Lagos — Of recent, fears have been expressed in Nigeria about the safety or otherwise of citing of telecoms base stations and telecoms masts in residential areas especially with reports of alleged development of cancer amongst some residents in the United Kingdom. Efem Nkanga, in this report finds out if the fears are real or imagined

When a report broke out last week that the citing of masts in residential areas had led to a breakout of cancer in a residential building in the United Kingdom , some Nigerians naturally expressed dismay especially with the trend of some telecoms companies erecting their masts in or close to buildings where residents live. The report though as at then unconfirmed, was given a semblance of authenticity when Engr Joe Igbokwe, the chairman of the Lagos State Infrastructure and Maintenance Agency (LASIMRA) at a press conference lambasted telecoms operators in the country for putting the lives of innocent Nigerians at risk by citing their masts at residential areas.

Engr Igbokwe who decried the action of the operators promised that his agency will set up a technical committee of well-heeled and internationally acclaimed experts and professionals in ICT, medicine and science to advise government, via LASIMRA, on effects of the telecom base stations, which he reiterated are daily increasing the risks of Lagosians in leaps and bounds. However in a swift reaction, telecoms operators under the aegis of the Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria ALTON swiftly dispelled the allegations and fears expressed by LASIMRA, calling it unfounded and lacking any scientific backing. Engr Gbenga Adebayo, the Chairman of ALTON, stated that scientific researches held in the past and in the present have been conducted by global bodies to check the veracity of the claims that telecoms masts in or close to residential areas causes cancer and other deadly diseases and nothing has been proved by these research.

Various stakeholders have reacted to the claims. While some dismissed it outright, others called for more caution in the citing of masts to prevent an outbreak of incurable diseases.

The NCC at a recent telecoms parliament forum had allayed the fear of Nigerians when it disclosed that various researches conducted on the possibility of health hazards resulting from either the use of mobile phones or proximity to telecommunications installations and equipment including base stations, masts and antenna amongst others, do not pose any risk to human health.

Emphasizing that the rule of law must be upheld, Adebayo had requested that the Agency takes steps to retract these unfounded statements implying that telecoms masts cause cancer as the said statements could lead to a nationwide panic that could result in various communities calling on operators to come and remove their installations and even in some cases taking matters into their own hands.

However, in a bid to find out if these fears are real or imagined, THISDAY decided to do a little more research as to the viability or otherwise of these allegations and found out that indeed, across the globe of recent, people in some places like Germany, Ireland, the United States etc have complained that they have had adverse health reactions from the proximity of base stations to their residential quarters. In Ireland for example in the Pickardstown area of Tramore, residents objected against the citing of a mast because of perceived negative health implications that might arise. In spite of the objection though, authorities gave the go ahead for the mast to be errected. In defending its decision to put up the mast despite the opposition of the people of the area, a government official stated that permission was granted because the government felt the impact would not be "seriously detrimental" because it was close to the forestry.

In Germany , a family of four which lives in a valley below where a new base station of E-Plus/GSM (1900 Mhz) which started up working in May 2003 was erected have complained of heath failure due to the mast cited within their area. Even though the mast cannot be seen from their house. They where said to have lived there for 8 years without any problem caused by the base station (GSM 900MHz) at a distance of 2.5 kilometers away which had been working for several years until sometime in May 2003, when the symptoms set in.

Also in Amsterdam, Dutch scientists were said to have conducted a study that showed that frequent use of mobile phones leads to slower brain activity but that their capability to focus on specific issues increases,

The study on the long-term effects of mobile phone usage was published in the September edition of International Journal of Neuroscience. It was conducted by the Radboud University of Nijmegen and Brainclinics Diagnostic, a group of independent Dutch scientists doing individual brain research and applied scientific functional brain research.

In a related development Germany 's Environmental Ministry's recently issued a warning urging German's to avoid using Wi-Fi wherever possible because of the risks it may pose to health.

The government also advised its citizens to use landlines instead of mobile phones. A spokesman from the government office stated that Wi-Fi should be avoided because people receive exposures from many sources and because it is a new technology and all the research into its health effects has not yet been carried out.

Sometime in 2004, a Nigerian Professor by name Bola Osijo, Chairman of the Nigeria Nuclear Medical Council, warned that the erection of telecoms masts in residential areas was capable of causing cancer and other chronic diseases. He had disclosed then that about 50,000 Nigerians were being infected with cancer yearly before the advent of the telecommunications masts, and reiterated that the influx of the masts into the telecommunications industry and their erection in residential areas, had the propensity to increase the cases of the cancer disease. She added a warning that should nothing be done to prevent indiscriminate citing of telecoms masts, more Nigerians will be afflicted with the scourge. She had stressed then that research carried out by her committee had come up with findings that masts emit radiation that are dangerous to human health and could easily result to cancer. She emphasized that that radiation from a source like the GSM masts affects human cells and in the long run result in cancer. However, Mr Gbenga Adebayo, of ALTON debunked these claims and stated that other studies conducted by credible bodies had shown that perceived health concerns over proximity of humans to telecommunications installations / equipment and use of mobile phones are unfounded though it has remained an issue of concern to both the general public globally and the global telecoms industry.

He added that "Telecoms operators in Nigeria are registered and responsible members of the global industry body, the GSM Association (GSMA), the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and the CDMA Group. Thus, all Nigerian operators benefit from a huge body of research undertaken independently by the different industry bodies in conjunction with international bodies such as the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the European Union (EU)" In addition according to Adebayo,past and ongoing research and studies have been conducted by the GSMA independently and in collaboration with WHO as well as by several other international organisations on possible effects on human health of proximity to telecommunications installations and equipment and use of mobile phones. These studies and research till date have failed to show any causal link between adverse health effects and telecommunications installations and equipment, and use of mobile phones. Giving an example, Adebayo added that "in 2002 Vodafone, a GSM operator in Britain had sought to install mobile telephone antennae in the towers of the churches of St. Margaret, Hawes and Holy Trinity, Knaresborough, in the Leeds area of England . This action resulted in objections from residents within the vicinity of the churches, primarily on the grounds of health risks from living close to the antennae. After Vodafone petitioned the Leeds Combined Court in the recent English cases of St. Margaret Hawes (No. 215 of 2002) and Holy Trinity Knaresborough (No. 223 of 2002), it was determined that research and scientific studies on human health and the relationship between exposure to radio frequency (RF) fields and different types of cancer, reproductive problems, congenital anomalies, epilepsy, headaches and suicide etcetera do not provide any conclusive evidence of adverse health effects.

Commenting on the concerns expressed by LASIMRA about the effects of telecoms Base Stations, Adebayo urge the Agency to note that telecommunications equipment and installations including Base Stations used by GSM operators are manufactured by members of the global telecommunications equipment and handset manufacturers' Association, the Mobile Manufacturer's Forum (MMF) who also comply with the ICNIRP guidelines. He added that LASIMRA's proposals in respect of research in this regard would only be a duplication of what the NCC and the Federal Ministry of Environment are already mandated by government to do.

According to Adebayo, "all deployed telecoms equipment, installations, terminal equipment i.e. mobile handsets and customer premise equipment sold by all Nigerian telecoms operators in their varied bundled promotions are type-approved by the telecommunications industry regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), in compliance with the electromagnetic Field (EMF) thresholds set by the ICNIRP guidelines, the ITU, Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), amongst other industry standards setting bodies and as such do not pose any health threats"

With various studies being conducted in the past and others currently being conducted to find out if indeed, theses masts pose a hazard and threat to human existence, authorities concerned should not relent in conducting further researches, studies and texts to be 100 per cent sure that there is no risk attached to these masts. The thought of Nigerians being exposed to danger in any way because of proximity or exposure to these masts is not palatable and surely, the NCC, the regulatory authority responsible for the sector will not fold its arms and allow Operators to undermine the health of Nigerians just because they want to erect masts especially when the delicate issue of health comes to play. Operators should also periodically address the issue by making available credible reports of researches conducted on the issue that they have spearheaded on the matter to assure Nigerians that there is indeed no cause for alarm.