FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ON HEALTH HAZARDS DUE TO MOBILE PHONES AND THEIR ANTENNAS (part1)

• What are mobile phone base stations and are there health hazards associated with living, working, playing, or going to school near one? 

ANS: Mobile phone base stations are low-power multi-channel two-way radios. A mobile phone (cell phone) is a low-power, single-channel, two-way radio. When you talk on such a mobile phone, you (and perhaps dozens of other people around you) are talking to a nearby base station. From that base station your phone call goes into the regular land-line phone system.
Because mobile phones and their base stations are two-way radios, they produce radio-frequency radiation (that's how they communicate), and they expose people near them to radio-frequency (RF) radiation. However, because both the phones and the base stations are low power (short range), the RF radiation exposure levels from them are generally very low.
The consensus of the scientific community, both in the US and internationally, is that the power from these mobile phone base station antennas is far too low to produce health hazards as long as people are kept away from direct access to the antennas.
It is critical to be aware of the difference between antennas, the objects that produce RF radiation; and towers or masts, the structures that the antennas are placed on. It is the antennas that people need to keep their distance from, not the towers that hold the antennas.
It is also important to be aware that there are many different designs of mobile phone base stations that vary widely in their power, their characteristics, and their potential for exposing people to RF radiation.

• Is anyone seriously concerned about possible health risks from mobile phone base station antennas? 

ANS: Not really. There are some reasons to be concerned about human health effects from the hand-held mobile (cellular) phones themselves (although it is not certain that any risks to human health actually exist). These concerns exist because the antennas of these phones deliver much of their radio frequency energy to very small volumes of the user's body. Base station antennas do not create such "hot spots" (unless you are standing directly in front of one), so the potential safety issues concerning the phones have no real applicability to the base station antennas.

• Do the differences between cell phones, PCS phones, and other types of portable (mobile) phones matter when evaluating the potential impacts of base station antennas on human health? 

ANS: No. There are many technical differences between cell phones, PCS phones, and the types of "mobile" phones used in other counties, but for evaluation of possible health hazards, the only distinction that matters is that they operate at slightly different frequencies. The RF radiation from some base stations (e.g., those for the older 800 MHz cell phones used in the U.S.) may be absorbed by humans somewhat more than the RF radiation from other types of base stations (e.g., those for the 1800-2000 MHz "PCS" phones used in the U.S.) However, once the energy is absorbed the effects are the same.

• Do the differences between base station antennas and other types of radio and TV broadcast antennas matter when evaluating their potential impacts on human health? 

ANS:Yes and no. The RF radiation from some antennas (particularly FM and VHF-TV broadcast antennas) are absorbed more by humans than the RF radiation from other sources (such as mobile phone base station antennas); but once the energy is absorbed the effects are basically the same. 

FM and TV antennas send out 100 to 5000 times more power than base station antennas, but are usually mounted on much higher towers (typically 800 to 1200 ft). 

• Do mobile phone base station antennas produce radiation? 

ANS: Yes. mobile (cellular) phones and their base station antennas are two-way radios, and produce radio frequency (RF) radiation; that's how they work. This radio frequency radiation is "non-ionizing", and its biological effects are fundamentally different from the "ionizing" radiation produced by x-ray machines 

• Is the non-ionizing radiation (RF radiation) from mobile phone base station antennas similar to ionizing radiations such as X-rays? 

ANS: No. The interaction of biological material with an electromagnetic source depends on the frequency of the source. X-rays, RF radiation and "EMF" from power lines are all part of the electromagnetic spectrum, and the parts of the spectrum are characterized by their frequency. The frequency is the rate at which the electromagnetic field changes direction and is given in Hertz (Hz), where one Hz is one cycle (wave) per second, and 1 megahertz (MHz) is one million cycles (waves) per second. 

Electric power in the US is at 60 Hz. AM radio has a frequency of around 1 MHz, FM radio has a frequency of around 100 MHz, microwave ovens have a frequency of 2450 MHz, and X-rays have frequencies above one million million MHz. Cellular (mobile) phones operate at a variety of frequencies between about 800 and 2200 MHz]. 

At the extremely high frequencies characteristic of X-rays, electromagnetic particles have sufficient energy to break chemical bonds (ionization). This is how X-rays damage the genetic material of cells, potentially leading to cancer or birth defects. At lower frequencies, such as RF radiation, the energy of the particles is much too low to break chemical bonds. Thus RF radiation is "non-ionizing". Because non-ionizing radiation cannot break chemical bonds, there is no similarity between the biological effects of ionizing radiation (x-rays) and non ionizing radiation (RF radiation). 

still working on.......(_any question so comment)
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