Back

Mobile Phone Towers & Base Stations

Mobile phone towers are regulated under the Telecommunications Act 1997.

Public exposure to RF (radio frequency) from base stations is independent monitoring of RF exposure levels around mobile phone base stations has been conducted since 1999 under the control of the government agency, ARPANSA (Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency)

Recent studies have indicated that there are increased risks of cancer and other illnesses for people living within 400m of mobile phone base stations.

Leading physicist, Dr. Gerard Hyland, who was nominated twice for the Nobel Prize in medicine, says, "Existing safety guidelines for cell phone towers are completely inadequate ... quite justifiably, the public remains skeptical of attempts by governments and industry to reassure them that all is well, particularly given the unethical way in which they often operate symbiotically so as to promote their own vested interests."

His report titled "How exposure to Base-station Radiation can Adversely Affect Humans" highlights the way in which this radiation affects brain function - specifically, its electrical activity (EEG), its electrochemistry, and the blood/ brain barrier - and degrades the immune system.

Children are more vulnerable to the effects of radiation because their skulls have not yet formed.

A study by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) found that there was a significant difference in radiation absorbed by 5 year olds (skull thickness .5mm), 10 year olds (skull thickness 1mm) and adults (skull thickness 2mm).

Note that this study relates specifically to mobile phone radiation where the phone is placed next to the head, which is different to the radiation exposure experienced from a base station, however we can clearly see that skull thickness and therefore age play a factor in radiation penetration.

While mobile phones are used intermittently with exposure duration seldom exceeding 1 hour per day, exposure to base stations is continuous and for up to 24 hours a day.

Top