[pf] More on Cell Phone Towers

by Jill Taylor Bussiere

07 December 2000 19:48 UTC

I found an EnviroCell webpage, which pictures a cell phone tower made in the
likeness of a pine tree, for those aesthetically minded folks.
http://envirocell.bizland.com/EnviroCell%20Pine%20Tree%20
Cellular%20Phone%20Tower.htm

The health effects do not seem to be known.  There are no claims of
detrimental effects, and yet, Norbert Hankin, an environmnetal scientist and
radiation specialist for the Environmental Protection Agency, said that the
NCRPM (National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements) guidelines
consider only acute exposure, where the effects occur at the time of
exposure or immediately after.

"They were not intended to address the situation that the public is most
concerned about, and that is chronic exposure," Hankin said.  "As a result,
there's really uncertainty about how protective the current guidelines are.

Apparently the EPA can not study radio frequency radiation because it ran
out of money about 7 years ago.  Because of its limited financial resources,
the EPA must limit itself to regulating materials already proven to be
harmful.  But some other agency must prove the harmfulness of a given
material.

There is an organization that brought suit against the FCC - the CWTI - it
charges that "the FCC has failed to adopt guidelines that protect public
health, and therefore must work with health agencies to establish new ones."

>From Cell Towers Take Root on Farms

There have been some ill effects of cell towers in the place called Ouruhia
where many symptoms were manifesting from 450 ft towers - placed on flat
land.  The symptoms included unexplained deaths, dizziness, heart attacks,
bone pain, leukaemia, severe headachs, chronic fatigue, depression, asthma.
The town residents settled with the tower company - so that 2 FM towers were
removed.  They also received payments of money.  Symptoms lessened, but did
not entirely disappear.