Tower trouble

By Jade Lawton
The AMTA said that contrary to claims made by EMR Australia in last week’s Pakenham News, there was no credible scientific evidence of health effects from living or working near a mobile phone base station.
The EMR was responding to residents concerns that an Optus tower proposed for the top of Heritage Springs Shopping Centre could be dangerous to children attending a nearby primary school, kindergarten and maternal health centre.
AMTA Chief Executive Officer Chris Althaus said that 30 credible scientific reviews over the past two decades had found there was no convincing scientific evidence of health effects from mobile phone technology.
“It is entirely understandable that parents are concerned about the health impact of mobile phone technology on their children,” he said.
“However, a number of independent reviews of all the available science by international health authorities and governments have carefully considered this concern and found no evidence of any additional risk to children from mobile phone technologies.”
Mr Althaus said the mobile phone industry acknowledged that some people were ‘genuinely concerned.’
“We are committed to addressing these concerns responsibly through active community and local government consultation,” he said.