Mount Shasta Bioregional Ecoloav Center <br />Page 1 of 6 <br />sp <br />ry' 6 G <br />b <br />G g{~ r <br />T i - <br />- - $ KI, L~~; 1Yi L -s~'r .t~iM hk x tom: <br />rls--~ Archives <br />Health Effects from Cell Phone Tower Radiation <br />502A.z' ; <br />by Karen J. Rogers <br />Save <br />The safety of cell phone towers is the subject of extensive scientific debate. There <br />Meclimc <br />is a growing body of scientific evidence that the electromagnetic radiation they emit, <br />1A-icrsheci L1ftch ; <br />even at low levels, is dangerous to human health. <br />- <br />The cell phone industry is expanding quickly, with over 100,000 cell phone towers <br />fore t i~~ueG <br />" <br />now up across the U.S., which is expected to increase ten-fold over the next five <br />1I~ jq L s ~~c cE_ <br />years. The industry has set what they say are " safe levels" of radiation exposure, <br />g = <br />but there are a growing number of doctors, physicists, and health officials who <br />=tYekk,SICtter - : <br />strongly disagree, and foresee a public health crisis. <br />P[ZOto G-Affl ry__ <br />Many towers have been built recently in Siskiyou Co., with dozens more planned, <br />as telecommunications companies rush to corner markets in this fast-growing <br />r°rodi,cts <br />industry. These towers emit radio frequencies (RF), a form of electromagnetic <br />radiation (EMR), for a distance of up to 2 1/2 miles. They are essentially the same <br />Lir,} ft ar f,ers <br />frequency radiation as microwaves in a microwave oven. <br />Studies have shown that even at low levels of this radiation, there is evidence of <br />damage to cell tissue and DNA, and it has been linked to brain tumors, cancer, <br />suppressed immune function, depression, miscarriage, Alzheimer's disease, and <br />numerous other serious illnesses. 1 <br />Children are at the greatest risk, due to their thinner skulls, and rapid rate of growth. <br />Also at greater risk are the elderly, the frail, and pregnant women. Doctors from the <br />United Kingdom have issued warnings urging children under 16 not to use cell <br />phones, to reduce their exposure to radio frequency (RF) radiation. 2 <br />Over 100 physicians and scientists at Harvard and Boston University Schools of <br />Public Health have called cellular towers a radiation hazard. Over 100 physicians <br />and scientists at Harvard and Boston University Schools of Public Health have <br />called cellular towers a radiation hazard. And, 33 delegate physicians from 7 <br />countries have declared cell phone towers a "public health emergency". <br />The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is in charge of setting the <br />standards of exposure for the public, and claims that, based on scientific studies, <br />the current levels are safe. But it is not a public health agency, and has been <br />http://www.mountshastaecoloc,y.org/Archive/Health_Effects_from_Cell_Phone_Tower_R... 1/29/2014 <br />