Warner Beach residents object to cell tower

Warner Beach residents are objecting the proposed erection of a cell phone tower on the Almond and Swales roads. The proposed site is mere metres away from the Warner Beach Prep junior campus.

Almond Road resident, Louise Marais is one of the residents who are strongly against building cell phone towers in residential areas and believes the constant barrage of electromagnetic frequencies (EMFs) emitted from these towers are the direct cause of brain cancer in children who are exposed to them.

“Cell phone companies have a major conflict of interest, yet they are the ones to reassure the public that the EMFs from towers are harmless when they have no proof of that,” said Louise. Cell phones operate by sending and receiving radio frequency microwave radiation from their antennas to a nearby tower.

These towers, also known as base stations or masts, are made up of antennas and other electronic equipment that transmit this radio frequency (RF) radiation to enable cell phones to function. Studies have shown that people living close to cell phone towers are exposed to higher levels of RF radiation compared to those further away and that these exposures can adversely affect people’s health.”

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“Studies have proven that the closer you live to a cell tower, the higher your risk is of developing a brain tumor. Cell tower radiation has also been found to induce leukemia (blood cancer) and many studies have confirmed that the radiation alter and damages our DNA,” said Louise.

“Then there is the issue of bringing criminals into our community by having these cell phone towers in residential areas. Syndicates target these towers to steal the batteries. This potential security risk will now be placed on us residents and the cell phone companies will benefit from the security that we will have to provide at our cost to keep our area safe. So this is at no extra cost to the cell phone company, but huge extra risk to us residents.

“MTN was forced to shut down 53 towers in Gauteng recently due to the costly replacement of stolen batteries and the company said it was losing millions. In the first half of this year, the cost to the industry has reached an unsustainable tipping-point with MTN general manager of network operations, Ernest Paul, saying the damage to towers and infrastructure is far exceeding the cost of repairing and replacing batteries and equipment.

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Some acts of vandalism are so severe that hundreds of towers around the country are at risk of being permanently shut down. The danger of bringing these types of criminals into our backyard should be evident and not acceptable to any resident,” said Louise.

The public can send objections by hand to: The regional co-ordinator, south region, land use management branch, first floor, 11 Gracedale Road, Winklespruit; by registered post to: PO Box 680, Durban 4000; or via email to: keneuwe.mokhutswane@durban.gov.za (office contact number: 031-311-5871). Objections must also be forwarded to the applicant: JDT Project Consulting, email to: info@jdtprojectconsulting.com by 13 September.

Why are cell phone towers dangerous?

Cell phone towers emit huge amounts of harmful RF (radio frequency) radiation. The World Health Organization has listed this RF radiation as a possible carcinogen (cause of cancer). The closer you are physically located to a cell tower, the more harmful it is, therefore to have them in residential areas and close to school or play grounds is not a good idea. The radiation from towers can mess with your body’s own electromagnetic frequencies, leading to health problems such as headaches, memory loss, cardiovascular stress, low sperm count, birth defects and various types of cancer.

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