Can Mobile Phone Towers Cause Cancer?
The US Food and Drug Administration offers the following
info to people nervous about the protection of cellular
telephone towers : The electromagnetic RF signals broadcast
from base station antennas stations travel toward the
horizon in comparatively narrow trails. For instance, the
radiation pattern for an antenna array mounted on a tower
can be compared to a thin pancake targeted round the antenna
system.
The individual pattern for a single array of sector antennas
is wedge-shaped, like a chunk of pie. As with all forms of
electronic energy, the power decreases quickly as one moves
away from the antenna.
RF exposure on the ground is much less than exposure really
near to the antenna and in the trail of the broadcast radio
signal. In reality, ground-level exposure from such antennas
is sometimes thousands of times less than the exposure
levels advised as safe by expert associations. So exposure
to nearby residents would be well inside safety margins.
Cellular and PCS ( Personal Communications Service ) base
stations in the U. S. Are required to obey boundaries for
exposure counseled by expert affiliations and advocated by
state agencies in charge of H&S. Measurements made near
cellular and Computers base station antennas mounted on
towers have confirmed that ground-level exposures are often
thousands of times less than the exposure boundaries adopted
by the FCC ( Fed Communications Commission ).
In reality, to be exposed to levels at or close to the FCC
boundaries for cellular or Computers frequencies an
individual would fundamentally have to stay in the main
broadcast radio signal ( at the peak of the antenna ) and
inside a few feet from the antenna. This is, naturally,
terribly improbable to happen. When cellular and Computers
antennas are mounted on rooftops, RF levels on that roof or
on others near by would most likely be bigger than those
often encountered on the ground. However, exposure levels
approaching or surpassing safety guiding principles should
be encountered only awfully close to or without delay in
front of the antennas. In addition, for sector-type
antennas, generally used for such rooftop base stations, RF
levels to the side and in back of these antennas are
insignificant. General guiding principles on antenna
installations and circumstances that might give rise to a
concern about a facility's conformance with FCC rules can be
discovered in A Local Presidency Official's Guide to
Broadcasting Antenna RF Emission Safety : Rules, Procedures,
and Practical Steering . This Guide can be accessed online
at :
www.fcc.gov/oet/rfsafety..
Do Cellular Telephone Towers Cause Any Other Health
Problems?
While raised levels of radiofrequency waves could cause a
warming of tissues, cellular phone towers don't yield
exposure at levels sufficient to cause this effect. There's
no proof in printed systematic reports that cell telephone
towers cause any other health issues.
What does one Do If I have had exposure to Cellular
Telephone Towers? As observed above, cell telephone towers
pose tiny risk under standard conditions.
There's no test to determine whether you've been exposed to
RF radiation from cellular telephone towers.
However, if there's a cellular phone tower mounted near your
house or office, you can ask a presidency agency or personal
firm to determine the radiofrequency field strength close to
the tower to make sure that it is in the acceptable range.
If you have extra health worries, please see your doctor.
The Bottom Line... Cellular telephone towers, like cellular
telephones themselves, are a comparatively new technology,
and we don't yet have full info on health effects.
Particularly, not sufficient time has elapsed to allow
epidemiologic studies. There are some unproven reasons why
cellular telephone towers would not be anticipated to extend
cancer risk, and animal studies of RF have not advised a
chance of cancer. Folk who are concerned can request
measurements of RF near cellular telephone towers to be
certain exposures don't surpass advocated boundaries.
Additional Resources
National Organizations and Web Sites
The following organizations can provide additional
information and resources.*
Federal Communications Commission
RF Safety Program, Office of Engineering and Technology,
2006
Internet Address:
www.fcc.gov/oet/rfsafety/
Food and Drug Administration
Cell Phone Facts: Consumer Information on Wireless Phones,
2005
Internet Address:
www.fda.gov/cellphones/
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
Internet Address:
www.niehs.nih.gov/external/faq/cellular.htm
World Health Organization
Electromagnetic fields and public health: extremely low
frequency fields and cancer. 2001.
Internet Address:
www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs263/en/
* Inclusion on this list does not imply endorsement by the
American Cancer Society. |