Part -1: Rooftop Mobile Tower -Cellular tower cause cancer?
Cellular phone towers cause as much cancer as Microwave ovens.
Myths in the question/description:
The implicit one:
0. Please understand: The radiation emitted by cell phone towers is not related to the radio active radiation. Now,
The ones that are stated:
1. Cell phone tower emits radiation that causes caner.
>No, very less likely compared to other causes. There are some observed effects in mice, about 15 yrs back, but any effect on humans not established yet.
2. This is the reason why hospitals do not install towers on their roof.
>No, Hospitals don't prefer towers because their radiation (of electromagnetic signals) interferes with the medical equipment.
Have you seen this anywhere?
In a mall or a large corporate building may be? It looks like this when installed:
This is also an antenna. Called, IBS (in-building solutions).
Check it next time you're in a big hospital. These are usually much less powerful and used for small range of coverage but high usage.
Some primary facts:
1. The signals used/transmitted by the cellular service antennas are radiowaves and microwaves. No, they are not related to radioactivity, but the good old 'radio station'.(yes, repeated, but it's important to never mix up the two again)
2. All the operators(mobile service provider companies-Airtel, Vodafone, etc.) are expected to conform to the specified standards of radiation (the power of the antennae) and keep them within the limits which are established as not harmful.
3. Even the companies do not want to use any of the power from the antenna to go waste by transmitting in nonuseful areas. They will avoid as much as they can and, luckily, they can avoid.
Now, is sitting/living under/close to an antenna harmful?
Being a communications engineer, I hope one aspect of antennas will allay the fears of radiation through towers. This can get a bit technical. Please skip to the next section if not interested.
The standard radiation pattern around a simple antenna is like below.
Image Source: AntennaTheory.com, The Dipole Antenna
Now, if we change the configuration of how an antenna is set up by using an antenna array (more transmitting nodes that use the same signal), we can modify the pattern of radiation/coverage.
A simple change will be like this (use two antennae, and give more power to one side)
With different configurations, we can get desired shapes like:
Image Source: ShareTechnote,
Cellular towers use precise equations to work out what pattern of coverage will best suit a location, such that most of the power is on the points where people are living and not where there is empty space.
A cell phone tower using an array and its radiation coverage can be as:
(forget the terms; the grey lobes indicate direct coverage)
In an actual situation, it could be like:
Image Source: Basic Principles and Design Specifications of Antenna in Mobile Communications, Tempus Telcosys (P) Ltd
For example, if an antenna is set up on a river front, the coverage is set to cover almost all the 'walking or traffic area' but not on the river (except if there is active ferry/boating activity).
Similar is the case with towers above buildings. The coverage is inclined more towards the populated floors of the building than on the roof tops. Think of an umbrella. The tower on the tallest and central building gives the best coverage with minimum power. That's why they keep antenae on tall buildings, so that with minimum power, they can get max coverage. not because the antennas are harmful.
Cause Cancer?
Cell phone towers causing cancer is very less likely. (In a theoretical world, no relation can be completely ruled out). This is due to two main reasons:
1. The power of radiation is much lower than the usual known and established causes of cancer- UV and X-rays.
2. Even if the power were to be high, adjacent to the tower, the kind of waves used (radio waves) have large wavelengths (about a few centimeters to a few meters) larger than any cell and thus cannot cause cellular damage or mutation that can lead to cancer.
Source: Cellular Phone Towers
Cause Cancer through water in overhead tanks?
1. The possibility of cancer through water taking the radiation in the overhead tanks is non-existent, because: The water is usually continuously flowing and replenished. For it to be affected by the radiowaves, which are a fraction of the power of a typical microwave, think about boiling water at one hundredth of the power of a microwave, or the heating effect in 1-2 seconds compared with 2 minutes.
2. Microwave irradiation will not change normal water to radioactive. It can at the most cause free radicals of the salts and other minerals. Which nevertheless are harmful if taken internally, but that's unlikely for an overhead storage, I guess.
Rest assured, cell phone tower radiation is very unlikely to cause any sickness to anyone living in, or close to, the building where it is hosted.
Keeping your cell phone beside the pillow or talking on phone for hours is much much more likely to cause health problems
Source Credit: https://www.quora.com/Cancer-Mobile-towers-are-usually-installed-on-the-terrace-of-the-building-near-the-water-tank-Does-it-make-water-radioactive-and-later-consuming-that-water-leads-to-cancer/answer/Dinesh-Yalavarthy
Myths in the question/description:
The implicit one:
0. Please understand: The radiation emitted by cell phone towers is not related to the radio active radiation. Now,
The ones that are stated:
1. Cell phone tower emits radiation that causes caner.
>No, very less likely compared to other causes. There are some observed effects in mice, about 15 yrs back, but any effect on humans not established yet.
2. This is the reason why hospitals do not install towers on their roof.
>No, Hospitals don't prefer towers because their radiation (of electromagnetic signals) interferes with the medical equipment.
Have you seen this anywhere?
Check it next time you're in a big hospital. These are usually much less powerful and used for small range of coverage but high usage.
Some primary facts:
1. The signals used/transmitted by the cellular service antennas are radiowaves and microwaves. No, they are not related to radioactivity, but the good old 'radio station'.(yes, repeated, but it's important to never mix up the two again)
2. All the operators(mobile service provider companies-Airtel, Vodafone, etc.) are expected to conform to the specified standards of radiation (the power of the antennae) and keep them within the limits which are established as not harmful.
3. Even the companies do not want to use any of the power from the antenna to go waste by transmitting in nonuseful areas. They will avoid as much as they can and, luckily, they can avoid.
Now, is sitting/living under/close to an antenna harmful?
Being a communications engineer, I hope one aspect of antennas will allay the fears of radiation through towers. This can get a bit technical. Please skip to the next section if not interested.
The standard radiation pattern around a simple antenna is like below.
Image Source: AntennaTheory.com, The Dipole Antenna
Now, if we change the configuration of how an antenna is set up by using an antenna array (more transmitting nodes that use the same signal), we can modify the pattern of radiation/coverage.
A simple change will be like this (use two antennae, and give more power to one side)
With different configurations, we can get desired shapes like:
Image Source: ShareTechnote,
Cellular towers use precise equations to work out what pattern of coverage will best suit a location, such that most of the power is on the points where people are living and not where there is empty space.
A cell phone tower using an array and its radiation coverage can be as:
In an actual situation, it could be like:
For example, if an antenna is set up on a river front, the coverage is set to cover almost all the 'walking or traffic area' but not on the river (except if there is active ferry/boating activity).
Similar is the case with towers above buildings. The coverage is inclined more towards the populated floors of the building than on the roof tops. Think of an umbrella. The tower on the tallest and central building gives the best coverage with minimum power. That's why they keep antenae on tall buildings, so that with minimum power, they can get max coverage. not because the antennas are harmful.
Cause Cancer?
Cell phone towers causing cancer is very less likely. (In a theoretical world, no relation can be completely ruled out). This is due to two main reasons:
1. The power of radiation is much lower than the usual known and established causes of cancer- UV and X-rays.
2. Even if the power were to be high, adjacent to the tower, the kind of waves used (radio waves) have large wavelengths (about a few centimeters to a few meters) larger than any cell and thus cannot cause cellular damage or mutation that can lead to cancer.
Source: Cellular Phone Towers
Cause Cancer through water in overhead tanks?
1. The possibility of cancer through water taking the radiation in the overhead tanks is non-existent, because: The water is usually continuously flowing and replenished. For it to be affected by the radiowaves, which are a fraction of the power of a typical microwave, think about boiling water at one hundredth of the power of a microwave, or the heating effect in 1-2 seconds compared with 2 minutes.
2. Microwave irradiation will not change normal water to radioactive. It can at the most cause free radicals of the salts and other minerals. Which nevertheless are harmful if taken internally, but that's unlikely for an overhead storage, I guess.
Rest assured, cell phone tower radiation is very unlikely to cause any sickness to anyone living in, or close to, the building where it is hosted.
Keeping your cell phone beside the pillow or talking on phone for hours is much much more likely to cause health problems
Source Credit: https://www.quora.com/Cancer-Mobile-towers-are-usually-installed-on-the-terrace-of-the-building-near-the-water-tank-Does-it-make-water-radioactive-and-later-consuming-that-water-leads-to-cancer/answer/Dinesh-Yalavarthy
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