Executive Director of the hospital, said at the launch of the wireless initiative “We are reducing direct and passive exposure of children to non-ionizing radiation. We protect the children.” 


The Campaign is a co-operation between the Archbishop Makarios III Hospital (NAM III) and the Cyprus Committee on the Environment and Children’s Health (CyCECH) with the active support of the Executive Director of the Archbishop Makarios III Hospital, Dr. A. Neophytou, the Director of the Pediatrics Department, Dr. A. Elia. It is a collaboration of Dr. Andreas Sergis and Dr Antonis Kleanthous and the nursing staff of the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU).

Cyprus-Bus-image-English-5-1.jpg

This website is still being developed. Please refresh your browser to see the latest version. 

The "Right to Know." Back in 2015, Berkley City Council passed a law requiring retailers to inform consumers about cellphone dangers

This law requires for every sale, or lease of a phone, cell phone retailers provide consumers with a notice on radio frequency (RF) radiation exposure guidelines. They must warn purchasers that carrying the phone in their pants or shirt pockets, or tucked into a bra could result in exceeding federal guidelines. City staff had assistance from Lawrence Lessig, a law professor at Harvard, and Robert Post, Dean of Yale Law School, in drafting the law. Lessig offered to defend the city pro bono if the law is challenged, as expected, by cellphone manufacturers.

The Berkley Law:

“To assure safety, the Federal Government requires that cell phones meet radio frequency (RF) exposure guidelines. If you carry or use your phone in a pants or shirt pocket or tucked into a bra when the phone is ON and connected to a wireless network, you may exceed the federal guidelines for exposure to RF radiation. This potential risk is greater for children. Refer to the instructions in your phone or user manual for information about how to use your phone safely.”

It requires that the notice is provided on paper not less than 5-by-8 inches, in at least 18-point type. If the notice is “prominently displayed” at a point of sale, it must be on a poster not less than 8-1/2-by-11 inches in at least 28-point type. Link

In France: advertisements must recommend devices that  reduce radiation exposure to the brain

Since 2015 in France, advertising for cell phones should clearly indicate the recommendation of hand free kits for protection of the head of the user and it will be included in the package. Advertising for cell phone not accompanied by such a kit is forbidden. Companies in violation will be fined 75,000 Euros.

​

The Swiss people have put forward a referendum on a range of electromagnetic safety initiatives which has been approved by the Swiss Federal Chancellery 

The Federal People's Initiative - the so-called package of proposals  was approved by the Swiss Federal Chancellery and published in the official newspaper. These include:

  • Indoors, data should be transmitted via fiber optic or coaxial cables, and not using an electromagnetic field.

  • Zones on public transport  prohibits use of electromagnetic emitting devices.

  • The power of the transmitters must be reduced so that electromagnetic radiation does not enter the house.

  • Public buildings, such as schools, hospitals or nursing homes, must be protected from electromagnetic radiation.

  • Operators planning to install new antennas or increase the power of existing ones must obtain the written consent of local residents within a radius of 400 meters. 

  • People especially sensitive to electromagnetic radiation should have free access to counseling centers

​

The Health Ministry in Israel advises keeping your phone off your body: 

  • Using a speaker/personal speakerphone or earplug (not wireless) during conversation - distancing the mobile phone from the user’s body reduces his exposure to the radiowave radiation. Therefore, keep the mobile phone at a distance from the body (do not carry it on the body, such as in the belt, pocket or on a neck strap).

  • Obviously, reducing the amount and duration of calls on the mobile phone is another simple measure to reduce exposure.

  • In areas with week reception (areas with a relatively small number of antennas, or with reception attenuation, such as in an elevator, train etc.), the level of radiation exposure rises. Therefore, make fewer calls in these areas. Please note that the reception level is indicated on the instrument so such situations can be identified.

  • The Consumer Protection Regulations (information on non-ionizing radiation from mobile phones) of 2002, stipulate the duty to label the product, specifying the radiation level of the phone’s model and the maximum permitted radiation level. This regulation allows to compare the emitted radiation level between different instruments and to take this into consideration when weighing the factors determining the choice of a new instrument at the time of its purchase.

  •  The State of Israel, Ministry of Health advises parents to reduce children’s exposure to mobile phones as much as possible, consider the age they start using them, reduce the amount of time mobile phones are used, and in any event, make sure they use earphones (not wireless) or a speaker when using the mobile phone.

These are quotes from their Ministry of Health website

Israel also has a centre of research into non-ionizing radiation.

​

San Francisco Bay Area City Councilors supported an urgent law to immediately block 5G in a small town

That's why city council members in Mill Valley, a small town just north of San Francisco, voted unanimously last year to block 5G small cell towers in residential areas. The local legislators made their decision after getting significant public push-back from people living in Mill Valley. They reportedly received 145 letters critical of 5G and only five from supporters.

Since the city council's vote was for an urgency ordinance, the new rules went into effect immediately. 

bottom of page