International News

Cell Phone Tower Causing Cancer at 10 Times the National Average: Three Die

Seven people living directly under a cell phone tower (mast) on the top of a five-story London apartment building got cancer. The cancer rate among those living on the top floor, where residents from five of the eight flats were affected, is 20 percent -- 10 times the national average. The mast, along with a second mast owned by Vodafone, was put up in 1994. Since then, residents have battled cancer, headaches and other health problems they say are caused by radiation from the masts. Three residents have died from cancer, while another four are still fighting the disease.

You may not realize that you are likely living closer to a cell phone tower than you think. Cell “sites” can look like antennas or huge towers, but they can also be quite camouflaged. They exist on many schools, churches, firehouses, cemeteries and even in national parks. If you’re wondering why a school or park would want a cell site on their grounds, it’s because the cell phone companies pay to have them there, with fees that can range upwards of $2,000 a month.

If you are using a cell phone, then you are contributing to the health problems of people living near cell towers. And you probably live near one yourself. Go to www.antennasearch.com to see what’s near you. This doesn’t list all the smaller antennas that are proliferating, but it does list the bigger ones. You would be surprised at what you find.

Every time you use a cell phone, the cell tower has a burst of activity. When you use data, it is worse. The use of cell phones creates the same pulsed, spiky electromagnetic fields as smart meters.

Orange mobile phone company agreed to remove its cell phone mast -- dubbed the “Tower of Doom” -- from the top of a five-story London apartment building after seven of its residents got cancer.

The World Health Organization and other agencies say there is no risk of radiation from cell phone masts, so the companies had no legal obligation to remove the masts.

In August 2007, after a long legal battle, Orange agreed to move the mast from the building -- to another area near homes, a public library and a primary school.

Vodafone has no plans to remove their mast from the building, and is working on securing a new long-term lease.

Under "Dr. Mercola's Comments"...

For those unfortunate people in London who were living directly below a major cell phone mast, the damage became apparent sometime between the mast’s construction in 1994 and the beginning of the resident’s campaign to have the mast removed in 2002.

You may not realize that you are likely living closer to a cell phone tower than you think. Cell “sites” can look like antennas or huge towers, but they can also be quite camouflaged. They exist on many schools, churches, firehouses, cemeteries and even in national parks. If you’re wondering why a school or park would want a cell site on their grounds, it’s because the cell phone companies pay to have them there, with fees that can range upwards of $2,000 a month.

Read more about what Dr. Mercola thinks about this, at:

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/02/07/the-cell-phone-quot-tower-of-doom-quot.aspx



Insurance firm rates risks from electromagnetic fields “high.”

Insurance firm predicts that results will not be seen for at least a decade. Specialists from the Emerging Risks team at leading global reinsurance firm, Swiss Re, are warning the  insurance industry that “unforeseen consequences of electromagnetic fields” could lead to a raft of claims and significant product liability losses in the next 10 years. It rates risks as high as those from endocrine-disrupting chemicals and nanotechnology.

Here is an excerpt from their report.

Unforeseen consequences of electromagnetic fields
The ubiquity of electromagnetic fields (EMF) raises concerns about potential  implications for human health, in particular with regard to the use of mobile phones, power lines or antennas for broadcasting. Over the last decade, the spread of wireless  devices has accelerated enormously. The convergence of mobile phones with computer technology has led to the proliferation of new and emerging technologies. 

This development has increased exposure to electromagnetic fields, the health impacts  of which remain unknown. Anxiety over the potential risks related to EMF has risen. Studies are difficult to conduct,  since time trend studies are inconsistent due to the still rather recent proliferation of  wireless technology. The WHO has classified extremely low-frequency magnetic fields  and radiofrequency electromagnetic fields, such as radition emitted by cell phones, as  potentially carcinogenic to humans (Class 2B carcinogen). Furthermore, a recent ruling  by an Italian court suggested a link between mobile phone radiation and human health  impairment. Overall, however, scientific studies are still inconclusive regarding possible  adverse health effects of EMF.

If a direct link between EMF and human health problems were established, it would  open doors for new claims and could ultimately lead to large losses under product  liability covers. Liability rates would likely rise.

Risks are a moving target. They are constantly changing or newly developing. That makes it difficult to quantify and judge them. The earlier the  insurance industry starts adapting to emerging  risks, the better prepared it will be for tomorrow‘s  challenges.

Emerging Risks as “newly developing or changing risks that are difficult to quantify and could have a major impact on society and insurance industry”.  By placing  EMFs in the “high” category, it is suggesting that there may be potentially “high financial, reputational and/or regulatory impacts or significant stakeholder concern” in the next 10 years or more.

http://oneradionetwork.com/latest/major-insurance-firm-warns-losses-due-health-effects-emfs-article/
http://citizensforsafetechnology.org/Employer-Liability-for-Employee-Cell-Phone-Use-on-the-Rise,61,3681

 

 

 

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Terms to Know

Advanced meter: smart meter (term used by DTE to hide the fact it is a smart meter).

AMI meter and AMI program: another name for the smart meter and the smart meter program. AMI stands for advanced metering infrastructure.

Blood-brain barrier: EMFs can cause the blood-brain barrier to be breached, allowing toxins to enter the brain. Toxin entry is thought to be partially responsible for Alzheimer’s, dementia, and Parkinson’s.

Dirty electricity: spiky, pulsed electromagnetic field generated by smart meters that rides through building wiring and permeates the building’s rooms. Responsible for many of the health problems seen with smart and digital meters.

Electromagnetic fields (EMFs): consist of an electrical field and a magnetic field. Fields are created by the flow of electrical current through the wire, sunlight, etc.  

Electromagnetic frequency: examples are 60 Hz electrical current of your home, RF of a cell phone. Often used interchangeably with electromagnetic field.

Electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS): sensitivity to electromagnetic fields. Symptoms are complex and involve all bodily systems

Hydrogen bonds: Electrostatic bonds that help hold the DNA double helix together. Breakage of hydrogen bonds may cause changes in DNA that can lead to cancer. RF and other EMFs may disrupt the Hydrogen bonds.

Meter upgrade: the installation of an advanced (smart) meter on your home by DTE.

Microwave radiation: the type of radiation emitted by smart meters. Known to cause biological harm.

Non-transmitting meter: another name for the DTE and Consumers opt-out meters.

Opt-out meter: this is a smart meter. The only thing that is different is the radio-transmitter is turned off. It still generates dirty electricity, it still retains the two antennas, and it is only incrementally less harmful to your health. It can still record detailed information about your electrical usage.

Radio-disabled meter: another name for the DTE opt-out meter.

Radio-off meter: another name for the DTE opt-out meter.

Radiofrequency (RF): high-frequency electromagnetic waves in the range of 10 MHz to 300 Ghz. All wireless devices, including smart meters, cell phones, and Wi-Fi emit RF.

Switched mode power supplycontained in all smart meters, it creates dirty electricity.

van der Waals bonds: an extremely weak electromagnetic force that helps hold the DNA double helix together. Breakage of the van der Waals bond may cause changes in DNA that can lead to cancer. RF and other EMFs can disrupt the van der Waals bonds.