Bristol flats - cancer & phone masts. RADIATION RISK ON THE ROOF

Bristol Evening Post
RADIATION RISK ON THE ROOF
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10:40 - 04 November 2006
Residents of a block of flats feel they are living on "death row" because of two mobile phone masts on their roof.People living in Berkeley House, Staple Hill, claim radiation emitted from the Vodafone and Orange masts is harming their health.

They say that, of the residents of eight flats on the top floor, five people have died of cancer and two more have developed the disease - and the rate of cancer among residents of the top floor is almost twice the national average.

Others among the 110 residents in the five-storey building have complained of problems including headaches, blood disorders and insomnia.

A number of residents contacted the Evening Post after we reported that another phone company, called 3, now wants to put a mast on their roof.

South Gloucestershire Council has asked Vodafone and Orange to remove their masts, but the firms are involved in a legal dispute with the council.

Both companies had 10-year contracts for their masts. Vodafone’s expired in October 2003 and Orange’s expired in August 2004.

The council served notices for them to quit the site, but both firms served counter notices.

Staple Hill Residents Association chairwoman Doreen Sheppard, 73, said seven people had either died from or fallen ill with cancer since the masts were installed.

Mrs Sheppard said: "None of them said they had cancer before the masts were up so we believe it may be more than a coincidence.

"When they first put the masts up there were very few children living here. But they have moved a lot of young mums in with their kids. We need to get the masts down for their sakes."

Resident Mike Cole, 70, who lives on the fourth floor, said his wife Corinne, 50, suffered from lack of platelets in her blood, which he believes may be have been linked to the masts.

He said: "It is like living on death row here, with the number of people who have died. You are constantly wondering who is going to be next.

"You would not want one of these masts at the end of your garden, so why would you want one right over your head?"

Their campaign has been backed by councillor Shirley Potts (Labour, Staple Hill), who said: "I am very concerned because we have been trying to get some action for such a long time. It is about time the people were listened to and the mast was taken down."

Scientists are divided over the potential dangers of phone masts.

A recent Journal of Cancer study found the risk of cancer trebled if you live near a phone mast. But in May this year the World Health Organisation said the amount of radiation emitted from the masts was safe.

Dr Julie Sharp, science information manager at Cancer Research UK, said: "In 2000 an independent report assessed the health of people living near to mobile phone base stations. The report concluded the balance of evidence suggests there is no general risk to the health of people living near base stations.

"But as mobile phones are a relatively new technology this situation is constantly being monitored by the National Radiological Protection Board."

Dr Tom Frewin, Bristol spokesman for the British Medical Association, said: "The jury is out on the safety of phone masts.

"There is plenty of anecdotal evidence to suggest they do increase risk of cancer, but there is also evidence they are perfectly safe."

Orange spokeswoman Rebecca D’Arcy said: "It seemed that each person (at Berkeley House) had a different type of cancer and of course there are varying ages and lifestyle factors that people do not take into account. It is understandable people look for something specific to blame.

"It is interesting that the residents believe if the mast is gone they will be free of radiation but this will not be the case. In fact, a 90- second phone call on a mobile is the equivalent in exposure terms to standing in front of a mast for a full 24 hours without moving.

"We are obviously sensitive to the fact that some people who live there have health problems, but there is no evidence to suggest the phone masts are in any way a cause of their various illnesses."

Ms D’Arcy said Orange’s mast remained at the site as the council had failed to serve a valid vacation notice on it.

Vodafone spokesman Rob Matthews said: "We are working with the local authority to address the residents’ concerns but the fact is we have paid rent for the site until April 2007. There is no evidence to suggest masts cause any health problems. A World Health Organisation report says it is completely safe to live near them."

Council spokeswoman Sarah Hudspith said: "Both mobile phone companies were served with notices to quit which were subsequently refused but we are still negotiating a solution with them."

Your Views
The rubbish spouted by the Orange spokesperson is very alarming. When people use a mobile phone that is their own choice. When a person has a phone mast planted on their doorstep they have no say in the matter and are then bombarded for 24 hours a day, 365 days a year with electro magnetic radiation. We are all becoming unwitting guinea pigs in a nationwide clinical trial on mast radiation. Incidently, government guidelines clearly recommend children should only use mobile phones in an emergency. This means even a 90 second call is too much. If Orange are happy to admit that 24 hours near a mast is the same as 90 seconds on the phone then there’s a clear contradiction allowing masts on top of houses where children might live.
E Porter, Downend

Continuation - here are the other six mast/people studies: (Well done Bristol/EP for covering this) (7) Santini (2002), Pathol Biol (Paris), 2002 Within 200/300m of mast: found headache, sleep disturbance, discomfort, irritability, depression, loss of memory, dizziness, libido decrease, etc http://www.tetrawatch.net/papers/santini_pathbio_eng3.pdf (8) Oberfeld (2005). Base station at a distance of 80 metres causes significant changes of the electrical currents in the brains of testees (measured by electroencefalogram, EEG). All the testees said they felt unwell during the radiation, some of them seriously http://omega.twoday.net/stories/665337/ (9) Bortkiewicz et al (2004), Med Pr. 2004; 55 (4):345-51. Reported various complaints mostly of the circulatory system, also sleep disturbances, irritability, depression, blurred vision, concentration difficulties, nausea, lack of appetite, headache and vertigo? http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=15620045&query_
hl=7&itool=pubmed_docsum (10) Germann, P (2004), 2004. Significant changes in the blood observed when base station operational, http://www.stopumts.nl/pdf/studies/germann_2004.pdf (in German) (11) Zwamborn (TNO, 2003) Exposure to UMTS had a negative influence headaches and nausea on well-being in both groups. Cognitive function was consistently affected in both groups exposed to GSM and UMTS http://www.ciol.com/content/news/2003/103100107.asp. (12) Neurobehavioral effects among inhabitants around mobile phone base stations Abdel-Rassoul et al, Egypt. Neurotoxicology (2006). Neuropsychiatric complaints - headache, memory changes, dizziness, tremors, depressive symptoms, and sleep disturbance all significantly higher among exposed than controls:. Mast ?inhabitants? performed lower than controls in problem solving tests, but higher in tests of visuomotor speed http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=16962663&query_
hl=2&itool=pubmed_docsum
hector ballast, Scotland

Orange says "No evidence" - but the 12 studies there have been into masts and people ALL found ill-effects. Here they are: (1) Bamberg 2005 found the following associated with microwave power levels: Headaches, restlessness, dazed state, irritability, disturbance of concentration, memory loss Frequent infections, sinusitis, lymph node swellings, joint and limb pains *Tinnitus, hearing loss, sudden hearing loss, giddiness, impaired balance, visual disturbances, eye inflammation, dry eyes Tachycardia, episodic hypertension, collapse Other serious complaints Hormonal disturbances, thyroid disease, night sweats, frequent urge to urinate, weight increase, nausea, loss of appetite, nose bleeds, skin complaints, tumours, diabetes Lead doctor Dr Edmund Stoiber: ?we are seeing an emergency situation..there is a medical disaster spreading to all parts of the population? http://www.powerwatch.org.uk/news/20050722_bamberg.asp (2) Navarro 2003, Electromagnetic Biology and Medicine, 2003. Significant correlation between power levels and headache, fatigue, irritability, loss of appetite, sleepiness, difficulties in concentration or memory, depression, and emotional instability? http://www.buergerwelle.de/pdf/the_microwave_syndrome_a_preliminary_
study_in_spain_2003.pdf (3) Hutter (2005) - statistically significant effects on headache, concentration problems and cold hands and feet http://oem.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/abstract/63/5/307 (4) Oberfeld (2004), found significant ill-health effects in the vicinity of two
GSM mobile phone base stations. Depressive tendency, fatigue, sleeping disorder, difficulty in concentration and cardiovascular problems. http://www.powerwatch.org.uk/reports/20040809_kos.pdf (5) Wolf+Wolf (2004), International Journal of Cancer Prevention, 2004. Found fourfold increase in incidence of cancer (tenfold for women) in proximity to a phone mast. http://www.powerwatch.org.uk/news/20050207_israel.pdf (6) Eger (Naila, 2004),Relative risk of getting cancer trebled for the residents in the proximity of the mast http://www.tetrawatch.net/papers/naila.pdf
hector ballast, Scotland

The simple truth is that there is a mountain of evidence proving that phone mast electro magnetic radiation causes the type of illnesses suffered by these residents. Just log on to the Mast Sanity website to find the truth. However, this government has taken £23 billion from the phone companies for the airwave licences at the expense of the nations health. They are aware of the dangers but chose to cover up the dangers. Oh, and by the way, the WHO are hand in glove with the phone companies. However, at long last Mike Repacholi, the head of the WHO’s telecommunications committee, has just been removed following the revalation that he was receiving $150,000 dollars a year from, guess who, the mobile operators!
JE, Bristol

Electronic Radiation is EVERYWHERE,i’m not convinced that these paticular tupe of masts cause a problem.BUT I notice in this case once again we have TWO big companies who THINK they can ride over ALL planning consents public opinions etc in the desire for more and more money etc.So in that case GET THESE MASTS REMOVED.
John Berry, Bristol

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