PRESS RELEASE: Environmental Health Trust Board Member Harry V. Lehmann Urges Further Study of Links Between Cell Phone Use and Strokes in Youth

 WASHINGTON, DC – February 15, 2011 – Harry V. Lehmann, a distinguished California attorney and member of the board of Environmental Health Trust, a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating individuals, health professionals and communities about controllable environmental health risks and policy changes needed to reduce those risks, today released a statement on the question of why greater numbers of young people are suffering strokes today compared to older people.

“We know that cell phone radiation weakens the brain’s naturally protective barrier and that more people are using cell phones next to their heads for hours a day,” Mr. Lehmann says.  “Of course, we can’t be sure if the skyrocketing use of cell phones by young people lies behind this stunning rise in strokes, but it’s high time research addressed this question directly.”

Mr. Lehmann continues:  “A substantial body of empirical scientific data shows that cell telephone radiation is associated with violation of the blood/brain barrier, sometimes referred to as the Frey Effect, and discussed with many citations to the research literature in the book Disconnect: The Truth About Cell Phone Radiation, What the Industry Has Done to Hide It, and How to Protect Your Family (Dutton, 2010) by Dr. Devra Lee Davis.  This was further substantiated in the Lund University studies of 2005.  For societal reasons, including a frequent choice of mobile technology over landlines, the Hispanic immigrant community—just to name one specific segment of society—has within it millions of early adopters and frequent users.  The potential for a causal relationship between frequent cell phone use among this population and disproportionate stroke statistics should be thoroughly studied.” 

Mr. Lehmann has been practicing law in California since 1977.  His career has been largely dedicated to representing clients in civil actions.  He has successfully handled or supervised approximately 1,400 civil matters.  His work is focused on scientific and engineering proof cases, including products liability, civil engineering, accident reconstruction, and mechanical engineering and aviation product defects litigation.  He has significant experience representing individuals and working in mass litigation for consumers.  Mr. Lehmann also has experience successfully representing clients suffering from serious and catastrophic personal injuries, and clients that have lost loved ones in accidents.  He has significant experience working with clients suffering from brain and spinal cord injuries, and working on injury cases that turn on medical proof.