Few studies on risks, but aerials are dangerous
Because the health risks associated with cell phone aerials are not well established, scholars like University of Athens biology Professor Loukas Margaritis say Greece’s government and mobile telephony companies should keep antennas away from neighborhoods and other areas where people congregate. «Besides, it’s commonly understood in the biological science community that no certain limit defines safe exposure,» said Margaritis, who is head of the university’s Department of Cell Biology and Biophysics. «We must also note that the limits we are talking about (in this context) have been enacted arbitrarily.» He also says other countries are adopting different standards for safer exposure levels. That’s because in the last few years, studies have multiplied showing the negative effects of radiation – especially from cell phone aerials and the cell phones themselves – on people’s health. Such radiation has been found to rupture DNA strands and may contribute to child leukemia, according to European studies. Research in the United States and the United Kingdom indicates that leukemia in children has increased by 50 percent in those countries. The World Health Organization has also noted that more people are worried that exposure to such radiation may increase cancer rates in children. Margaritis says radiation may be related to the increased headaches, memory loss and even miscarriages apparently suffered by people with cell phone aerials near their neighborhoods or workplaces. He also says that the people working farms near such aerials have reported a decrease in milk production as well as miscarriages and stillbirths from their animals. Because even low exposure to such radiation is thought to affect public health, the World Health Organization has kicked off a huge international investigative program on electromagnetic fields, known as the International EMF Project.
