What are the Dangers of Living Near Cell Phone Towers?

by Rajesh chopra LiveIndia.com

German study: 3 times increased cancer risk

Several doctors living in Southern Germany city of Naila conducted a study to assess the
risk of mobile phone radiation. Their research examined whether population living close to
two transmitter antennas installed in 1993 and 1997 in Naila had increased risk of cancer.

Data was gathered from nearly 1,000 patients who had been residing at the same address
during the entire observation period of 10 years. The social differences are small, with no
ethnic diversity. There is no heavy industry, and in the inner area there are neither high
voltage cable nor electric trains. The average ages of the residents are similar in both the
inner and outer areas.

What they found is quite telling: the proportion of newly developed cancer cases was three
times higher among those who had lived during the past ten years at a distance of up to
400m (about 1300 feet) from the cellular transmitter site, compared to those living further
away. They also revealed that the patients fell ill on average 8 years earlier.

Computer simulation and measurements used in the study both show that radiation in the
inner area (within 400m) is 100 times higher compared to the outer area, mainly due to
additional emissions coming from the secondary lobes of the transmitter.

Looking at only the first 5 years, there was no significant increased risk of getting cancer in
the inner area. However, for the period 1999 to 2004, the odds ratio for getting cancer was
3.38 in the inner area compared to the outer area. Breast cancer topped the list, with an
average age of 50.8 year compared with 69.9 years in the outer area, but cancers of the
prostate, pancreas, bowel, skin melanoma, lung and blood cancer were all increased

People who are living near mobile tower 400-500 metres should get their houses tested for
radiation.

Across the United States, opposition to cell towers has continued to grow within residential areas.
More than 500 cases have been heard nationwide involving efforts to stop cell phone towers from
being placed within residential zones.

Whether these cases are won or lost, the question still remains; are these cell towers safe?

Federal law eliminates one of the key arguments that some residents have against cell sites in
their neighborhood; the health factor. To date, no studies have shown absolute and conclusive
evidence that radio frequency [RF] emissions are harmful at levels allowed by the Federal
Communications Commission. As a result, the law strictly prohibits the rejection of a cell tower
based on health risk.

However, there is also a clear lack of evidence showing that these towers are in fact safe.
Because of this, a fear of the uncertainty remains among many neighborhoods across the United
States.

Although residents cannot argue the health issues associated with living in the vicity of a cell
tower, they can make the argument that the perception of a health risk, combined with what most
consider to be an eyesore, can drastically lower property values for those living near a cell site.
In recent years, there have been several different views taken on the health risks associated with
cell towers.

In 2004, The International Association of Fire Fighters opposed the use of fire houses for cell
tower sites “until a study with the highest scientific merit” proves they are safe.

Read their full statement here.

Read their full statement here.

The American Cancer Society's web site states that “because the [cell tower] technology is still
relatively new, we do not yet have full information on health effects.” However, the organization
also noted there was “no known evidence of a link between low-level emissions and cancer.”

Read the entire report here.

According to the Federal Government, no studies have shown conclusive evidence that radio
frequency emissions, a form of electromagnetic radiation (EMR), from cell towers are harmful.

The Food and Drug Administration states that, "RF [Radio frequency] exposure on the ground is
much less than exposure very close to the antenna and in the path of the transmitted radio signal.
In fact, ground-level exposure from such antennas is typically thousands of times less than the
exposure levels recommended as safe by expert organizations. So exposure to nearby residents
would be well within safety margins."

However, the Federal Government also declared cigarettes safe at one time. Why should
residents have to be the “test group” to prove whether these towers are safe? How are we to
know what the long term exposure studies will show? Why should we be forced by the Federal
Government to take that risk?
Cellphones, Cellphone Towers Cancer Connection - JNU
 Two Tower on Single roof after just 1st. floor.
Cell phone companies also maintain that no risks exist from the towers. "There are no health risks
posed by the towers. Independent scientific panels around the world have reached this
conclusion," said Russ Stromberg, senior manager of development at T-Mobile.

Would we expect the cell phone companies to say anything less? Big Tobacco raved about the
safety of cigarette smoking for years; all the while knowing the underlying risks associated with
their product. It came down to one thing; money.

So who are you to believe?

Several studies are now coming forward that seem to tell a different story regarding the safety of
cell towers.

A study by Dr. Bruce Hocking in Australia found that children living near three TV and FM
broadcast towers (similar to cell towers) in Sydney had more than twice the rate of leukemia than
children living more than seven miles away.

Says Dr. Neil Cherry, a biophysicist at Lincoln University in New Zealand:

"Public health surveys of people living in the vicinity of cell site base stations should be being
carried out now, and continue progressively over the next two decades. This is because prompt
effects such as miscarriage, cardiac disruption, sleep disturbance and chronic fatigue could well
be early indicators of the adverse health effects. Symptoms of reduced immune system
competence, cardiac problems, especially of the arrhythmic type, and cancers, especially brain
tumor and leukemia, are probable."

Biomedical engineer Mariana Alves-Pereira says exposure to cell phone towers can lead to
vibroacoustic disease. "From what I understand, some of the complaints are similar in what is
seen in vibroacoustic disease patients, which are people who develop a disease caused by low
frequency noise exposure," she said. Symptoms can include mood swings, indigestion, ulcers
and joint pain.

Dr. Gerard Hyland, a physicist who was nominated twice for the Nobel Prize in medicine, says,
"Existing safety guidelines for cell phone towers are completely inadequate ... Quite justifiably, the
public remains skeptical of attempts by governments and industry to reassure them that all is
well, particularly given the unethical way in which they often operate symbiotically so as to
promote their own vested interests."

According to the Mount Shasta Bioregional Ecology Center, "Studies have shown that even at low
levels of this radiation, there is evidence of damage to cell tissue and DNA, and it has been linked
to brain tumors, cancer, suppressed immune function, depression, miscarriage, Alzheimer's
disease, and numerous other serious illnesses."

According to Dr. W. Löscher of the Institute of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmacy of the
Veterinary School of Hannover in Germany, dairy cows that were kept in close proximity to a TV
and cell phone tower for two years had a reduction in milk production along with increased health
problems and behavioral abnormalities. In an experiment, one cow with abnormal behavior was
taken away from the antenna and the behavior subsided within five days. When the cow was
brought back near the antenna, the symptoms returned.

In addition, in January, 2008, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) called for a reexamination
of cell phone health risks citing that long-term and low-intensity radio frequency exposure from
mobile devices may be dangerous to pregnant women and kids.

Read more about the FDA & Cell Phone Health Risks:

So the question remains; who are we to believe? Although we as residents cannot fight this fight
on the basis of health factors, we must not turn a blind eye to the facts that are presented to us.

Those who know the risks of using a cell phone and continue to use one are doing so by choice.
The residents in this area did not choose to live near a cell tower. However, should a tower be
placed in our neighborhood, we will have no choice but to reside in the vicinity of a tower without
knowing the full extent of the health risks, if any, that we are being exposed to.

I have to ask; why should any person be asked to take that risk?
.......Best Protection against Radiation....