Berkeley, CA City Council Meeting
December 5, 2006

Item #13 Manufactured Nanoparticle Health and Safety Disclosure Ordinance

"If the federal government isn't going to do anything,
it's up to us to step up."
City of Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates

The City Council of Berkely, California unanimously agreed to create a mandatory
reporting system for businesses that work with nanoparticles in the city.
This is a landmark ordinance and focuses the need for communities to take a closer look
at nanoparticles and how their use and production should be monitored for safety.

This audio file of the discussion and vote is taken from the City Council meeting.
Speakers include Dr. Edward Spencer, Richard Seales (sp?),
and a UC Berkeley student working on a project associated with the Silicon Valley Toxics Commission.

Dr. Spencer speaks about the connection between nanotechnology and Morgellons.
Click here to listen to the 14 minute file.

This audio edited from video of the meeting on the City of Berkeley website,
from the 2006 City Council Agendas, Summaries, and
Video Archive

One of the speakers at the meeting was Ed Spencer, M.D., neurologist from Northern California. The text of his comments is presented below: Honorable Mayor and Berkeley City Council Members, My name is Edward Spencer MD. I have practiced Neurology in Northern California for more than thirty years. I am speaking on the issue of health and nanotechnology. A very strange disorder named Morgellons disease is with us, and the world wide number of cases is approaching 20 thousand; the majority in California, Texas and Florida, with major clusters in the San Francisco Bay Area and Southern California. There now exists strong data indicating that this disorder is associated with nanotechnology, specifically nano machines in the form of nano fibers. The National Science Foundation (NSF) defines nanofibers as having at least one dimension of 100 nanometer (nm) or less. So-called Morgellons disorder presents as brain fog, fatigue and other neurological symptoms. It is associated with the presence of tiny fibers protruding from the skin, intense itching, the possible appearance of ulcerative lesions ringed by a raised crater rim, and other strange lesions. The fibers have been widely observed to move. There is no satisfactory treatment, physicians and dermatologists are unfamiliar with this chronic disabling disorder and tend to ignore it. Patients become labeled as having Delusions of Parasitosis, and this psychiatric diagnosis is stuck to the patients by dermatologists who have not examined the skin under magnification, and who have not completed the extensive evaluation necessary to exclude all parasitic skin disorders before making a psychiatric diagnosis. Pictures of the fibers are provided in the packet and I will direct your attention to the blue fiber with the gold tip. This was removed from a patient in New Hampshire. This fiber did not burn until it has been heated to 1700 degrees F. Compare that with hair, which is easily burned producing a characteristic odor, and has a cellular structure... The fibers are shed regularly and some grow to long lengths indicating fiber production in the human body. Dr. Janovy has stated of this nano-technology - "it has no eukaryotic cells, it has no cell membrane, it is not a parasite, it is not biological, it is a machine." The web article: Gold Nano Anchors Put Nanowires in Their Place is appended. Also included are microphotographs by Dr. Hildegarde Staninger of a blue Morgellons fiber removed from a patient. Note the similarity of structure. There is evidence that Morgellons disorder(s) may be carried by insect vectors, as some type of bug bite frequently precedes the onset of the disorder(s). The agent(s) producing Morgellons are in the sewer systems. Also included in your packet are photomicrographs of very strange skin lesions. Morgellons appears almost biblical in its characteristics, like something described in Exodus. Dr Randy Wymore of the University of Oklahoma sent fibers to the FBI. No matching fibers were found in the FBI forensic database. A contact in Naval Intelligence has recommended looking into Smart Dust. (Specks in field array). The National Registry of Environmental Professionals has assigned a task force to look into environmental causes behind Morgellons Disorder. I ask the Berkeley City Council to request that the University of California devote its considerable intellectual and technical resources to studying these nano fibers. Under the wise guidance of Wall Street and insurance companies American Medicine has fallen into an amazing state of degeneracy. Medical care is unavailable for many, access is limited for most, and research money is frequently unavailable except from major drug companies. Using technical terms, American Medicine is in the toilet. The response of the CDC has been lethargic to the point of being alarming. A simple electronic microscope such as you see here allows inspection of the skin at 50x to 400x and allows the clinician to document the existence of fibers. Eyeballs at three feet won't do it, and simple equipment like this should be available in the UC Clinics. And, of course, we need methods of treatment. This concludes my brief bedtime story. I will be pleased to provide further information as it becomes available. Respectfully, Ed Spencer MD