Source: DNA India

After many years of debate over the health hazards posed by mobile phones, a recent report finally establishes it.

The exhaustive report has been submitted recently to the Department of Telecom by Prof Girish Kumar of IIT-Bombay's department of electrical engineering.

Kumar, who has done extensive research on cell phone radiation and its effects warns against excessive use of cell phones as they put users, to increased risk of cancer, brain tumour and many other health hazards. More so in case of children.

The major health hazards of radiation from cell phones and cell towers are as given below:

• A 400% increase in the risk of brain cancer among for teenagers using cell phones. Children are more vulnerable to cell phone radiation. The younger the child, the deeper is the penetration of electromagnetic radiation as children's skulls are thinner.
• Excessive use of mobile phones can also cause cancer in anyone. Use of cell phones for more than 30 minutes per day for 10 years increases the risk of brain cancer and acoustic neuroma.
• Cell phone radiation causes irreversible damage to male fertility. Studies have found 30% lower sperm count in intensive users of mobile phones.
• Cell phone frequencies can cause damage to the DNA of the body's cells. Radiation causes 'free radical formation' inside the body's cells; the free radicals are known to be carcinogenic.
• Cell phone frequencies interfere with the functioning of other life-saving gadgets, including implanted pace-makers, and may, therefore, cause sudden death.
• Mobile phone exposure can activate the stress response in human and animal cells which causes production of stress proteins. This is proof enough that the body recognises radiations from cell phones as potentially harmful.
• Electromagnetic fields caused by cell phone and cell tower radiation degrade the immune system and stimulate allergic\inflammatory responses, including rashes, sores, biting sensations and lesions.
• People using cell phones for more than 30 minutes a day for more than four years are at a higher risk of hearing loss. Cell phone radiation can cause tinnitus and damage the auditory hair cells present in the inner ear. Once damaged, these cells can never regenerate.
• Frequent use of mobile phones can also damage the visual system in many ways. Cell phone frequencies (900, 1800 MHz and 2450 MHz) damage epithelial cells and increase the temperature within the eye.
• Cell phone emissions weaken bones and can cause reduction in melatonin (a type of antioxidant which is immune system enhancer) levels.
• An increased risk of salivary gland cancer is linked to the use of mobile phones.
• Exposure to electromagnetic fields can cause sleep disorders and neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.
• Due to consistent electromagnetic background noise, bees and birds become disoriented and cannot return to their hives and nests. It has adverse effects on animals, plants and the environment.

source: http://www.theolivepress.es/spain-news/2012/01/25/cancer-mast-finally-comes-down-in-spain/

JANUARY 25, 2012  •  HEALTH, LEAD •  1 COMMENTS

• VICTORY: COUNCILLOR CONCEPCION LABAO

By Wendy Williams

THEY have long feared that a mobile phone mast has been causing cancer in their village.

Now the residents of Benajarafe have scored a massive victory by having it removed.

After a two year battle, Vodafone has been ordered to take down the controversial transmitter.

The locals are adamant that the mast, which stands just metres from their houses  was the reason for a high incidence of recent cancer deaths.

Of the nearly 400 residents there have been a staggering 50 cases of cancer with more than 30 people dying in recent years.

Many others claim to have been suffering from insomnia, headaches, depression and  memory disorders due to the mast.

Following numerous protests Velez Malaga Town Hall issued a municipal order in 2009 to have it taken down as its construction 16 years ago was not licensed.

After Vodafone lost an appeal against the order, the town hall received notification that it could be removed.

“We are satisfied,” said councillor Concepcion Labao. “Work is beginning on removing this mast, which has a great visual impact and is not legal.”

READER COMMENTS »

This section is specifically devoted to phone masts and the particular threat that they pose to health. EMRStop believes that masts are a particularly insidious threat, as we do not specifically ask for them or have any control over them.  Unlike powerlines, their presence is often harder to detect or be aware of when you move into an area. And unlike a mobile phone, which can be turned off (or used at a distance via an air-bridge headset or decent EMR sheilding), we have no control (other than shielding of premises) if a tower has been placed in the vicinity of our homes or workplaces. What is worse is that these towers are being erected next to primary schools, subjecting the youngest and most vulnerable members of our society to a potential toxin of relatively unknown magnitude. The fact that the magnitude of risk is the very subject of scientific controversy--with some highly unnerving research being demonstrated by those studies that find an adverse health effect--is a demonstration of the very opposite approach to the precautionary principle. This could easily be seen as extremely irresponsible, not only by those who implement and support the technologies, but even more so by those who have public health roles to properly evaluate the risks at hand and act accordingly and responsibly. In Australia, the mere fact that exposure limits are based around ICNIRP "research" and limits, which selectively chooses to consider only thermal effects of EMR as being dangerous, is in itself cause for significant concern.

(Note: Cordless DECT phones can be as much of a problem, within a more localised area.)

(Originally "What Americans Need to Know...")

Margaret Meade Glaser
Chicago, Illinois
EMR Network (Board of Directors)

www.emrnetwork.org

I was gratified that you included the topic of electromagnetic effects on biology, particularly from high frequencies used in wireless transmissions, in Latitudes (Vol. 5, #4). What Americans need to know, and what they are not being told, is that three out of four independent (non-industry sponsored) research studies worldwide are showing biological effects from low-level, nonionizing radiation similar to that used in wireless communications. These are called "nonthermal effects" because they occur at levels too low to cause tissue heating. The telecom industry, and the FCC's safe exposure guidelines, recognize only thermal (heating) effects.  That means that exposures at intensity (power) levels below that threshold are officially being considered "safe" while the research is suggesting otherwise.

For clarity's sake, the frequency range of nonionizing radiation used in wireless communications is referred to as "radiofrequency/microwave radiation" or RF/MW.  Microwave ovens get their name from the fact that they use this type of radiation to cook food (you could call this an example of a thermal effect).  Radar frequencies are also in this range.

While the FCC maintains that its guidelines are protective, and indeed may be heading toward relaxing them significantly in the near future, that is not the position that was put forth by a federal interagency workgroup of nonionizing radiation experts.  In a letter to a standards setting committee in 1999 (1), they outlined fourteen points which they believed needed to be addressed before any FCC guidelines could be deemed credible and sufficiently protective of the public. Nothing was done with these recommendations.

The Dark Side of Wireless Technology

Sheila Rogers, editor of Latitudes

This account, obtained by interviewing the mother of this family, has all the makings of a documentary. The name of the cell phone company and the source is withheld while the family looks for a lawyer willing to take the case (see note).

Meredith and her husband were dairy farmers on over 150 acres of rolling green land that had been passed down for generations. They had grown to love the simple lifestyle that came with hard work, fresh air, and farming in the Midwest. They and their four children enjoyed good health and happy days.

When the cell phone tower was erected twelve years ago they weren’t too concerned, though they were certainly not pleased that it was just over the property line on the adjoining land and only 800 feet from their house. It was an eyesore, but they were assured it was perfectly safe. “It’s like a 100-watt light bulb,” the company often told people.

“We were naïve,” says Meredith. “Over the next few months, we watched as our herd that grazed near the tower became emaciated and agitated—a change from their normally fat and contented state. The whole herd developed rough coats. The vet was puzzled, but blood work produced no answers.”

Meanwhile, within six months the parents noticed changes in their children. There were skin rashes—unusual, raised “hot spots.”  They had recurrent kidney infections. The youngest two kids became dramatically hyperactive, and the older ones complained of foggy thinking and concentration problems. Then sleep disturbances crept in. Meredith, in her early thirties, began to develop joint problems.

A lawsuit is set to be filed Monday alleging that the cancer afflicting students and teachers of a Bayville school is caused by the dozens of cell phone antennas attached to a nearby water tower.

Three young students of Bayville Primary School have already died of leukemia and many more are sick.

"We believe as much as 30 percent of the teachers, administrative staff and employees have been diagnosed with some type of illness, cancer, leukemia and things of that nature," said Attorney Andrew Campanelli.

HALSEY MEYER HIGGINS SOLICITORS

56 BUCKINGHAM GATE * WESTMINSTER LONDON SWIE 6AE TELEPHONE: 0171 828 8772 DX2381 VICTORIA 1 FAX: 0171 828 8714

MOBILE PHONES - MOBILE NETWORKS - SAFETY

1. More than a year ago at Dublin Castle on 6th March 1998, the Irish Minister of Public Enterprise, Mrs Mary ORourke, stated this is an issue which will grow and grow and will not go away. Subsequent events have proved her correct in that Public concern worldwide is growing and not diminishing as the Public grows more conversant with possible effects from mobile phone usage.

2. The issue breaks down into two different parts, firstly the safety of using mobiles themselves and secondly and perhaps long-term more importantly, the question of living close to a ground based Telecommunications Mast and Base Station.

3. On the issue of mobiles themselves, it is of course the users choice as to whether they have a mobile in the first place and then secondly how much they choose to use it. However that choice or consent is entitled to be a properly informed choice or consent. Recent disclosures seem to show that prolonged use of a mobile may not be that safe despite assurances made by the Industry over the last ten years to that effect. On 24th May, Dr George Carlo of the Industrys established WTR in America stated that the Industrys continuing statements that there was no conclusive evidence against mobiles was not a realistic position to take.

To begin the section, we have chosen some Australian content. This is an excerpt from "Joining the dots: An overview of public health trends in 2007: To what extent do these trends reflect the research into adverse effects on health of Electromagnetic Radiation?  A Discussion Paper" by Melbourne Researcher Sarah Benson. The full paper, downloadable as separate chapters, is available at an external site, located here.

The passage below is taken from the section of Sarah's document focussing upon Cancer.

Mobile Phone Tower Cancer Clusters

In 2002 Tory leader in the UK, Iain Duncan Smith, called for an urgent government probe into the link between mobile phone masts and cancer after it emerged that people living in five of the seven homes surrounding a building in Woodford with16 masts on its roof­ have contracted cancer.

The incidence of leukaemia near these masts is also far higher than would be expected normally, according to statistics. There was a significant decline in the incidence of all cancers the further residents lived away from the masts.

Also in the UK Dr John Walker from Sutton-Coldfield compiled three cancer cluster studies around mobile phone towers from Devon, Lincolnshire, Staffordshire and the West Midlands. He was convinced they showed a potential link between the angle of the beam of radiation emitted from the masts' antennae and illnesses discovered in local populations.^[i] Dr Sutton first noticed a high number of specific cancers in the early 1990s. Out of 18 houses in one street ten people were diagnosed with one form of cancer. He said the odds of three such clusters occurring were one in a billion. The epidemiological figures show that, within 1.4 miles of the Sutton-Coldfield mast, the number of adult leukaemia cases was nearly double what would normally be expected.

In April 2007 The Sunday Times reported that seven clusters of cancer plus serious illnesses had been discovered around mobile phone towers in the UK.

In 2003 Telecom company Orange suspended operations at a school phone mast site in Paris after eight cases of cancer were confirmed among children in the district.

Near Cardiff in Wales at least eight residents in the parish of St Georges and St Brides died of cancer over five years, and in every one of the 10 houses on a residential street close to the Sandy Heath transmitter in Bedfordshire, there has been a cancer death.

In 2006 17 people around a mobile phone tower in Norfolk County in the US reported symptoms of microwave sickness – including headaches, fatigue, nausea and dizziness since the installation of the tower. The tower was removed.^[ii]

In the UK in 1999, analysis conducted for The Sunday Times by Professor Gordon Stewart, one of Britain's leading epidemiologists, showed there may be a significant increase in the risk of cancers, including leukaemia, associated with mobile phone masts. The study revealed an increased incidence of cancer within up to 7km of masts. Subsequent inquiries unearthed clusters in London, Bedfordshire, south Wales and the Midlands. People in one area near the mast were found to be 33 per cent more likely to suffer from cancer. Studies of the sites show high incidences of cancer, brain hemorrhages and high blood pressure within a radius of 400 yards of mobile phone towers.

In Warwickshire, a cluster of 31 cancers were found around a single street, and a quarter of the 30 staff at a special school within sight of a 90ft high mast had developed tumours since 2000, while another quarter suffered significant health problems.

The tower was pulled down by the mobile phone company after the presentation of the evidence by local protesters. While rejecting any links to ill-health, the company admitted the decision was "clearly rare and unusual".

A health survey carried out in Spain in 2004 around two GSM mobile phone towers showed "statistically significant positive exposure-response associations between the E-field and fatigue, irritability, headaches, nausea, loss of appetite, sleeping disorder, depressive tendency, feeling of discomfort, difficulty in concentration, loss of memory, visual disorder, dizziness and cardiovascular problems."^[v] According to the Mast Sanity group in the UK, 47 cancer clusters have been reported around schools in Spain.

Two studies carried out in 2004 around transmitters in Israel found a threefold increase of cancers within a 400 m radius of transmitters, and for breast cancer a tenfold increase was found. As a result, two lawsuits were filed for 33 people who lived close to phone towers and who consequently contracted cancer and leukaemia in that year.^[vii]

In 2006 an Egyptian study found that "Inhabitants living near mobile phone base stations are at risk of developing neuropsychiatric problems and changes in the performance of neurobehavioral functions – either by facilitation or inhibition".^[viii]

In France researchers found that people living within 300m of a base station suffered from tiredness, headaches, sleep disruption, and within 100m irritability, depression, loss of memory, dizziness, and loss of libido.^[ix]

In 2005 the Nobel Prize winning Irish Doctors Association listed 70 research papers showing the dangers from low level microwaves. Dr. Santini listed 20 similar studies, the EM Radiation Research Trust listed 9 studies, Dr. Blackwell listed 6 similar studies in his report, and finally, four international universities completed the Spanish Study which verified all of the known illnesses.

A study published in 2007 by Mina Ha of Dankook University in South Korea found that "children living within 2km of an AM transmitter had more than twice the risk of developing leukaemia, compared to those living more than 20km away." ^[xi]

Communities living near the Vatican radio transmitter north of Rome have reported high rates of cancer – with twice the usual rate of childhood leukaemia within six kilometres of the radio station. The incidence of both decreased with distance from the antennas.^[xii]

In 2000 Australian Dr Bruce Hocking presented the findings of a health study done on residents within a 4km zone surrounding Sydney TV towers. He found that children living within this radius had a 60 per cent higher incidence of leukaemia than children who lived further from the towers - with a far greater risk of dying from the disease. Dr Hocking also found a slightly increased rate of adult cancer in the study area than beyond it.^[xiii]

In October 2007 another cancer cluster of 10 people was discovered on the top floor of a hospital in Israel, and another one in Mt Kuringai in Sydney, Australia, also in 2007.

We thank Sarah Benson for both her research and her permission to reproduce it upon this website.

Document produced by Dr Grahame Blackwell 21st Feb 2005

1. Study of the health of people living in the vicinity of mobile phone base stations.

Santini et al. Pathol Biol (Paris) [Pathologie Biologie (Paris)] 2002; 50: 369 – 73

Found significant health effects on people living within 300 metres of mobile phone base stations. Conclusions include the recommendation:
“… it is advisable that mobile phone base stations not be sited closer than 300 meters to populations”

malagahoy PROVINCIA

24 november 2009 43 cancer cases among 350 residents living near a mobile telephone relay antenna

MALAGA-SPAIN: Among the 350 inhabitants of Pérez, near the town of Velez-Malaga, there have been 43 cases of cancer, 35 of which have resulted in death. The residents are demanding the removal of the phone mast in the village, a cause supported by the country's opposition party UPyD.

Residents living close to the relay antennas in Pérez Los Cortijos, within the district of Vélez-Málaga, today drew attention to the existence of 43 cancer cases among their population of 350, and said they are no longer prepared to tolerate the presence of the mobile phone mast that has been ruining their lives for the last 15 years.

Antonia Delgado, their spokesman, today pointed out during a press conference that the phone mast installed beside the old N340 is only a few metres away from the houses in the centre of Benajarafe. He emphasised that out of the 43 cases, 35 had resulted in death, and "so far this year eight residents have died." He added that his sister has breast cancer, his father cancer of the larynx, and his uncle a melanoma. The residents have complained many times to the town council in Vélez-Málaga, demanding that the mast be removed.
"All we have managed to get is a promise that one day it will be taken away, but it's too late because our neighbours and my family are already sick. I don't know how many dead bodies the town council needs to see before they change their minds," added Delgado.
He said the residents were "disappointed" after the last meeting they had with the council, because in spite of their evidence, the council were not convinced. Another of those affected, Antonio Marfil, who was diagnosed with a testicular tumour last April, declared that every time he goes past the road into the village, people are only 20 feet away from the mast and "every time we feel the radiation". The residents' complaint is supported by the local UPyD, whose members have made an official request for the removal of the mast, both for its potential health effects and because where it is sited, next to the watchtower in Benajarafe, "it contravenes several laws for the protection of the national heritage." The leader of the UPyD opposition in the council, Javier Sansegundo, has said that if the council does not arrange to have the mast moved out of the village of Benajarafe, he will lodge a complaint on the grounds of the visual pollution caused to the site of the watchtower. Two weeks ago the municipal councillor for new technologies, Jésus Aranda (PSOE), tried to calm the residents by assuring them that the emission from the antennas is within the limits fixed by law. There is another aspect to the contentious issue of planning regulations and the site of the mast, which is on council property: the residents have pointed out that the mast was put up without a permit and is therefore illegal. The town council now has to deal as well with the appeal by the phone company against this claim, and to verify the legality of the mast and the question of the permit.