Could exposure to radiation from cell phone towers really be responsible for over 7,000 cancer deaths? According to research findings from Brazil, the facts speak for themselves. The study established a direct link between cancer deaths in Belo Horizonte, Brazil’s third-largest city, with the cell phone network. What does this direct link stem from? Over 80 percent of those who succumbed to certain types of cancer resided approximately a third of a mile away from one of the hundreds of cell phone antennae that populate the city. These cancers, primarily found in the prostate, breasts, lungs, kidneys, and liver, are the ones associated with exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMFs). This is a real concern for cell phone users and even non-cell phone users. Those who shun mobile phone technology still suffer the consequences of cell phone tower radiation. Is the Brazilian study an isolated study? Cell phone tower studies that examined the relationship between radiation exposure and cancer rates were conducted in the city of San Francisco in addition to cities in Austria, Germany, and Israel, dating as far back as the 1970s. All the studies shared similar findings: living within a certain proximity to a cell phone tower increased the risk of cancer anywhere from two to 121 times depending on what type of cancer was detected. Adilza Condessa Dode, PhD, one of the engineering researchers as well as the coordinator of the Brazilian study, addresses those who are concerned about cell phone tower radiation and explains the Brazil study does not stand alone. Dode elaborates, “these levels (EMFs), are already high and dangerous to human health. The closer you live to an antenna, the greater the contact with the 2 electromagnetic fields.” The Brazilian study covers just one city in Brazil. Residents of the United States are vulnerable too as America is home to hundreds of thousands of these radiation-emitting towers. In the U.S., with the proliferation of cell phones and the growing needs of cell phone users in recent years, there has been an explosion in cell towers. Overwhelming evidence A growing number of organizations and many more studies support the conclusions of the Brazilian study. The International Association for Research on Cancer (IARC), based upon findings from research conducted by an international think tank, came to the conclusion that radiofrequency radiation, including the radiation spewing from cell towers, is a possible carcinogen. The BioInitiative 2012 Report written by a group of leading independent international scientists has put out an unequivocal health warning against exposure to EMFs. This includes exposure from cell phone towers. Why are cell phone towers particularly dangerous? The threat comes from the constant nature of the activity of the towers; they emit pulsed radio frequency radiation. This radiation has been shown in thousands of studies to cause biological damage to the body and to be a precursor to disease. What are some of the dangers (besides cancer), which result from this damage and are associated with EMFs and cell phone antennae? • Genetic mutations • Memory disruptions • Hindered learning • ADD • Insomnia • Brain disorders • Hormonal imbalances • Infertility • Dementia • Heart complications These dangers clearly make it imperative to take action. Cell towers are here to stay but their implantation needs effective regulation in terms of location and radiation levels. The 1996 Telecommunications Act (TCA), does not qualify the public’s right to protest cell tower locations based on health hazards. Cell towers should be located away from residential areas and far away from schools and day care centers. Sources: 3 http://www.getmefacts.info/
Mortality by neoplasia and cellular telephone base stations. Dode et al. (Brazil), Science of the Total Environment, Volume 409, Issue 19, 1 September 2011, Pages 3649–3665
- This 10 year study on cell phone antennas by the Municipal Health Department in Belo Horizonte and several universities in Brazil found a clearly elevated relative risk of cancer mortality at residential distances of 500 meters or less from cell phone transmission towers. Shortly after this study was published, the city prosecutor sued several cell phone companies and requested that almost half of the cities antennas be removed. Many antennas were dismantled.
Pearce, M., Limiting liability with positioning to minimize negative health effects of cellular phone towers, Environmental Research, Volume 181, 2020,
- “There is a large and growing body of evidence that human exposure to RFR from cellular phone base stations causes negative health effects including both i) neuropsychiatric complaints such as headache, concentration difficulties, memory changes, dizziness, tremors, depressive symptoms, fatigue and sleep disturbance, and ii) increased incidence of cancer and living in proximity to a cell- phone transmitter station.” The author recommends long-term planning “to minimize the risk of liability from unintended human harm due to cellular phone base station siting” including voluntary restrictions on the placement of cellular phone base stations within 500 m of schools and hospitals.”
Epidemiological Evidence for a Health Risk from Mobile Phone Base Stations Khurana, Hardell et al., International Journal of Occupational Environmental Health, Vol 16(3):263-267, 2010
- A review of 10 epidemiological studies that assessed for negative health effects of mobile phone base stations (4 studies were from Germany, and 1 each from Austria, Egypt, France, Israel, Poland, Spain) found that seven showed altered neurobehavioral effects