Gonzaga: Hidden health dangers

IN LESS than a week, we have been approached by two different "agent groups" of China TelCom and DTO company in Victorias and Talisay City with offers for 30-year lease for their satellite operations at P8 million. I readily told our office and respective field overseers to tell these agents that we're not interested. Not just for refusing ground for China TelCom and DTO to operate, but also to protect community health in barangays where they want to operate that our family corporation has rejected two opportunities for cash input and capital build-up. We have a big reason -- corporate social responsibility (CSR) to keep out additional high health risk with growing spread of satellite sites for telecommunications companies.

Unknown to most of us, there are continuous invisible and potentially harmful energy fields all around us: our homes, workplace, dining, automobiles, and malls. The hidden threat? Electromagnetic fields or EMFs. With the advent of cellular phones and wireless networks, exposure to strong EMF has become constant throughout the day for many people across the globe.

But what is EMF, and why should we bother about it? Electric fields are generated by an electric potential and magnetic fields created by a flow of electric current. Together, they comprise what is commonly known as electromagnetic radiation (EMF). Electromagnetic fields are "physical fields produced by electrically charged objects... the potential effects of electromagnetic fields on human health vary widely depending on the frequency and intensity of the fields."

EMFs are generated by many sources in urban environments, from overhead wires to toasters to computers. Opinions differ regarding how much exposure is too much, and how to provide protection. What protection is necessary? What protection is available?

EMFs are found all over our homes, and surroundings, especially if we live near transmission lines and telecommunication relay stations. Some studies have found statistical correlations between various diseases and living or working near power lines. No adverse health effects have been substantiated for people not living close to power lines.