We
are rejecting the telco tower that was set up at Sekolah Menengah
Pendidikan Khas Persekutuan last week on 600H Jalan Lembah Permai, 11200
Tanjung Bungah. The telecommunication operator did not apply for
residential consent before setting up the tower. There is fear in us of
being exposed to health hazards and electromagnetic radiation
continuously for the next many years. Therefore, we insist that the
tower to be taken down.
Many well established international studies have shown the health hazard of the electromagnetic radiation from the Mobile Phone Telco Towers. The tower should not be located at or near the residential areas, schools and hospitals. Certain scientist even suggested that the towers should not be less than 300 meters from schools or residential area.
We are extremely concerned about the health effects and risk of Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Radiation (RF) from the antennas. Majority of the residents around this area objected to the radiation exposure and the nearness of this tower.
There
is a robust and ongoing controversy over many aspects of RF health
effects. No one disagrees that serious health hazards occur when living
cells in the body are heated. This happens when high intensity RF
exposure (just like in a microwave oven), scientists are currently still
investigating the health hazards of low intensity exposure. Low
intensity exposure is exposure which does not raise the temperature of
the living cells in the body.
The telecommunications industry claims cellular antennas are safe because the radiation they produce is too weak to cause heating, a "thermal effect." They point to "safety standards" from groups such as ANSI/IEEE or ICNIRP to support their claims. But these groups have explicitly stated that their claim of “safe levels of exposure” is only based on thermal levels.
There
is a large body of internationally accepted scientific evidence which
points to the existence of non thermal effects of microwave radiation.
The issue at the present time is not whether such evidence exists, but
rather what weight to give it.
Non-thermal
effects are recognized by experts on RF to have potential health
hazards. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of USA has rejected
the current (ANSI/IEEE) safety standards because they are based on
thermal effects alone. Many scientists and physicians question the
safety of exposure to RF. The CSIRO study, for example, notes that there
are no clear cutoff levels at which low intensity exposure has no
effect, and that the results of ongoing studies will take years to
analyze. "As long as it has not been scientifically proven that
electromagnetic radiation is without danger, it should be considered
that it is probably dangerous."
The
BioInitiative Report which is the work of leading scientists who have
reviewed over 2000 reports on Electro-Magnetic Fields (EMFs) and health,
states that “The existing public safety standards limiting radiation
levels in nearly every country of the world look to be thousands of
times too lenient. Change is needed”. Report: available at www.bioinitiative.org. Title: BioInitiative: A Rationale for a Biologically-based Public Exposure Standard for Electromagnetic Fields (ELF and RF).
The potential long term health effects are much more worrying especially when we consider that our children are especially vulnerable due to the fact that they have thinner skulls, immature immune systems and soft bones allowing stem cells in the bone marrow to absorb microwaves (Cherry 1998).
We demand to remove the mentioned telco tower. Enclosed are the lists of signatures taken around the area, wanting the tower to be taken down. Your immediate response and action are very much needed and appreciated.
Thank you
Yours sincerely,
Residents of Lembah Permai and Concord Garden
