Fact Sheet on Cell Tower Health Studies

Evidence of harmful health effects on persons living close to cell transmission base station antennas.

France (2003): People living within 300 metres of cell antennas reported the following disorders: "fatigue, sleep disturbances, headaches, feeling of discomfort, difficulty concentrating, depression, memory loss, visual disruptions, irritability, hearing disruptions, skin problems, cardiovascular disorders, and dizziness.” (Survey Study of People Living in the Vicinity of Cellular Phone Base Stations. Santini 2003, Electromagnetic Biology & Medicine, Vol. 22 (1): 41-49.)

(Magda Havas, B.Sc., Ph.D www.magdahavas.org Expert Testimony on Health Effects Associated with Radio Frequency Radiation, October 10, 2005, citing: Symptoms experienced by people in the vicinity of cellular phone base station. Santini 2001, La Presse Medicale)

Spain (2003): "Exposed individuals lived within 50 and 150 meters of the base station...experienced more headaches, sleep disturbances, irritability, difficulty concentrating, discomfort, dizziness, appetite loss and nausea."

(Ibid., citing: The Microwave Syndrome: A Preliminary Study in Spain. [Navarro, E.A., J. Segura, M. Portoles, C. G-P de Mateo. 2003. Electromagnetic Biology & Medicine, Vol. 22 (2): 161-169.])

Germany (2004): "The proportion of newly developing cancer cases was significantly higher among those patients who had lived during the past ten years at a distance of up to 400 metres from the cellular transmitter site, which has been in operation since 1993, compared to those patients living further away, and that the patients fell ill on average 8 years earlier. After five years' operation of the transmitting installation, the relative risk of getting cancer had trebled for the residents of the area in the proximity of the installation compared to the inhabitants of Naila outside the area."

(Ibid., citing: Naila Study, Germany (November 2004) Report by five medical doctors.)

U.K. (2007): "Seven clusters of cancer and other serious illnesses have been discovered around mobile phone masts, raising concerns over the technology's potential impact on health. Studies of the sites show high incidences of cancer, brain haemorrhages and high blood pressure within a radius of 400 yards of mobile phone masts. One of the studies, in Warwickshire, showed a cluster of 31 cancers around a single street. A quarter of the 30 staff at a special school within sight of the 90ft high mast have developed tumours since 2000, while another quarter have suffered significant health problems."

(Daniel Foggo, "Cancer Clusters at Phone Masts," The Sunday Times (UK), April 22, 2007.) http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/personal_tech/article1687491.ece

Germany (2009): Persons living within 400 meters from the cell tower experienced:
"sleep problems, depression, cerebral symptoms, infections, skin problems, cardiovascular problems, joint problems, problems of the visual and auditory system, hormone system and gastrointestinal tract."

(Specific Symptoms and Radiation from Mobile Basis Stations in Selbitz, Bavaria, Germany: Evidence for a Dose-Effect Relationship, Horst Eger & Manfred Jahn, February, 2010, Umwelt Medizin Gesellschaft 2010; 23(2): 130-139.)

Full studies are available at www.emrpolicy.org