Radiations and Cancer

Radiation, what was simply the energy emitted from a source, has become a word that is associated with the dreaded modern disease – Cancer. But that is an unfair generalization and one must understand what radiation is, before we brand it as a carcinogenic.
Radiation is a very broad term used for energy transported through radio waves. But it is further qualified into different types of radiation according to its place on the electromagnetic spectrum. The range begins with the highest energy levels to the lowest:
Gamma rays
X-rays
Ultraviolet (UV) rays
Visible light
Infrared rays
Microwaves
Radiofrequency (radio) waves
Extremely low-frequency (ELF) radiation

These radiations can be broadly classified into two categories depending on their wavelength and the amount of energy they transfer. These are the properties that determine whether they can travel through objects, whether they generate heat and whether they have effect on living tissue.
Non ionizing radiation has lower levels of energy that charges molecules and atoms causing then to vibrate faster. It is the ionizing radiation that is so strong that it can bring about chemical changes by breaking chemical bonds and damage living tissue.
In the above table, anything above visible light is ionizing radiation and everything below it is non-ionizing radiation.
So it is Gamma Rays, X-Rays and UV rays that produce such strong radiation which can either kill cells in the body or can mutate the DNA blueprint. This mutation means uncontrolled increase in cell division, which then leads to cancer. But fortunately these rays are only found at nuclear sites etc, which humans are not exposed to.
The other types of Rays are what we experience in everyday life from our power lines, TVs and cellular phones and are proven to be safe for humans.
Knowledge is our only weapon against cancer. Know whats harmful and whats not, and you can be safe against cancer.

Cell Towers – Do they cause Cancer?

There has been a lot of hue and cry lately, trying to link cellphone tower radiation to cancer. But its unfair to place blame without reasonable investigation into facts and figures of the case. There have been studies on cellular phone towers causing cancer risk and all their results have been inconclusive and negative.

In a series of tests carried out in Britain, more than a 1,000 families were called to participate. These families comprised of children with and without cancer. The extensive health checkups revealed no link between exposure to the towers during the mother's pregnancy to the child's health. That doesn’t really seem surprising considering the facts. Even though its an area of active research, the current facts reveal, that cellphone towers do not cause cancer.

Cellphone towers emit Radio Frequency waves. These RF waves have a relatively low energy level. These low levels are decided on the basis of comparison with the proven types of radiation that are carcinogenic. These include x-rays, and UV (ultraviolet) light.

Its all about understanding the science behind cancer. Certain types of radiations cause cancer because they break the chemical bonds in our DNA and lead to cancer. The Radio frequency waves emitted by cell-phone towers are not strong enough to break the DNA chemical bonds and are therefore unlikely to cause cancer.

Another reason that radio-waves emitting from cellphone towers cannot cause cancer is the fact that the physical length of the waves is long. Therefore, they do not concentrate enough to affect individual cells in the body.

The biggest reason why cellphone towers cannot cause cancer is the fact that these towers are placed at great heights. By the time that the radio signals reach ground level where humans are present, their energy levels are mild and negligible. Its just as safe as the electromagnetic signals you experience from your computer or TV!

So this unlikely carcinogenic should cause you no fear. Technology is made for you, not to harm you.