To the President of the United States of America Bamberg, February 12, 2009
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Fax: 001 202‐456‐2461
To the Citizens of the United States of America
To the Members of the House of Representatives
To the Members of the Senate
Warning Against Adverse Health Effects from the Operation of Digital Broadcast Television Stations (DVB‐T)
Dear President Obama:
Dear Members of the House of Representatives:
Dear Members of the Senate:
Dear Citizens of the United States of America:
In the US, digital broadcast television is scheduled to start operating on February 17, 2009. We
write to you today because we wish to save you from the significant negative health
consequences that have occurred here in Germany.
In Germany, analog broadcast television stations have gradually been switching to digital
broadcast signals since 2003. This switchover first took place in metropolitan areas. In those
areas, however, the RF exposures in public places as well as at home continued to increase at
the same time. As a result, the continuing declining health status of children, adolescents, and
adults in urban areas could not be attributed to any single cause.
On May 20, 2006, two digital broadcast television stations went on the air in the Hessian Rhoen
area (Heidelstein, Kreuzberg), which until recently had enjoyed rather low mobile phone
radiation exposure levels. Within a radius of more than 20 km, the following symptoms that
occurred abruptly were reported:
constant headaches, pressure in the head, drowsiness, sleep problems, inability to think clearly,
forgetfulness, nervous tensions, irritability, tightness in the chest, rapid heartbeat, shortness of
breath, depressive mood, total apathy, loss of empathy, burning skin, inner burning, leg
weakness, pain in the limbs, stabbing pain in various organs, weight increase
Birds had fled the area. Cats had turned phlegmatic and hardly ever went into the garden. One
child committed suicide; a second child tried doing it.
Over time the same unbearable symptoms showed up in other locations—most recently in
Bamberg and Aschaffenburg on November 25, 2008. Physicians accompanied affected people to
areas where there was no DVB‐T reception (valleys, behind mountain ranges) and witnessed
how these people became symptom‐free only after a short period of time.
The respective agencies responsible in Germany were approached for help, but they declined to
follow up on the strongly suggestive evidence in the actual locations. The behavior of the
government agencies disregards the fundamental rights of affected people guaranteed in the
German Constitution.
In Germany, DVB‐T (Digital Video Broadcasting Terrestrial) uses Orthogonal Frequency Division
Multiplex Modulation. The fundamental principle of this type of modulation works by spreading
the information across several thousand carrier frequencies directly adjacent to each other. A
channel is 7.8 MHz wide. The amplitude also changes constantly.
The WHO, the German Radiation Protection Commission, and the German Federal Ministry of
the Environment rely on the Guidelines for Limiting Exposure to Time‐varying Electric, Magnetic,
and Electromagnetic Fields (up to 300 GHz), (Health Physics 74 (4): 494‐522; 1998) published by
the International Commission on Non‐Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). In this document,
it says:
p. 495: “These guidelines will be periodically revised and updated as advances are made in
identifying the adverse health effects of time‐varying electric, magnetic, and electromagnetic
fields.”
p. 507: “Interpretation of several observed biological effects of AM electromagnetic fields is
further complicated by the apparent existence of “windows” of response in both the power
density and frequency domains. There are no accepted models that adequately explain this
phenomenon, which challenges the traditional concept of a monotonic relationship between the
field intensity and the severity of the resulting biological effects.”
Why are the German agencies in charge not willing to help identify the adverse health effects?
Since immediately, after digital broadcast television stations had started transmitting, adverse
health effects have occurred, the review of the Guidelines announced by the ICNIRP is
imperative. Obviously, there are response windows contained within the broad frequency bands
with their several thousand frequencies that change constantly and whose amplitude also
changes constantly. The ICNIRP had already pointed out this possibility.
In 1992, Dipl.‐Ing. Rüdiger Matthes, member of ICNIRP and of the Geman Radiation Protection
Agency (BfS), emphasized the preliminary status of the exposure limits in a hearing on the health
risks of electromagnetic radiation: “…They (electromagnetic exposure levels) are several orders of
magnitude higher than the natural background radiation levels of nontechnical sources…In
parallel to this development, findings of scientific studies according to which long‐term exposure
to such fields may trigger adverse health effects keep accumulating.…In this context, it is also
important to recognize that there are large differences in exposure levels within a given
population. A small child, for example, absorbs much more RF energy than an adult
person…There are several findings on low‐level exposures, which are considered scientifically
validated because they have been reproduced often but which are rather difficult to interpret.
The impact of mostly pulsed or ELF modulated RF radiation on cell metabolism, for example,
counts among them. It has been observed that the efflux of certain ions (e.g. calcium) from a cell
increases during exposure to such fields. The occurrence of this effect is described almost
completely independent of the actual field strength. It can be found at extremely low absorption
levels.…With all the currently available scientific findings, there remain some crucial questions
unanswered.
…There are gaps in the so‐called body of evidence. That means that the biological effects, for
example, have only been investigated for individual frequencies. Data (e.g. effect thresholds) on
the various biological effects across the entire frequency spectrum are not available. The
exposure limits, therefore, are based on an approach that greatly simplifies the very complex
reality whose details are unfathomable. It should also be noted that concrete data on possible
effects of long‐term exposures are mostly lacking.”
Real life teaches us that it was wrong to simplify. In Germany, we see strong evidence of a direct
temporal association between the start‐up of terrestrial digital broadcast television and the
occurrence of severe health symptoms.
Dr.‐Ing. W. Volkrodt, former R&D engineer at Siemens, recognized the danger of
electromagnetic fields for humans, animals, and plants. He pinned his hopes on policymakers
who would listen to reason when he wrote in 1987: “Future historians will refer to the RF
dilemma during the period from around 1975 to 1990 as a short, time‐limited ‘technical incident.’
Owing to the introduction of fiber optic technology, this incident could be remediated quickly and
effectively.“
Satellites and cable provide the US population with television services. By contrast, the risk
associated with terrestrial digital broadcast television transmitters is unacceptable.
We, therefore, ask you, dear Mr. President, who has the wellbeing of his citizens at
heart, to stop the scheduled introduction of this new technology in the United States
of America and to save the people from the negative health consequences that have
occurred in our country.
Dr. med. Cornelia Waldmann-Selsam
Dr. med. Christine Aschermann
Dr. med. Markus Kern
. I've also heard that HDTV is worse as far as the hypnotic programming aspect. Any vouched-for links on this would be appreciated. Yes, there's way more bad than good to be found in all of this, but I guess I'm still trying to salvage some aspects of it in my mind. I am interested in how this "STO with terrorist factions" thing on Caprica develops but it's probably just as well not to get sucked in.
