Mortality by neoplasia and cellular telephone base stations in the Belo Horizonte
municipality, Minas Gerais state, Brazil
Dode AC, et al, Mortality by neoplasia and cellular telephone base stations in the Belo Horizonte municipality,
Minas Gerais state, Brazil, Sci Total Environ (2011), doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2011.05.051
Mortality by neoplasia and cellular telephone base stations in the Belo Horizonte municipality, Minas Gerais state, Brazil ☆
- Adilza C. Dodea, b, e,
, 
, - Mônica M.D. Leãoc, ,
- Francisco de A.F. Tejod,
- Antônio C.R. Gomese,
- Daiana C. Dodee, f,
- Michael C. Dodee,
- Cristina W. Moreirab,
- Vânia A. Condessab,
- Cláudia Albinattib,
- Waleska T. Caiaffag
- a Minas Methodist University Center Izabela Hendrix, Belo Horizonte City, Minas Gerais State, Brazil
- b Municipal Government of Belo Horizonte, Municipal Health Department, Belo Horizonte City, Minas Gerais State, Brazil
- c UFMG—Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais-Belo Horizonte, Environmental and Sanitary Engineering Department, Belo Horizonte City, Minas Gerais State, Brazil
- d UFCG—Universidade Federal de Campina Grande, Center of Electrical Engineering and Informatics, Academic Unit of Electrical Engineering, Paraíba State, Brazil
- e MRE Engenharia (Electromagnetic Radiations Measurement—Engineering), Belo Horizonte City, Minas Gerais State, Brazil
- f Faculty of Medical Sciences, Medicine-Belo Horizonte, Belo Horizonte City, Minas Gerais State, Brazil
- g UFMG—Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais-Belo Horizonte, Urban Health Observatory, Belo Horizonte City, Minas Gerais State, Brazil
Abstract
Pollution caused by the electromagnetic fields (EMFs) of radio frequencies (RF) generated by the telecommunication system is one of the greatest environmental problems of the twentieth century. 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 municipality was performed through an ecological–epidemiological approach, using georeferencing. The database employed in the survey was composed of three data banks: 1. death by neoplasia documented by the Health Municipal Department; 2. BSs documented in ANATEL (“Agência Nacional de Telecomunicações”: ‘Telecommunications National Agency’); and 3. census and demographic city population data obtained from official archives provided by IBGE (“Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística”: ‘Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics’). The results show that approximately 856 BSs were installed through December 2006. Most (39.60%) of the BSs were located in the “Centro-Sul” (‘Central-Southern’) region of the municipality. Between 1996 and 2006, 7191 deaths by neoplasia occurred and within an area of 500 m from the BS, the mortality rate was 34.76 per 10,000 inhabitants. Outside of this area, a decrease in the number of deaths by neoplasia occurred. The greatest accumulated incidence was 5.83 per 1000 in the Central-Southern region and the lowest incidence was 2.05 per 1000 in the Barreiro region. During the environmental monitoring, the largest accumulated electric field measured was 12.4 V/m and the smallest was 0.4 V/m. The largest density power was 40.78 μW/cm2, and the smallest was 0.04 μW/cm2.
Highlights
► Base Station (BS) clusters and deaths by neoplasia in the Belo Horizonte municipality have been identified. ► The mortality rate has been higher for the residents within an area of 500 m from the BS. ► The radiation superposition near the BS has also been observed; the nearer the stronger. ► Measured values stay below Brazilian Federal Law limits that are the same of ICNIRP. ► The human exposure pattern guidelines are inadequate. More restrictive limits must be adopted urgently.
Keywords
- Assessment and management of impacts and environmental risks;
- Non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation;
- Public health;
- Radio base station;
- Environmental electromagnetic pollution;
- Environmental electromagnetic field monitoring
Figures and tables from this article:
- Fig. 1. BS site BH 20 in a residential area of the Serra neighborhood in Belo Horizonte municipality.
- Fig. 2. Geographical location of BS Site BH 20 at 1373 Rua do Ouro Street, in the Serra neighborhood, Belo Horizonte municipality (Dode, 2003).
- Fig. 3. Horizontal and vertical radiation patterns per sector of BS site BH 20 (KATHREIN MOBILCOM BRASIL LTDA. HUEMER E. and LENSIG Kl-, 1999).
- Fig. 4. The Belo Horizonte municipality and the nine SDs.
- Fig. 5. Fluxogram of deaths by neoplasia in the period from 1996 to 2006.
- Fig. 6. Total amount of deaths by neoplasia per 100-meter distance band, in census tracts inside a radius of up to 1000 m from the mobile phone transmitter antennas, in the Belo Horizonte municipality, from 1996 to 2006. Total: 7044 deaths.
- Fig. 7. Map of the total deaths by neoplasia in the Belo Horizonte municipality from 1996 to 2006, classified according to ICD. Total: 7191 deaths.
- Fig. 8. Installed BSs in the Belo Horizonte municipality until 2006. Total amount = 856.
- Fig. 9. BS percentage by Sanitary Districts in the Belo Horizonte municipality in 2003 and in 2006.
- Fig. 10. Sample of geocoded deaths and BS locations in downtown Belo Horizonte City located in Central-Southern region.
- Fig. 11. Map of 7191 cancer deaths geocoded by CT.
- Fig. 12. Percentage of neoplasia deaths per year in the Belo Horizonte municipality, from 1996 to 2006, using the first license date.
- Fig. 13. Proportional mortality by year for females.
- Fig. 14. Proportional mortality by year for males.
- Fig. 15. Rate of mortality by neoplasia, according to the distance from the BS in Belo Horizonte municipality, from 1996 to 2006, and the null hypothesis.
- Fig. 16. Distribution of the number of deaths by neoplasia versus duration of exposure since the date that the first antenna in each analyzed CT came into operation.
- Graphics 1. Percentage of deaths by neoplasia in the period from 1996 to 2006.
- Table 1. International classification of diseases — ICD-10.
- View Within Article
- Table 2. Description of the death coding and geographic location.
- View Within Article
- Table 3. Percentage of deaths by age and gender in Belo Horizonte municipality.
- View Within Article
- Table 4. Accumulated incidence rate of all deaths in the Belo Horizonte municipality.
- View Within Article
- Table 5. Mortality rates by neoplasia in the Belo Horizonte municipality, according to distance from the BS.
- View Within Article
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- All the authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
- Corresponding author at: Rua Desembargador Assis Rocha, 279, Bairro Belvedere, 30320-250, Belo Horizonte (MG), Brazil. Tel.: +55 031 3286 1892.
Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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