Decreased survival for childhood leukemia in proximity to television towers.
Hocking B, Gordon I. · 2003
View Original AbstractChildren with leukemia living near TV towers had half the 10-year survival rate of those farther away, suggesting RF radiation worsens cancer outcomes.
Plain English Summary
Researchers in Australia studied children with leukemia living near television transmission towers and found that those living closest to the towers had significantly worse survival rates. Children within 4 kilometers of the towers had only a 55% five-year survival rate compared to 71% for those living farther away (4-12 kilometers from the towers). This suggests that proximity to radio frequency radiation from broadcast towers may not only increase cancer risk but also make existing cancers more deadly.
Why This Matters
This study reveals a deeply troubling pattern that extends beyond EMF exposure simply causing cancer - it suggests that radio frequency radiation may actually make childhood leukemia more aggressive and harder to treat. The science demonstrates a clear dose-response relationship: the closer children lived to television towers, the worse their chances of survival became. What makes this particularly significant is that television towers emit the same type of radio frequency radiation as cell towers, though typically at higher power levels. The reality is that we're not just talking about theoretical risks here - these are real children whose survival was measurably compromised by their proximity to RF sources. While this study focused on high-power broadcast towers, it raises serious questions about the long-term health impacts of the increasingly dense network of wireless infrastructure being installed in our communities without adequate safety testing.
Exposure Information
Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study.
Study Details
The aim of this study is to investigate Decreased survival for childhood leukemia in proximity to television towers.
In the current study, the authors examined the survival experience of these children for all childho...
Of 123 cases of acute lymphatic leukemia, 29 cases (16 of whom died) were in the inner ring of munic...
There was an association between residential proximity to the television towers and decreased survival among cases of childhood leukemia in North Sydney, Australia.
Show BibTeX
@article{b_2003_decreased_survival_for_childhood_2199,
author = {Hocking B and Gordon I.},
title = {Decreased survival for childhood leukemia in proximity to television towers.},
year = {2003},
url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15369273/},
}