This article throws light upon the seven major harmful effects associated with cell phone towers. The harmful effects are: 1. Effect on Human Brain 2. Cognitive Effects 3. Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity 4. Thermal Effects 5. Effect on Insects 6. Effect on Plants 7. Impacts on Bio-System and Ecosystem.
1. Effect on Human Brain:
The Interphone study released in May 2010 reported 5,117 brain tumour cases and stated that people who use cell phones for 30 minutes per day over a duration of eight-ten, have doubled to quadrupled chances of getting brain tumour, and that’s why it was classified as Class 2B.
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Use of cell phones is a personal choice, but what about people who live in the vicinity of cell towers? They are exposed to the radiation 24×7. Cell operators claim that tower radiation is less intense than the sun’s rays, but tower radiation is continuous and different in the way it impacts the body.
The Bio-Initiative Reports of 2007 and 2012 have proposed a safe radiation density of 1 milliWatt/m {+2} for outdoor, cumulative radiofrequency (RF) exposure and 0.1 milliWatt/m {+2} for indoor, cumulative RF exposure.
i. Cell phone users had an increased risk of malignant gliomas.
ii. Link between cell phone use and a higher rate of acoustic neuromas.
iii. Tumors are more likely to occur on the side of the head that the cell handset is used.
iv. One hour of cell phone use per day significantly increases tumor risk after ten “years or more.
2. Cognitive Effects:
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A 2009 study examined the effects of exposure to radiofrequency radiation (RFR) emitted by standard GSM cell phones on the cognitive functions of humans.
The study confirmed longer (slower) response times to a spatial working memory task when exposed to RFR from a standard GSM cellular phone placed next to the head of male subjects, and showed that longer duration of exposure to RFR may increase the effects on performance.
3. Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity:
Some users of mobile handsets have reported feeling several unspecific symptoms during and after its use; ranging from burning and tingling sensations in the skin of the head and extremities, fatigue, sleep disturbances, dizziness, loss of mental attention, reaction times and memory retentiveness, headaches, malaise, tachycardia (heart palpitations), to disturbances of the digestive system.
4. Thermal Effects:
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One well-understood effect of microwave radiation is dielectric heating, in which any dielectric material (such as living tissue) is heated by rotations of polar molecules induced by the electromagnetic field. In the case of a person using a cell phone, most of the heating effect will occur at the surface of the head, causing its temperature to increase by a fraction of a degree.
In this case, the level of temperature increase is an order of magnitude less than that obtained during the exposure of the head to direct sunlight. The brain’s blood circulation is capable of disposing of excess heat by increasing local blood flow.
However, the cornea of the eye does not have this temperature regulation mechanism and exposure of 2-3 hours” duration has been reported to produce cataracts in rabbits’ eyes at SAR values from 100-140W/kg, which produced lenticular temperatures of 41°C.
5. Effect on Insects:
Monarch butterflies and locusts migrate great distances using their antennae to sense air currents and earths electromagnetic fields. Moths are drawn to light frequencies. Ants, with the help of their antennas are adept at electrical transmission and found to respond to frequencies as low as 9 MHz. Flying ants are very sensitive to electromagnetic fields.
6. Effect on Plants:
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Tops of trees tend to dry up when they directly face the cell tower antennas and they seem to be most vulnerable if they have their roots close to the water. Some studies have found both growth stimulation and dieback.
The browning of tree tops is often observed near cell towers, especially when water is near their root base. The tree tops are known as RF waveguides. In fact, military applications utilize this capability in trees for low-flying weapon systems.
In an observational study, it was found that the output of most fruit-bearing trees reduced drastically from 100% to _5% after 2.5 years of cell tower installation in a farm facing four cell towers in Gurgaon-Delhi Toll Naka.
7. Impacts on Bio-System and Ecosystem:
Every living being is tuned into the earth’s electromagnetism and uses it for various purposes. A natural mineral magnetite, which is found in living tissues, seems to play an important role. These magnetite crystals are found in bacteria, protozoa, teeth of sea mollusks, fish and sea mammals, eye and beak of birds, and in humans.
The areas of enquiry and experimentation of in vitro studies include genotoxicity, cancer-related gene and protein expression, cell proliferation and differentiation, and apoptosis and in vivo studies include thermal effects, animal behavior, brain biochemistry, neuro pathology, teratogenicity, reproduction and development, immune function, blood-brain barrier, visual auditory systems and effects on genetic material, cell function, and biochemistry.