In Switzerland there is no supervision for mobile phone radiation

Source 2: phonegatealert.org/en/project/switzerland-no-supervision-for-mobile-phone-radiation/
12 Jan. 2023

Tages Anzeiger

Following our press release and its revelations, several Swiss German media published on Thursday, January 12, 2023 information on the industrial and health scandal of Phonegate. The Swiss authorities confirmed the lack of legislation to protect the health of millions of users of cell phones but also of connected objects.

With the help of our Swiss partners, we have translated into French and English the article published in the Tages Anzeiger, one of the newspapers of the Tamedia press group.

Opponents of mobile communications discover loopholes in the law
In Switzerland there is no supervision for mobile phone radiation

Activists have found that smartphone manufacturers are not being checked to ensure they comply with the limits. It’s different in France, where the State takes rigorous action.
by Jon Mettler, Tages-Anzeiger, 12 Jan. 2023

So far, the resistance of the mobile phone opponents in Switzerland has been directed primarily against mobile phone antennas, which they believe emit radiation that is harmful to health. But now critics are also turning their attention to non-ionizing radiation (NIR) emitted by cell phones themselves.

Investigations by the organization Phonegate Alert from France with the federal authorities have revealed: In this country there is no supervisory body that checks whether the manufacturers comply with the legal standards for mobile phone radiation. Rather, the manufacturers of mobile phones are themselves responsible for ensuring the security of their devices in Switzerland.

On December 22, 2022, the Federal Office of Communications responded to a request from Phonegate Alert that “according to the current status of legislation, there is no market surveillance authority in Switzerland that is responsible for the health aspects of NIS products”. This includes not only smartphones, but also lamps for ultraviolet light and cosmetic lasers for home use.

The Federal Office confirmed the facts to the Tamedia editorial team.

Behind Phonegate Alert is Marc Arazi, a French doctor and entrepreneur. He calls on the Swiss authorities to remedy the shortcoming quickly. After it became public in 2015 that 9 out of 10 mobile phones used in France emitted more radiation than the manufacturers stated, Arazi founded his association.

In a nod to the Watergate scandal, the incident became known as “Phonegate” by our neighbor to the west. Since then, Phonegate Alert has been active throughout Europe against “the dangers of mobile phones and 5G”, as the organization’s website says.

Unlike in Switzerland, the National Frequency Agency (ANFR) in France checks whether mobile phones comply with the limit values ​​for radiation. The authority publishes the results on the Internet and has the power to impose sanctions.

French authorities objected to 38 devices
In tests over the past eight years, the ANFR has come across 38 models that violated the requirements. Most recently, these included products from Samsung and Xiaomi. The manufacturers who were caught had to either issue software updates to reduce the radiation from the phones or take the devices in question off the French market.

During the tests, the French authorities adhere to the limit values ​​specified by the European Union. The so-called specific absorption rate, which is given in watts per kilogram, is measured. If the smartphone is held to the ear, a maximum limit of 2 watts per kilogram is permitted in France. The same requirement also applies to Switzerland – only this is not controlled in this country.

In addition, the French measure the radiation when the device is in a trouser pocket. The limit here is also 2 watts per kilogram. If the user carries the mobile phone in one hand at hip height, 4 watts per kilogram must not be exceeded.

It is quite possible that Swiss authorities will soon carry out similar test series. The Interior Ministry of SP head Alain Berset has received the order from the Federal Council to clarify the situation. As this editorial team knows, an interdepartmental working group has been set up under the leadership of the Federal Office of Public Health.

See further the link at the top


Source 1: phonegatealert.org/en/cell-phones-and-health-swiss-authorities-still-absent/
By : Phonegate Team • 5 Jan 2023
Categories : Phonegate Alert, Politic, Press releases
Tags : Danger, Dangerous Smartphones, DETEC, Phonegate Alert, Switszerland, Waves

On December 22, 2022, the General Secretariat of the Swiss Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communication (DETEC) answered our last question and after three years of waiting, here is the insane conclusion of its letter:

“After extensive research, the working group found that, as the legislation currently stands, there is no market surveillance authority in Switzerland that is competent for the health aspects of NIR products (e.g. verification of compliance with NIR limit values*).

In 2022, still no official monitoring body responsible for checking the conformity of devices
While our NGO has been contacting the Swiss authorities since 2019, in order to find out who our official contact is, different government departments are skilfully passing the quid. Thus, while mobile phones have been on sale for more than thirty years on Swiss territory, the authorities persist in their failures, despite the alerts raised in 2018 and then in 2019 by several members of Parliament (interpellations 19.3180 and 19.4496) or some press articles evoking the “Phonegate affair”, such as in the newspaper “Beobachter“.

Despite this, no officeis therefore officialy in charge, in 2022, of verifying that the mobile phones put on sale on the Swiss market comply with the standards set by the regulations.

This unacceptable lack of monitoring and health protection of millions of citizens, who use mobile phones, cannot continue. At the beginning of 2023, it is high time that the Swiss government finally takes its responsibilities and officially assigns to one of its agencies the responsibility of monitoring and enforcing the Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) standards by mobile and connected object manufacturers.

Dangerous smartphone checks: France 38-Switzerland 0
As a reminder, our NGO “Alerte Phonegate” has been working since 2016 to raise awareness about this health and industrial scandal, and has notably enabled the publication of SAR tests carried out by the National Frequency Agency (ANFR) on phones sold in France.

As a result of these tests, thirty-eight mobile phone models were pinpointed by the ANFR, forcing manufacturers to withdraw them from the French market or to carry out a software update to bring the SAR into compliance, even if this is not enough to protect the health of cell phone users.

It is essential that the same work be carried out in Switzerland, in order to force manufacturers to comply with the regulatory standards. However, as the DETEC Secretariat General pointed out in its reply to us:

“The lack of enforcement of market surveillance in this area also means that the technical, human and financial resources needed for market surveillance are insufficient”

This lack of interest from the government allows manufacturers to continue to sell non-compliant devices in Switzerland, thus exposing citizens to possible health consequences. It is urgent to react!

Protection of industrial business interests at the expense of the health of Swiss citizens
Olivier Bodenmann, an EPFL engineer in electrical engineering, specialist in electrosmog, deplores this situation, which is dragging on:

“For more than three years now, the Swiss authorities have been asked to find out who is the competent contact person regarding the health aspects related to mobile phone radiations. We have been bounced around from department to department without ever getting a clear answer, while manufacturers continue to put non-compliant phones on the market. This aberrant situation cannot go on any longer.

Dr Marc Arazi, president of the Alerte Phonegate association, which has made numerous revelations on the subject, underlines a fundamental problem:

“As usual, everything is done to protect the industry, at the expense of the health of millions of mobile phone users. We urge the Swiss authorities to react as quickly as possible, in order to designate a competent service in termrs of controls and protection of the health of users subjected to electromagnetic radiation from mobile phones. It is the duty of the Swiss government to ensure that everything is done to certify that phone manufacturers comply with the standards, which has not been the case for too many years.”



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