Does the Govt Really Care

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Thursday, 10 May 2012 02:30

By Mark Stevens

Antigua St John's - Sometimes, the Government of Antigua & Barbuda simply fails to properly address the problem.
For me, this has never been clearer than with the cell tower project.

After Caribarena began a period of heavy questioning, the Ministry of Information invited a PAHO-recommended engineer to conduct a study.

This study lasted only two days, and, not surprisingly, found everything was perfectly in order.

It took about half a year for the results of this study to finally be released, and when they finally were, the number of holes found in the report, including missing information and inconsistent data, only hurt the credibility of the report even more.

Overall, I think the Ministry has done a thoroughly terrible job of handling the situation, communicating proactively with the people, and taking steps to make sure there is no health risk.

This failure is amplified thousands of times when compared to the actions of the government in Brazil.

Belo Horizonte is the third largest city in Brazil. One day, the health department of Belo Horizonte (of just the city, not all of Brazil) decided to start a study to see if such towers pose a health risk.

The study they conducted lasted 10 years. It is clear that the health department was genuinely interested in this matter.

It did not take the constant pounding of the media to push them into this project, and they used significant resources, both financial and human, to really get an understanding of the problem.

The fruit of their efforts? The study found that people living within 500 meters of cell phone antennas were at an elevated risk of developing tumours.

The city prosecutor sued several companies, asking for the removal of over 700 antennas.

Now, regardless of the results of either study, and regardless of the truth behind the health risk of cell phone towers, it is clear that the government is not interested in this matter.

The effort and resources they put in are minimal; the importance they attached to the release of the report was remarkably low, and I for one am not confident that I live in a healthy environment based on the actions of the government.

It is truly a shame that our people are willing to protest old generators and political corruption, but see no reason to fight for their own health.

To read more about the study in Belo Horizonte, click here.

See related stories:

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Cell Tower Report Raises Questions

Cell Tower Report Still Under Wraps

Antigua Final Cell Tower Report MIA

Cell Tower Study Presents Controversial Findings

APUA Accused of Erecting Towers Illegally

New Inquiry Says Cell Towers Not A Risk‬

Ministry Expecting Frequency Expert

Govt Meets With Tower Users Over Potential Dangers‬

LIME Squeezes Into Cell Tower Debate

Browne Speaks Out On Tower Issue

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