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G4EBT > TECH 02.05.07 14:38l 117 Lines 4832 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : B55267G4EBT
Read: GUEST OE7FMI
Subj: Re: Phone masts - health risks
Path: DB0FHN<DB0FOR<DB0SIF<DB0EAM<DB0ERF<DB0FBB<DB0WAL<DB0UHC<DB0RES<ON0BEL<
ZS0MEE<GB7FCR
Sent: 070502/1327Z @:GB7FCR.#16.GBR.EU #:29270 [Blackpool] FBB-7.03a $:B55267G4
From: G4EBT@GB7FCR.#16.GBR.EU
To : TECH@WW
Bob, VK6BE, wrote:-
>There used to be a great deal of hooha here about mobile phone system
>masts, blaming them for many nasty diseases, but now that almost everyone
>is using a mobile phone, the fuss has died down and we have not heard
>anything sbout the subject for quite some time.
The controversy in the UK over this has never gone away, and it's a very
live issue in the UK just now due to several cancer clusters near masts.
Seven clusters of cancer and other serious illnesses have been discovered
around mobile phone masts, raising concerns over the technology's
potential impact on health.
Studies of the sites show high incidences of cancer, brain haemorrhages
and high blood pressure within a radius of 400 yards of mobile phone
masts.
One of the studies, in Warwickshire, showed a cluster of 31 cancers around
a single street. A quarter of the 30 staff at a special school within
sight of the 90ft high mast have developed tumours since 2000, while
another quarter have suffered significant health problems.
The mast is being pulled down by the mobile phone operator after the
presentation of the evidence by local protesters.
Phone masts have provoked protests throughout Britain with thousands of
people objecting each week to planning applications.
Dr John Walker, a scientist who compiled the cluster studies with the help
of local campaigners in Devon, Lincolnshire, Staffordshire and the West
Midlands, said 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.
Some scientists already believe such a link exists and studies in other
European countries suggest a rise in cancers close to masts. In 2005 Sir
William Stewart, chairman of the Health Protection Agency, said he found
four such studies to be of concern but that the health risk remained
unproven.
It's already acknowledged that there's a link between electromagnetic
radiation from overhead power cables and childhood leukaemia - something
that was also disputed for many years.
There are already 47,000 masts in position, but the phone companies are
putting more up every day and fears over their safety are growing fast.
The industry in Britain is subject to guideline limits for emissions,
which all its masts fall well within. But some scientists believe the
limits have been set far too high.
They point to other European cities, notably Salzburg in Austria, which on
scientific advice has imposed radiation limits that are a fraction of the
levels allowed in Britain.
Sir William Stewart, chairman of the Health Protection Agency, authored a
report in 2000 which said that there was no conclusive evidence of health
implications for adults, a view echoed by the World Health Organisation.
However, in 2005 he issued a further report, Mobiles Phones and Health,
in which he said young children should probably not be exposed to mobile
phones.
"I can't believe that for three-to eight-year-olds they can be readily
justified," he said. On phones in general, he added: "Just because there
are 50m of them out there, doesn't mean they are absolutely safe."
In a single street - Castle Drive, in Coleshill, Warwicks, and adjacent
roads, 31 cases of cancer were found - around one in every second person
in the immediate area.
The march of the mobile masts:
About 60m mobile phones are used in the UK, supported by approximately
47,000 masts, also known as base stations. It is estimated that protests
by residents unhappy over their proximity to masts number up to 1,000 at
any one time.
The British government has adopted guidelines issued by the International
Commission on NonIonizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) which state that
base stations should not emit more than 10 watts per square metre of
electromagnetic energy, depending on the frequency used.
In reality most give out only a tiny fraction of this amount.
Some scientists have suggested that ICNIRP's guidelines should be reduced
by more than a thousandfold as evidence of links to cancer exist well
below its threshold.
Phone masts at and near schools has become particularly controversial.
The Mobile Operators Association says that fewer than 2% of masts are
sited at schools, but many are positioned nearby instead. One recent
survey claimed that every school in London was within a short distance of
a mast.
I've no doubt that many of the parents who are protesting about the masts
send their kids to sachool with a mobile phone and use them extensively
themselves.
Source: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article1687491.ece
Best wishes
David, G4EBT @ GB7FCR
Cottingham, East Yorkshire.
Message timed: 13:01 on 2007-May-02
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