mast business

Mast Sanity is a campaign group in the UK working towards raising awareness of the health hazards caused by mobile phone masts and the safe siting of masts. We have chosen not to have a mobile phone in The Green Parent office because we are unsure what effect the radiation could have on the human body and also for reasons of peace! There are times when no-one can reach us because we are deep in the woods or out with the kids and that feels pretty wonderful. Very occasionally I imagine that our lives might be easier or smoother if we had mobile phones but that thought soon passes. I don't meet many other phone-less folk these days.

Growing in number There are now over 50,000 mobile phones masts in the UK and they come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. So how to spot them? Well, they can look like big towers that seem similar to pylons but don't have wires attached. Or they can be tall poles that look like lamp posts but don't have a light on top. Confusingly masts can also be what look like sticks or long grey or white boxes put at the top of buildings such as schools, hospitals, colleges, flats and offices. And they can even just be small boxes the size of burglar alarms, placed on the sides of shops. Unfortunately avoiding masts is almost impossible. What's wrong with masts? According to Mast Sanity "cancer clusters" have been found around mobile phone masts, up to 400 metres from a mast. People living near each other and close to a mast have ended up with rare cancers at nearly the same time as each other. These people live where they are getting the strongest signal from the nearby mast(s). This has been the case in Devon, Lincolnshire and Staffordshire. Other people living in these areas find they get many common symptoms including heart palpitations (flutters), lots of headaches, nose bleeds, problems sleeping, itchy burning skin and feel really depressed.

Mobile phone masts give out the same sort of microwave radiation in their signals as microwave ovens use to cook food but the signals also carry data sent along in packets or 'pulses'. 

Other problems noticed by European doctors, particularly in Germany where petitions have been launched to halt the use of some mobile technology, are: • Learning problems • Trouble concentrating • Behavioural disorders such as Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) • Extremely high and extremely low Blood Pressure - and swapping between the 2 • Medicines stop working as well, so prescriptions have to increase • Heart Rhythms get upset • Sudden Heart Attacks and Strokes happening in younger and younger people • More Brain diseases such as Alzheimer‘s, Parkinson's, Motor Neurone Disease and Epilepsy • More Cancers, Leukaemia and Brain Tumours • More and worse Headaches and Migraines • Constantly being tired, getting sleepless and being sleepy during the day • People feeling anxious all the time • Ringing in the ears (Tinnitus) • People more likely to get infections, colds, allergies and viruses • People feeling pains in their nerves and bodies for no apparent cause Medical tests When doctors in a town in Germany (West Kempten) decided to prove that it was the mobile phone mast that was causing these problems they took blood samples from people before and after a new mast was put up and turned on. The people also stopped using their mobiles, cordless phones, wireless internet and other wireless/mobile gadgets too. The results were very clear. The levels of two vital chemicals serotonin and melatonin found in the blood were found to be seriously altered once the mast was turned on.

Happy hormone reduced Serotonin levels were halved. Serotonin controls your mood, anger, aggression, body temperature, sleep, sexuality, appetite and metabolism. Many of the people found themselves feeling moody, depressed, tired, and lethargic. Some also felt agitated and had lost their appetites. Nearly all felt really down.

Immune system affected The results showed melatonin levels that were too high during the day and much too low at night. Melatonin is a hormone that is important in boosting the immune system and fighting cancer. It protects DNA from damage. Since it also helps regulate sleep it's important to have high levels at night otherwise restlessness occurs. If the immune system isn't boosted people become ill easier, stay ill longer and can't fight cancer so well. The Doctors requested that the mobile phone mast be turned off again.

So what can we do? • Find out where your nearest mobile phone mast is.

• Cancel the mobile phone contract if you have one (If you are worried about emergencies swap to "pay as you go" until you are happy to do without.) • If you must keep your phone, use it as little as possible and just stick to talking and texting - ignore all other functions and activities. • Realise that every call or text needs a mast, and that more calls or texts mean more masts nearby. • Read up on the science, facts and shielding materials and tell others. • Write to your MP to tell them that you too are concerned about the health issues. • Take action by joining support groups such as Mast Sanity • If you already live near a mast you should consider shielding your home from the microwaves. 

If you are interested in this from a personal perspective there's a piece on this in the next edition of The Green Parent, about the campaign launched by the people of Glastonbury to stop a WiFi mast being erected in their town.