Rising Level of Public Exposure to Mobile Phones: Accumulation through Additivity and Reflectivity

A dramatic development occurring in our daily life is the increasing use of mobile equipment including mobile phones and wireless access to the Internet. They enable us to access several types of information more easily than in the past. Simultaneously, the density of mobile users is rapidly increasing. When hundreds of mobile phones emit radiation, their total power is found to be comparable to that of a microwave oven or a satellite broadcasting station. Thus, the question arises: what is the public exposure level in an area with many sources of electromagnetic wave emission? We show that this level can reach the reference level for general public exposure (ICNIRP Guideline) in daily life. This is caused by the fundamental properties of electromagnetic field, namely, reflection and additivity. The level of exposure is found to be much higher than that estimated by the conventional framework of analysis that assumes that the level rapidly decreases with the inverse square distance between the source and the affected person. A simple formula for the exposure level is derived by applying energetics to the electromagnetic field. The formula reveals a potential risk of intensive exposure.Comment: 5 pages, 1 fugure; to appear in J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. Vol.71 No.2 in Feb 200

Cross-Sector Review of Drivers and Available 3Rs Approaches for Acute Systemic Toxicity Testing

Acute systemic toxicity studies are carried out in many sectors in which synthetic chemicals are manufactured or used and are among the most criticized of all toxicology tests on both scientific and ethical grounds. A review of the drivers for acute toxicity testing within the pharmaceutical industry led to a paradigm shift whereby in vivo acute toxicity data are no longer routinely required in advance of human clinical trials. Based on this experience, the following review was undertaken to identify (1) regulatory and scientific drivers for acute toxicity testing in other industrial sectors, (2) activities aimed at replacing, reducing, or refining the use of animals, and (3) recommendations for future work in this area

Impact and acceptability of the coach and teacher training within a school-based sport-for-health smoking prevention intervention: SmokeFree Sports

This study evaluated the impact and acceptability of a three hour bespoke training workshop for sports coaches and teachers to subsequently deliver a sport-for-health smoking prevention intervention in primary schools. Questionnaires were completed pre- and post-training by both teachers (n=24) and coaches (n=8), and post-intervention by teachers. Interviews were also conducted with coaches (n=7) and teachers (n=12). Both groups displayed a significant increase in intervention knowledge and delivery self-efficacy from pre- to post-training, which was maintained at post-intervention for teachers. Data suggests that a brief training workshop is acceptable to practitioners and fosters confidence to implement a sport-for-health smoking prevention program

Dealing responsibly with the alcohol industry in London.

The 2012 UK Government's Alcohol Strategy for England and Wales has been welcomed broadly and resulted only in muted criticism within the UK public health community. This is despite strong continuities with previous alcohol industry constructions of the nature of the problem and preferred policy responses. This is probably because the strategy shows progress on the public health lobby's key issue of pricing of alcohol beverages. There are, however, many problems with the wider content of the strategy, showing little interest in much needed industry regulation other than on price, and an absence of commitment to investment in research. Some dilemmas posed for the research community are discussed