Apostolis Fotiadis
ATHENS, Sep 7 2007 (IPS) – The small black device that Panagiotis Vovos holds in his hands can measure the voltage produced by mobile phone network transmission antennas. It can detect voltages up to 7(Volt/metre).
This would be many times above the legally allowed limit in most European countries (between 0.2 and 6 V/m), China 6(V/m) or Russia 1(V/m); still it is much below the limit in Greece, which reaches up to 33(V/m). If the indicator is constantly on red it means that an antenna is installed in one of the buildings around, which also means that some people are probably bombarded with radiation for many hours per day, Vovos told IPS.
In many cases the appearance of an antenna is usually followed by complaints by inhabitants of headaches, difficulties in concentrating and memorising, insomnia and dizziness. In a few cases serious health problems have been connected to long-term exposure to radiation.
The most well known in Athens is the one of Terpandru street where ten people living within 40 metres around an antenna suffered tumours and leukaemia.
Companies deny allegations that antennas represent a health hazard, and reassure people that all their stations operate at less than 33(V/m), which is below the 45(V/m) safety limit determined by the World Health Organisation. I just do not trust this organisation, Vovos says. It is the same institution that promotes genetically modified seeds in the third world. It is too close to the corporate world to be trusted.
Now the scientific community of Greece is increasingly expressing concern about radiation produced by network transmitters. The current levels of acceptable exposure to radiation are arranged according to the thermal reactions of the living organism, meaning the increase of temperature caused, Loukas Margaritis, professor of molecular biology and radiobiology at the National Kapodistrian University of Athens, told IPS.
It is proven today that the majority of biological effects caused by contact of human beings with artificial electromagnetic fields do not result in temperature increases. Therefore, we have every reason not to consider safe the current acceptable limits, which are anyway defined by politico-economic motives rather than scientific criteria.
Recent epidemiological studies have proven a relation between the long-term exposure without precaution to radiation produced by antennas, and specific kinds of cancer and tumours.
During the last six months the increase of complaints about antennas set up next to sensitive places like schools and hospitals, combined with a vacuum of credible information, has resulted in growing public concern about their effects. Groups of people and activists have started organising themselves, and have managed to raise awareness on the issue, as well as expose a number of irregularities in use of antennas.
In some cases residents who requested to see the permission for antennas functioning in their neighbourhood found that applications for permission were never submitted. The companies contact individuals directly through their legal representative and persuade them, with an appropriate fee, to install an antenna on their building, Vovos says. Even more, sometimes they camouflage their antenna, making it look like a boiler, so neighbours never learn about it.
Often, concern is accentuated because of the lack of transparency in the way responsible authorities deal with citizens #39 demands. In March a resident invited the Committee of Atomic Energy (EEAE) to measure the voltage of two antennas at Rodou Street where she resides. A month later she received a letter reassuring her that both antennas operated below the higher legal limit.
After getting the letter I felt safer, but not for long. Soon I was informed that a second letter existed saying that the voltage was in fact above the allowed limit, she said. An activist digging in the waste of EEAE had found a copy of the second letter addressed to the Committee for Telecommunications and Postal Services (EETT), which is responsible for giving permission for installation to companies.
To a great extent, it is the inadequate legal framework that allows telecommunication companies significant space to manoeuvre. According to the legislation in place, applications for installations not answered by EETT in one month are approved automatically, even if they miss important documentation like an environmental study or approval from EEAE.
Furthermore, the law does not clearly identify the responsible executive body for enforcing penalties on the companies. As a result, apart from small sanctions that corporations can easily afford, many antenna stations remain in place even after companies lose cases over them in court. The law even allows the camouflage of antennas, arguing that this helps maintain urban uniformity.
The municipal councils of Athens and Piraeus, local authorities in an area inhabited by more than five million people, have formally endorsed public concerns, and recommended revision of the law. But the slow legal procedures do not comfort all citizens. Often, people have on their own disabled antennas set up without permission, and even destroyed them after companies returned and re-activated them.
The mass exposure of millions of people around the world to networks #39 electromagnetic fields is the biggest biological experiment ever, Margaritis says. Instead of waiting, we should act in a preventive manner. The example of Belgium which last February reduced its higher limits from 27(V/m) to 3, with a plan for a further reduction to 0.6, is a good guide.
