The health cost of technology
RANDAPRK RIDGE – CoJ plays down health concerns of cell towers
The City of Johannesburg’s Health Department has played down the fears of Randpark Ridge residents about a cell tower that went up recently.
Residents are worried that the cell tower, built in Mopani Road, will affect their health in the long term and cause cancer.
In a recent meeting with residents, Peter Mangonye, an environmental practitioner from the department, said in terms of the health impacts of cell towers, there has been a lot of literature with different views and none have brought forward conclusive evidence.
“When it comes to cell towers, a lot of the concerns centre around radiation and whether that causes cancer,” said Mangonye.
“We have looked at various sources of information on a global scale to research if residents should be concerned about cell towers or not. So far there is no evidence in published scientific reports that cell towers cause health problems.”
Mangonye cited various researchers from the United Kingdom Cancer Research, World Health Organisation, Electromagnetic Radiation Research Foundation of South Africa and the United States’ Federal Commission to reach his conclusions. He added that cell towers are unlikely to increase cancer risk in people because the radiation they give off is minimal.
“The exposure to radiation from a cell tower is much lower than one would get from a cell phone. Cell towers, cell phones, smart metres, WiFi and even baby monitors emit non-ionising radio frequencies which have been classified as a potential carcinogenic [potential to cause cancer].”
Even with the contradiction, Mangonye stressed that with little evidence available, there is not much to be done at the moment.
Non-ionising electromagnetic (EM) radiation lacks enough energy to remove tightly bound electrons from their orbits around an atom’s nucleus. Non-ionising forms of EM energy are generally not dangerous, with some exceptions.
Meanwhile, Atlas Tower Group, the company responsible for erecting the cell tower in Mopani Road has removed the barbed wire around the tower. Residents had complained that it makes an ugly tower look even worse. However, the company indicated that because the transformers used to power the tower are sought after by criminals, preventative measures had to be taken.
Related article: https://www.citizen.co.za/randburg-sun/346624/residents-continue-fight-against-cell-tower/
