Austrian study finds link to cancer, cell phone tower exposure at levels also found in Framingham schools

It was the study’s objective to determine whether cancer cases that became known in the eastern part of Hausmannstätten or Vasoldsberg, respectively, represent a cluster with regard to timing and location as well as whether they might be associated with the mobile phone base station, which operated as a car phone service from 1984 to 1997.

The analog mobile phone base station under study was part of the national C-Network, installed by the Austrian post and communications authority and operated according to the Nordic Mobile Telephone 450 (NMT 450) standard. The cell radii of this network were usually up to 30 km. The area under study was defined as a circle with a 1,200-m radius around the former transmitter. With the help of the provincial government of Styria (GIS Steiermark) and the municipalities of Hausmannstätten and Vasoldsberg, n=2,543 potential study participants could be located and personally invited to participate in the study.

By applying limiting exposure conditions such as the assumption of a latency period, an “after-effect period” and a 5-year minimum exposure period, three different case-control samples were compiled. Sample A (67 cases/1242 controls) and B (67 cases/646 controls) included living and deceased cases, sample C (28 cases/56 controls) living cases only.

Based on the selected exposure period limits, the distance assessment for the range from 0 to 200 m around the transmitter in comparison to the area from 201 to 1,200 m showed a significantly increased cancer risk for all three samples, which makes for a distinct incidence with regard to location. The incidence was particularly pronounced for breast and brain tumors.

The essential assessment focused on the relationships between the RF radiation exposure levels from the transmitter and cancer risk. The risk (odds ratio=OR) was assessed for the exposure categories 10-100 µW/m², 100-1000 µW/m² and greater than 1000 µW/m² (1 mW/m²) in relation to the reference category less than 10 µW/m², all of which apply to outdoor levels.

For all models, the analysis revealed significantly increased risk ratios. Compared to the reference category (<10 µW/m²), the cancer risk for all cancer sites in the highest exposure category (>1000 µW/m²) was 5 to 8 times higher, depending on the sample. Similar to the distance assessment, the cancer cases were again most pronounced for the cancer sites breast and brain.

Incidentally, the wifi radiation measured from the industrial strength routers in Framingham schools was as high as 34,000µW/m².

http://www.vws.org/documents/Cell-Project-Documents/Austrianstudy-1.pdf