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Mortality by neoplasia and cellular telephone base stations in the Belo Horizonte municipality, Minas Gerais state, Brazil.

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Dode AC, Leão MM, Tejo Fde A, Gomes AC, Dode DC, Dode MC, Moreira CW, Condessa VA, Albinatti C, Caiaffa WT. · 2011

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Living within 500 meters of cell towers was linked to higher cancer death rates in this decade-long Brazilian population study.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Brazilian researchers analyzed cancer deaths in Belo Horizonte from 1996-2006 and found that people living within 500 meters of cell phone base stations had significantly higher cancer mortality rates (34.76 per 10,000 residents) compared to those living farther away. The study used official death records and mapped the locations of 856 cell towers, measuring radiofrequency radiation levels up to 12.4 V/m in areas with the highest cancer rates.

Why This Matters

This large-scale population study provides compelling evidence that living near cell towers correlates with increased cancer risk. The researchers documented 7,191 cancer deaths over a decade and found a clear spatial pattern - the closer people lived to base stations, the higher their cancer mortality rates. What makes this particularly significant is the exposure levels measured (up to 40.78 μW/cm²) are well within current safety guidelines, yet still associated with elevated cancer deaths. This adds to growing evidence that our current radiofrequency exposure standards may not adequately protect public health. The study's decade-long timeframe and use of official government health records strengthens its credibility, though like all observational studies, it cannot definitively prove causation.

Exposure Details

Power Density
0.00004, 0.04078 µW/m²
Electric Field
0.4, 12.4 V/m

Exposure Context

This study used 0.00004, 0.04078 µW/m² for radio frequency:

This study used 0.4, 12.4 V/m for electric fields:

Building Biology guidelines are practitioner-based limits from real-world assessments. BioInitiative Report recommendations are based on peer-reviewed science. Check Your Exposure to compare your own measurements.

Where This Falls on the Concern Scale

Study Exposure Level in ContextStudy Exposure Level in ContextThis study: 0.00004, 0.04078 µW/m²Extreme Concern - 1,000 uW/m2FCC Limit - 10M uW/m2Effects observed in the No Concern rangeFCC limit is 250,000,000,000x higher than this level

Study Details

The purpose of this research was to verify the existence of a spatial correlation between base station (BS) clusters and cases of deaths by neoplasia in the Belo Horizonte municipality, Minas Gerais state, Brazil, from 1996 to 2006 and to measure the human exposure levels to EMF where there is a major concentration of cellular telephone transmitter antennas.

A descriptive spatial analysis of the BSs and the cases of death by neoplasia identified in the muni...

The results show that approximately 856 BSs were installed through December 2006. Most (39.60%) of t...

Cite This Study
Dode AC, Leão MM, Tejo Fde A, Gomes AC, Dode DC, Dode MC, Moreira CW, Condessa VA, Albinatti C, Caiaffa WT. (2011). Mortality by neoplasia and cellular telephone base stations in the Belo Horizonte municipality, Minas Gerais state, Brazil. Sci Total Environ. 409(19):3649-3665, 2011.
Show BibTeX
@article{ac_2011_mortality_by_neoplasia_and_953,
  author = {Dode AC and Leão MM and Tejo Fde A and Gomes AC and Dode DC and Dode MC and Moreira CW and Condessa VA and Albinatti C and Caiaffa WT.},
  title = {Mortality by neoplasia and cellular telephone base stations in the Belo Horizonte municipality, Minas Gerais state, Brazil.},
  year = {2011},
  
  url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21741680/},
}
PubMed: 21741680

Cited By (64 papers)

View all 64 citing papers on Semantic Scholar

Quick Questions About This Study

A Brazilian study found people living within 500 meters of cell phone base stations had significantly higher cancer death rates (34.76 per 10,000 residents) compared to those farther away. The research analyzed 7,191 cancer deaths over 10 years near 856 cell towers in Belo Horizonte.
Research from Brazil suggests potential health risks, showing elevated cancer mortality rates for residents within 500 meters of cell phone base stations. The study found radiofrequency radiation levels up to 12.4 V/m in areas with the highest cancer rates over a decade-long analysis.
A 2011 Brazilian study found higher cancer death rates among people living close to cell phone base stations. Researchers documented 34.76 cancer deaths per 10,000 residents within 500 meters of towers, with rates decreasing as distance from towers increased.
Brazilian researchers found elevated cancer mortality rates near cell phone base stations, with the highest rates occurring within 500 meters of towers. The study tracked 7,191 cancer deaths from 1996-2006 and measured radiofrequency radiation levels ranging from 0.4 to 12.4 V/m.
A Brazilian study showed cancer death rates varied by distance from cell phone towers, with 34.76 deaths per 10,000 residents within 500 meters versus lower rates farther away. The research analyzed a decade of mortality data alongside radiofrequency radiation measurements.