Health Risks of Cell Towers: Riki Ott
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Studies have shown that exposure to Electromagnetic Frequencies (EMF) at levels far below federally regulated standards affect the brain, as well as cells that are still developing (children, in other words).
In this article from The Cordova Times, Dr. Riki Ott (Not One Drop: Betrayal and Courage in the Wake of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill) makes an impassioned plea for further study and reconsideration of cell tower installation inside an inhabited town.
It is more dangerous and prevalent than the swine flu. You cannot see it, taste it, or smell it. It is one of the most pervasive environmental exposures in industrialized society today. There is virtually no unexposed population.
What is it? Electromagnetic radiation (EMR) or electromagnetic fields (EMFs).
There are two types of EMFs: low frequency electromagnetic fields from electrical and electronic appliances and power lines; and radiofrequency radiation from wireless devices such as cell phones and cordless phones, cellular antennas and towers, and broadcast transmission towers.
The City of Cordova has given GCI conditional use permits to install four cellular towers within our city limits. There is a rapidly growing body of evidence—going back 30 years—that shows health risks can and do occur at low exposure levels to EMFs: everyday levels that can be thousands of times below public safety limits.
Chronic exposure can lead to immune dysfunction, chronic fatigue, chronic allergic responses, inflammation diseases and ill health. There are people with electrical hypersensitivity—I’ve seen them. They shake, their brains are muddled, and, in extreme cases, they can’t function in normal daily living conditions. Some countries estimate 3 to 5 percent of their population suffers from electrical hypersensitivity (EHS) and the numbers are growing. Sweden doesn’t regard EHS as a disease: Sweden officially recognizes EHS as a fully functional impairment.
The International Association of Fire Fighters recently adopted a resolution opposing the use of fire stations as base stations for cellular antennas and towers. A study of firefighters with cellular towers affixed to their buildings found brain damage from radiofrequency (RF) radiation. The brain is the first organ to be affected by RF radiation. Firefighters experienced symptoms of migraine headaches, extreme fatigue, disorientation, slowed reaction time, vertigo, vital memory loss and attention deficit—not good for public protectors we all rely on to protect our lives and homes.
Everyday exposure is not good for the rest of us either. Children in particular are extremely sensitive to EMFs. Increased risk for childhood leukemia starts at levels almost 1,000 times below the safety standards. Children recovering in high EMF environments have a poorer survival rate than children in low EMF homes. Evidence of a relationship between EMF exposure and adult leukemia, brain tumors and other neurodegenerative diseases, breast cancer, decrease in melatonin (cancer inhibitor), increase in heat shock proteins (stress response to toxins), and DNA damage, among other problems, is sufficiently strong to merit preventative measures—not a business-as-usual approach.
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