From The Times  -  22 April 2007

by Daniel Foggo

Cancer clusters at phone 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 after the presentation of the evidenceoperator O2 by local protesters.  While rejecting any links to ill-health, O2 admitted the decision was “clearly rare and unusual”.

Phone masts have provoked protests throughout Britain with thousands of people objecting each week to planning applications.  There are about 47,000 masts in the UK.

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.

“Masts should be moved away from conurbations and schools and the power turned down,” he said.

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.

Selected "HAVE YOUR SAY" comments On-Line to Times On-Line

As a state worker for the state of Calif. U.S.A. , I have been diagnosed with RF exposure after visiting my wife at a fire lookout (for the state of Calif.), we both have been diagnosed as well as around 20 other people who lived or worked at the same location. Damage to the cerebral area diagnosed by a liscensed doctor. The only common factor for some of us was the tower area. I came down with cancer. The state denies we are sick.

Ben Garcia, Bieber, California, U.S.A.

10 out of 40 houses in my road have had people with cancer,we live very near to a large amount of phone masts which have not needed planning permission as they have been put on top of council owned highrise flats.These flats are for elderly people who would not raise suspition when cancer occurs.The people in the houses with cancer ,some of whom died young are more noticeable,my own daughter had Hodgkins Lynphoma when she was 19,at the same time a friend who lived next door but one died aged 48 of the same cancer ,could anyone tell me what the odds of this happening would be?

Sue Mathie, Wirral, Mersyside, England

Cancer induced by microwaves: A recent swiss study (The Schwarzenburg Shut-down Study) has shown that people exposed to microwaves with values from O,2 V/m to 4V/m have an average of a 80% loss of melatonin, an hormone believed to regulate cancer risks. Swiss & European limits are 50 to 60 V/m outdoor!

D. Ficher, Bern, Switzerland

We have a mast right in front of our house. My husband has prostate cancer at the early age of 45, and two of my neighbours have tumours, their father and husband died of prostate cancer.

MAS, Brighton

I am interested to note that high blood pressure is included in the list of illnesses. Having taken to using Broadband via Wi-Fi some six months ago with the Hub sitting about five feet away from me, I find now that I too have slightly high blood pressure for the first time in my life. There is probably a false correlation between these two circumstances, but one does wonder if any studies, such as those mentioned in this article, have been carried out on the effects on health of wireless transmission in the home.

Michael Laughton, London

Fundamental scientific errors have been made over the past half-century in establishing co-called "safe limits" of exposure to radiofrequency radiation. These errors have only recently begun to be recognized and addressed. A brief discussion (very condensed) can be found in the following two published abstracts:

Bulletin of the American Physical Society, vol. 50, no. 1, page 1178 (March, 2005)
M. Lundquist
Today's "safe" radiofrequency (RF) exposure limits DON'T protect human health near transmitters!

Bulletin of the American Physical Society, vol. 51, no. 1, page 518 (March, 2006)
M. Lundquist
A surprising answer in hte search for a comprehensive health protection exposure metric for radiofrequency (RF) fields

This periodical is also available on the Internet (Web); click on "Preview Abstract" to read what appeared in print:

<http://meetings.aps.org/link/BAPS.2005.MAR.U21.15>

<http://meetings.aps.org/link/BAPS.2006.MAR.H29.8>

Good science yields understanding!

Marjorie Lundquist, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA

Thank you Dr Walker for doing the research.

The high ICNIRP recommended limits ignore non-thermal effects that were clearly demonstrated decades ago by Russian medical doctors.

I note with interest that Dr Cornelia Waldmann-Selsam [physician], Dr Christine Aschermann [psychiatrist] and many other medical doctors in Germany/Austria have associated patient ill-health with the radiation levels from mobile phone masts/DECT phonesand WiFi. German doctors demanded that the Wimax auction be stopped because of ill-health that radiation is causing in their patients. UK GPs - Take note!

The HF-EMR level in my bedroom before shielding was 1.3 Volts per metre from a mobile phone base station [3 operators sharing]. This radiation level caused me constant headaches and sleeping problems until i shielded my home.

I am now electrosensitive because of previous exposures 24/7. The most concerning effect is the breast pain that I experience if I stay near WiFi/ mobile phones too long.

Margaret (Psychologist), Lancashire,

Similar studies have been reported in Austria, by Dr Gerd Oberfeld, showing a three-fold increase in cancer of those residents within a 400 metre radius of base stations compared with those outside this boundary. Locally, we have had 2 cancer deaths occurring in very close proximity to a base station (incidentally, adjacent to both an electricity substation and overhead powerlines - both suggested to be linked with 'electrical hypersensitivity'). To 'reassure' residents, monitoring was carried out and a report provided stating emissions to be 1.4% ICNIRP maximum levels and therefore 1/70th of the maximum accepted 'safe level'.
According to many websites, UK (NRP/ICNIRP) maximum levels are "ridiculouly high" (up to 10,000 times levels of other countries). See www.land-sbg.gv.at/celltower for recommended guiedlines. Dr Oberfeld advises us via e-mail of the need for more precise measurement. A response re: this suggestion from the mast owners is eagerly awaited.

Michael Dashwood, Watford, Herts

To explain for your benefit, digital TV/radio uses pulsed microwave radiation as does all this other new technology.

Those of us who have been “sensitised” by this technology (and it can be just one or more than one of them) become more sensitive if we are subjected to it. Many of us have protection in place but as more is added it gets more difficult to protect ourselves.

For example: I realised in 2004 after being in pain, having sleepless nights, nose bleeds and other symptoms, that I was sensitive to TETRA. It took me 15 months to find the cause after exploring other avenues.
I did not know there was a form of protection until March 05 so I was further exposed even though I avoided all TETRA masts and TETRA lines of emission, which cross through buildings to join up with other TETRA masts. How do I know? I could “feel” TETRA most strongly when I became very sensitive and knew exactly where the lines ran even if it was miles from a TETRA mast. I have had this verified in a former home as it was tested in two different ways by two different people.

Over time I have become sensitive to 3G, WiFi and other things. I can no longer have digital TV and only have digital radio on for 20 minutes max at a time. Why? Because it causes discomfort and pain!

I have moved three times since September 03 because I could not live in some places
due mainly to the effect that TETRA had on me, which was worsened by the addition of 3G and then WiFi in the area.

Since we who are sensitive can feel pain or become unwell from different technologies it does not matter to us if towers have guys or not! A microwave oven does not have a guy either, yet one man I know was damaged by a faulty one and is now sensitive to ELECTRICITY!

You are obviously not electromagnetically sensitive, Mr Hamilton, and I hope for your sake that you never become so. Please spare a thought for the many of us who are.

Sandi L, Chichester, England, UK

Last week’s Sunday Times (15 April) reported how T-Mobile covered up a report on research they funded which proved the ill/health, cancer link. The Ecolog study, drawn up in 2000 and updated three years later stated:

“Given the results of the present epidemiological studies, it can be concluded that electromagnetic fields with frequencies in the mobile telecommunications range do play a role in the development of cancer. This is particularly notable for tumours of the central nervous system.”

T-Mobile’s controversial cover up has been blasted by activists and MPs.

Now there are over 1000 independant studies proving the ill health link but the phone operators have simply dismissed their findings. So how on earth can these phone masts still be sited next to schools and housing now that even the phone operators own research proves that phone masts are lethal. Why isn't this government protecting us and at the very least, called for a moratorium on phone mast installations.

J Elliott, Bristol, UK

Its good that this is finally coming out.
There has never been a survey around a phone mast that has been in place for more than 8 years, that has not found a cancer cluster in the radius of the beam.
Thus the government is reluctant to do them so it leaves it to individuals
This pattern is repeated all over the world.
There have been 2 properly conducted surveys by doctors in Germany and Israel which found a tripling of cancers for those living within 400m of the masts compared with those that live outside that radius where they found the cancer rates were normal for the general population. There have been 8 other studies on humans living in the beam around phone masts, all of these show significant adverse effects on health.
There are many scientific research papers indicating the mechanisms for damage from the pulsed microwave radiation.
If anyone is interested they can see them on:
http://www.hese-project.org/hese-uk/en/niemr/ecologsum.php
www.mastsanity.org

Sue, London

My husband is one of the increasing number of people who have become over-sensitised to mobile phones and anything that uses wifi. Within about 10 minutes of being in a room containing this form of radiation, he starts reacting by getting a headache which gets increasingly worse and starts feeeling dizzy and faint. He has found that going outside to get fresh air improves his reaction. He is so sensitised that he can tell if someone has a mobile phone on in his vicinity.
Unfortunately, this problem, although on the increase, has not been generally recognised and produces a mixture of disbelief and amusement when he explains his problem. He holds a top managerial position and attends many meetings where several people at a time will have a mobile phone switched on. When he asks people to turn them off, they often put them on vibrate which doesn't help. The situation for him has become intolerable now and he has handed in his notice at work because he can not continue in this work environment.

Anne, Bath, UK

There are deeper issues here:

What about the increasing numbers of people who can't sleep at night or have headaches in certain places?

What about those people who have become sensitive to pulsed microwave radiation in the form of TETRA, mobilemasts, mobile phones, WiFi, cordless phones, other wireless products and even digital TV and radio?  Those who live near TV masts in scotland say it is terrible.

What about the disappearing bees and birds, the whales etc that beach themselves?
These are warning signs that authorities choose to ignore for want of the science - yet it is all out there but ignored!

Sandi L, Chichester, England, UK