In a risk analysis of Covid-19 rapid tests and PCR tests, Prof. Dr. Werner Bergholz came to the conclusion that all of the antigen test kits he examined contain several hazardous substances. Therefore, the “implementation is inevitably associated with risks for the health of the users and for their surroundings and the environment.”
The greatest danger comes from the swab, which also applies to the PCR test, according to Bergholz. One of the problematic ingredients is ethylene oxide, which is extremely carcinogenic. The mass testing of students and asymptomatic people also is completely pointless, he said.
All swab sticks analyzed contain carcinogenic ethylene oxide. Unqualified contractors carry out the tests and this violates safety regulations for handling hazardous chemicals. Moreover, mass testing, especially of schoolchildren, is completely pointless since tests only make sense if there are symptoms.
Apart from the “predictable flood of false positive results” and the “relatively poor sensitivity” of between 20 and 50 percent which is being “overlooked’, there is a far greater problem with the tests, which has received too little attention, said the professor. All of the tests he analyzed contained hazardous substances such as the highly carcinogenic ethylene oxide (EO).
Even with the greatest care in handling the tests, contamination or contact with skin without suitable protective measures (which are often omitted in the instruction leaflets for lay use) occur in many cases “.
Due to the large number of antigen tests carried out daily, even if there is a very low probability of error when carried out by lay people, the release or absorption of the hazardous substances into the body can be expected, he explained. Because when laypeople use the test kits, it is likely that their fingers become contaminated. This is not acceptable, says Prof. Bergholz.
The rapid antigen tests contain toxic gold nanoparticles and at least in one case a chemical not approved in Europe, which has now received an exemption, according to Prof. Bergholz. “All of these substances are harmful to health and the environment.” All of the package inserts for rapid tests that he examined contain chemicals that are hazardous to health. The spitting tests are based on carbon nanotubes. This substance is basically subject to the European REACH chemicals regulation.
“According to scientific studies, it can be assumed that the swab sticks for both the antigen rapid tests and the PCR tests for the ethylene oxide sterilization contain 50 times as much EO on the surfaces as the daily amount allowed for occupationally exposed persons.”
Food should not contain any EO at all. The reason for this is that it is extremely carcinogenic and mutagenic.
Swab sticks also pose another risk
The swab sticks pose an additional risk, as they damage the mucous membranes, often lead to nosebleeds and leave foreign bodies on the mucous membranes. In extreme cases, cerebral fluid has even escaped from nasal swabs.
The protective measures required in the instruction leaflets because of the hazardous substances are inconsistent, as they range from no information to only 80 percent of the protective measures actually mentioned. Package leaflets for lay use often withhold important information on hazardous substances and protective measures completely and usually contain no further information at all about the chemicals.
Violation of REACH
The fact that tests are carried out by lay people in the home environment or in classrooms violates general safety regulations for handling chemicals that are harmful to health. In at least one case, the provisions of the European chemicals regulation REACH had been violated.
REACH regulates the registration, evaluation, approval and restriction of chemicals uniformly for the EU countries . The use “was therefore illegal before an exemption was granted,” explained Prof Bergholz. “The massive use of rapid antigen tests and PCR tests is pointless, since, if viewed realistically, they cannot have a positive effect on the infection process. This is particularly true for use by schoolchildren.”
The risk of a serious illness and hospitalization for children is “negligibly small” he added. This also applies to everyday working life, because for those under sixty the risk is also very low and comparable to the risk of a normal flu, Bergholz commented in a statement for the German Bundestag on the subject of the Infection Protection Act.
Prof. Bergholz therefore recommended that “rapid antigen tests should only be used by specialist staff in specially equipped laboratories and only for symptomatic persons”.
Prof. Dr. Werner Bergholz is a former professor of electrical engineering with a focus on quality and risk management at Jakobs University Bremen. Before that, Prof. Bergholz worked for 17 years in the management of chip production at Siemens.