Translation to the letter of Prof' Sigal Sadeski to the ministry of health regarding EHS

The following is my translation to the letter of Prof' Sigal Sadeski to the Ministry of Health regarding EHS that was filed to the Israeli supreme court in regarding to the court request to check how many EHS kids are in the educational system in Israel. The letter was translated by me, Amir Borenstein (owner of www.norad4u.com)  on the 24/04/2014. For the translation I used Google translator and then corrected some issues by myself. The letter is brought here so people and activists around the world will understand our (activist in Israel) disappointment from Prof Sigal Sadeski words and no actions.

National Knowledge center for the effect of non-ionizing radiation on health Tmoda - TNUDA

October 29, 2013

Twenty-fifth of Cheshvan , Tsha"d

Ted -80

To:
Prof. Itamar Grotto
Head of Public Health Services
Ministry of Health

Honorable Professor Grotto,

Re: regarding the Supreme Court of Justice 6268.12 - The number of children who have special sensitivity to non-ionizing radiation

According to you Request, the following is my reply to the request of the Supreme Court regarding the above question:

1.        I would like to comment',  that there was an mistake in the Supreme Court request (who requested reference for the ionizing radiation and with no doubt meant none- ionizing radiation(.

2.       The Phenomenon of EHS (Electro Magnetic Hypersensitivity or sensitivity to EMF radiation) is known and characterized by a variety of nonspecific symptoms. Including skin and general phenomenon (such as fatigue, difficulty concentrating, dizziness, nausea, Accelerated heartbeat, and digestive disorders).

The phenomenon is similar to other sensitivity phenomenon, such as MSC (Multiple Chemical Sensitivities) associated with environmental exposure to low levels of chemicals. MCS is also characterized by a wide range of nonspecific symptoms, without verification of toxicological or physiological basis . These phenomena belong to the more general field called IEI (Idiopathic Environmental Intolerance) which describes the sensitivity to environmental factors. .

3.       Commonness of this phenomenon is not clear and there are significant differences between different geographical regions , both in the commonness  and in the reported symptoms ( higher incidence is reported in Sweden, Germany, Denmark vs. United Kingdom , Austria and France) . To my knowledge, there is no information on this subject in Israel, not in adults nor in children.

4.       There has  Been several studies examining the phenomenon. In order to test the development of symptoms in controlled laboratory conditions. Most studies showed the that EHS patients were not able to detect exposure to EMF more precisely than the control group of people who did not report such sensitivity.
In most cases there was no correlation between exposure and the development of symptoms.

5.       The position of the World Health Organization is that the reported symptoms are real and varied in terms of type and severity of symptoms (up to limiting the functionality of people suffering from the phenomenon) .  The phenomenon has no diagnostic criteria and there is no scientific basis that the symptoms are caused by exposure to EMF radiation. EHS is not considered as a medical diagnosis and It is not clear if the phenomenon represents a single medical problem. Accordingly , the recommendation to physicians is to treat the symptoms (including psychological and psychiatric evaluation ) and assessment of  the home environment and the work environment in terms of possible contaminants , including air pollution , noise, lighting (reducing of flashing lights ) and ergonomic factors . Also recommended is stress reduction.
Israeli Ministry of Health adopts the position of the World Health Organization on this issue.

According to the above, unfortunately, We can not, at this stage and without more information to respond to the request of the Supreme Court and to provide data on the number of children suffering from this phenomenon in Israel.

It goes without saying, that we support implementing the precautionary principle in the subject of non ionizing radiation, and we support the reduction of environmental radiation exposure to minimum possible, while balancing the general population health of the and the desire to use emerging technologies .

With regards.

Professor Siegel Sadezky
Knowledge Center Director

Director of the Epidemiology Unit of caner and radiation