Fiona Galea Debono
Microwave expert raises alarm over mobile phone antennae
Women, children and the elderly may be especially sensitive to microwaves emitted by mobile phone antennae and need particular consideration, according to an expert on the matter.
Barrie Trower, an independent research scientist who spent 11 years questioning captured spies involved in microwave warfare during the Cold War, described as "frightening" the effect of genetic damage to the ovaries of young girls, which, he claimed, could be caused by the antennae.
"If these women have girls, the genetic damage could carry on from generation to generation because it is irreparable. This is what we are gambling with," he said.
Although there was a gap in the research on children, Mr Trower said it was known that they were more vulnerable to microwaves by virtue of their size: "Being the size of their wavelength, they can act like aerials, vibrating inside and undergoing some sort of stress."
Having less dense bones, the microwaves penetrated them easier and they did not have a fully developed immune system to fend them off, he said.
Mr Trower was brought over by the Kortin Residents' Association, which has two mobile antennae in the area and claims residents have been suffering from their harmful effects.
A woman with an antenna 25 metres from her bedroom has constant migraines and another suffers from electro sensitivity and has contemplated suicide, depression being one of the many adverse affects, according to Mr Trower.
In fact, he said, between three and 15 per cent of the population suffer from electro sensitivity.
The association is setting up a movement, in conjunction with the Lija mayor and with Mr Trower as advisor, to raise awareness of the harmful effects of the antennae and remove them from public areas, its president, Andrè Catania, said.
Legal action has already started with a letter to the mobile phone operators and the residents who accepted money to have the antennae on their roofs, holding them responsible for any damage.
So far, however, the only response was that they were in accordance with the law, Mr Catania said.
The next step was to see the government's reaction, he said, auguring that it would plan to move the antennae to the coastline.
"We do not want to destroy them. Our ultimate aim is to reduce their power to harmless levels or move them away from residents," he said.
Mr Trower said there were legal precedents, quoting three court cases that proved mobile phone transmitters caused cancer.
He said it was often overlooked that two neighbouring transmitters could piggyback on each other, causing multiple effects. This meant that what was within the guidelines could suddenly not be any more. Mr Trower urged decision-makers to read scientific literature to set the correct safety levels. "When they say they are within international guidelines, they are quoting the maximum levels, not the safe levels," he warned.
Mr Trower said it had been known since 1932, when microwaves were used for the first time, that they could make people sick, including severe headaches, fatigue, cancer and susceptibility to infection. "And we knew everything there was to know about their harm by 1971," he said.
Mr Trower is on his way to South Africa for talks with ministers on the fact that, for the first time in its history, it has childhood leukaemia clusters and suicides around transmitters.
Together with Daniel Massa, from the Kortin Residents' Association, he made a presentation to the Social Affairs Parliamentary Committee yesterday, auguring that the government would step in to move the antennae away.
Prof. Massa said the "short-sighted, reprehensible lack of adequate planning to protect the Maltese is that thousands of electro-sensitive persons continue to suffer from an array of adverse health symptoms of a predominantly neurological kind".
He said the Department of Health Information had not issued a single statement about emerging and newly-identified non-thermal biological health risks from electromagnetic radiation. Then it presumed to inform the planning authority that the antennae did not generate any adverse effects.
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P.Pace
Mar 11th 2010, 20:36
@ J Bugeja
The argument is about Mobile Antennae in Residential areas, schools and hospitals!!
You are free to limit your mobile use and switch it off when ever you want but an Antenna is there 24 hours 7 days giving off microwave radiation. Although if you give a child a mobile you might as well give them a pack of cigarettes because it is just as bad if not worse!
The power can be reduced or the masts moved away from our children!!
As Mr. Trowers explained the harmful effects have been known for years it is just now that so much money is involved that they say there is no proof!!
We are all the money makers Guinea Pigs now until we all stand up and be heard!
leo attard
Mar 11th 2010, 20:19
In Victoria, Gozo, there is a mobile antenna on top of Arkadia shopping mall which is adjacent to two schools! I see antennas smack in the middle of the village of Qala --- such a shame! and if what this article says is true then the govt. should seriously relocate them for in the long run the govt. will also suffer financially as the more sick people that there are, the heavier the financial burden will be on Malta's health services, the more sick leave will be taken, more professionals will need to be employed to handle the increased number of people stressed out or depressed. it's like a smoker --- the effects are subtle at first, you continue in the error thinking all the hoopla about it is nonsense! Then, in time, it hits you like lightning and it's too late.....
Mario Borg
Mar 11th 2010, 20:11
Can someone please help me?
How come in my village there are two mobile antennae, less then ten meters away from a primary school where my children go?
Are such laws permitted in other E.U states?
Before medicine is accessible to the public it has to go into 4 phases (which roughly takes about 8-10 years) how long were the phases/ study of mobile antennae?
How come mobile companies,Mepa and the Public Health department don't give some kind of documentation to prove that these antennae's are indeed healthy? What are they afraid of?
what is the long term effect?
Thanks
........hope ther's not going to be a lot of people waiting in line for free goverment medicine in the near future.
anthony vella
Mar 11th 2010, 17:23
in a democratic country like ours, people concerned do well to write and complain about roof top mobile antennae. there are those who care and those who do not. it seems that if you are one of those people who live very close by to one of these roof top antennae, then you are somewhat alarmed, otherwise you do not worry, or say that car pollution is worse for your health. i agree that emissions from motor vehicles is unhealthy, but if an expert on these antennae were to speak about this thing i would certainly listen as i happen to live very close to 4 of these antennae. i also hope something is done about them and if found to cause any harm to residents, the government should do whatever is necessary to remove the health hazard. we should set our priorities straight. our health comes first, money comes later....
J. Bugeja
Mar 11th 2010, 16:06
@ Sean Sant Fournier
It's quite normal to hear the speakers or see the monitor flickering when an sms is received , I don't have an antenna close to me at home and it is still happens.
it is only when everyone is prepared to throw away and never use their mobiles, that the base stations can be removed.
William
Mar 12th 2010, 05:46
Please say more about this. Does it happen when you send a message too? What kind of monitor, CRT or LCD? Do your lights dim when a motor like your refrigerator comes on?
Sean Sant Fournier
Mar 11th 2010, 13:44
I always had a suspicion that these antennae have a bad effect on people. I work in Valletta and on the block near my office they put up 4 antennae. At a time I felt my skin prickle, my computer speakers would make a beeping sound, and the monitor would flicker. I know this has something to do with the antennae because whenever I receive an sms the speakers would make a sound as I receive the SMS or just before. We reported it to the health department and funnily enough one of the antennae was removed before they came to inspect. They said the levels of radiation were within the limits of law.
I guess when it comes to money everything passes.
Doreen Sultana
Mar 11th 2010, 11:57
In a lot of other countries, mobile phone antennae aren't allowed to be erected close to the General Public. It's not the case for Malta! For a couple of hundred of Euro's you can get one installed on your roof top! ONLY IN MALTA
Amazingly when you write to the the mobile company and to Mepa, they tell you that it's Safe, but NO ONE WRITES THIS IN BLACK AND WHITE, WHO IS TO CARRY THE RESPONSIBILTY IF SOMETHING HAPPENS TO YOU. X'hin timrat tkun imrad!
At the moment there are four mobile companies.....what's going to happen if three more decide to start to operate? Are we going to end up with Mobile Phone antennae in every corner?
While the MOBILE COMPANIES ARE GETTING RICH, THEY ARE DEVOIDING OUR CHILDREN / US FROM GOOD HEALTH! It's about high time that the authorites doing something about this AND NOT JUST CONCERN WHAT THEY ARE GOING TO GET OUT OF IT!!!!
M Tabone
Mar 11th 2010, 11:54
The Gov should takes this matter very seriously with the mobile phones operators. In few years Malta has turnedup as a mobile phone antennae jungle.
George Debono
Mar 11th 2010, 11:40
Continued........
On the other hand, even though there is no evidence of harm to date, handheld mobile phones could conceivably be harmful and there are still some concerns about possible long-term adverse effects on the brain in children from mobile phone use. This is simply because hand-held mobile telephones emit microwaves while held pressed tightly against the ear – literally within one inch of our hind-brains.
For this reason the British Medical Association and other expert bodies, recommend that the use of mobile phones by children should be strictly restricted. This makes sense while anxiety over the antenna is misplaced.
So - if you see kids using a mobile - they are possibly at risk but the antennae are no more dangerous than sunshine (which also radiates infra red...)
However, if you read the report refered to above - you will realist that scientific data exist that prove that children are exposed to a real danger from growing up in polluted surroundings.
Now, this latter fact is something worth worrying about....
So PLEASE be more realistic and lobby against something which has been shown beyond doubt to be harmful and not what a self styled "specialist" has to say .
George Debono
Mar 11th 2010, 11:35
RE "… national..campaign…..raise awareness....harmful effects..........electrogagnetic radiation………base stations................mobile telephony.
It would be far more realistic if this residents' association lobbied against our excess traffic pollution - a factor which has been shown beyond doubt to be harmful to health.
Let's inject some reality into all this..........
What a waste of time….it really is inconceivable how people fear what they can see - like antennae - but not what is mostly invisible but also present like pollution from our buses (this IS visible actually) , our construction industry and our own cars…. WHY does
nobody worry about traffic pollution which has been SCIENTIFICALLY PROVEN, beyond all doubt, to be harmful to health - and this includes children. (see Part IV of "Towards a Low Carbon Society - the Nation's Health, Energy Security and Fossil Fuels. Download http://www.tppi.org.mt/cms/index.php/reports )
This is the official view of the British Medicine association:
There is no scientific evidence that mobile phone base station antennas are a cause of adverse health effects. Neither is there any theoretical reason hat this might be so provided that people are not habitually nearer than 4 metres to the antenna. It is simply a matter of distance from the source.
Continued…………….
Tony Gatt
Mar 11th 2010, 11:15
Reducing the power of these antennae would be a good idea.
It would be nice not to have to sit next to someone in a train declaring loudly into his mobile "Hello, I'm on the train!"
Obviously, in Malta this problem does not exist as there are no trains.
Ramon Casha
Mar 11th 2010, 10:37
I'd be interested to hear more about his qualifications, beyond his own description of himself as a "microwave expert". So far, opinion is divided about whether mobile antennae have a detrimental effect. It could easily be a repeat of the MMR inoculation scare, where a so-called expert created fear and mistrust of the MMR vaccine (which turned out to be unfounded).