ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, May 16, 1996 TAG: 9605160149
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: what's on your mind?
SOURCE: RAY REED
Q: What are the dangers of microwave radiation that might be caused by cellular phones and towers?
K.P., Radford
A: Nobody knows whether microwave communications pose any hazard. The presumption is they don't.
A Florida lawsuit that claimed a woman's brain tumor resulted from constantly holding a cellular phone to her ear was dismissed by the judge. Scientific evidence in the case failed to prove anything, he ruled.
Eight other lawsuits that blame cellular phones for health problems have been filed around the country.
One known fact is that cellular phones in the United States use the 837 megahertz frequency, where any radiation levels are considered safe. Microwave ovens, by comparison, function at 2,450 megahertz.
The question, says radiation watcher Louis Slesin, is how much is too much.
"I don't have the answer, and no one else does. We have done so little work" toward finding a threshold for ill effects from radiation, Slesin said.
He is editor of Microwave News in New York, and for 16 years he has been quoted concerning electromagnetic fields more than any other nonindustry source. His field includes everything in the wireless world from satellites to phones, radio, television and radar, plus high-voltage transmission lines.
Microwave communication towers probably pose less hazard than cellular phones, Slesin said, because people are much farther from the radiation source.
Slesin said people in rural areas are more likely to worry about tower radiation - and appearance. In cities, microwave towers are mounted on rooftops close to large numbers of people who pay them little mind.
Slesin isn't sure that phone transmitters held within an inch or so of eyes and brain pose a threat, but he says these devices definitely give off low levels of radiation.
Every industry spokesman insists cell phones are safe. But just in case, phones that emit even less radiation are being developed.
Tall ladder trucks
Q: How high, and which floors, will firetruck ladders reach on high-rise buildings in Roanoke? Do they have cherry pickers?| |A.F., Roanoke A: Roanoke has six firetrucks with ladders capable of reaching at least 100 feet, but no cherry pickers, which are buckets on a boom that allow people to work high off the ground.
The tallest ladder is 121 feet, but its maximum working height probably is 110 feet, said Billy Southall, deputy chief for operations. It can reach the 11th floor of most tall buildings in Roanoke.
Most of the other trucks can reach the 10th floor, assuming the truck has unlimited access to the building.
Southall noted that these ladders are mostly used to fight fires and not for rescue. People escape tall buildings by using the stairs whenever possible, and that's also the firefighters' first path of rescue.
Newer buildings such as the First Union Tower and Roanoke Memorial Hospital have pressurized stairways, where air pressure increases slightly in case of a fire to keep smoke from entering. This allows people to flee on their own.
Got a question about something that might affect other people, too? Something you've come across and wondered about? Give us a call at 981-3118. Or, e-mail RoatimesInfi.Net. Maybe we can find the answer.
LENGTH: Medium: 67 linesby CNB