Cooran - Development Application

         to them…. Considering the very low exposure levels and research results collected to date, there
         is no convincing scientific evidence that the weak RF signals from base stations and wireless
         networks cause adverse health effects.”10


Public health and safety standards recommended by the WHO are based on a
significant body of peer-reviewed science that spans decades. The WHO,
ARPANSA       and     other  international     safety    bodies   advise     that
the weight of evidence from this significant body of science shows that there are
no substantiated or established health effects from radio frequencies employed
within safety limits. The WHO states:

         “In the area of biological effects and medical applications of non-ionising radiation approximately
         25,000 articles have been published over the past 30 years. Despite the feeling of some people that
         more research needs to be done, scientific knowledge in is now more extensive than for most
         chemicals. Based on a recent in-depth review of the scientific literature, the WHO concluded that
         current evidence does not confirm the existence of any health consequences from exposure to low
         level electromagnetic fields.”11


The WHO also states:

         “At present, speculations about potential long-term health effects cannot form the basis for the
         issuing of guidelines or standards. Adding up the results of all scientific studies, the overall weight
         of evidence does not indicate that electromagnetic fields cause long-term health effects such as
         cancer. National and international bodies set and update standards on the basis of the latest
         scientific knowledge to protect against known health effects.”12


Australian health authorities constantly review the adequacy of the safety
standard against emerging science, and recently conducted a large-scale review
of the more recent scientific literature. In June 2014 an independent, ARPANSA
assembled an expert Review Panel to undertake a detailed assessment of recent
scientific literature. ARPANSA advises that its’ Review Panel considered more
than 1,300 separate pieces of scientific literature as well as the results of 72
major panel reviews published over 10 years (2002 – 2012), and concluded the
current safety standard was up-to-date. ARPANSA states:

         “Based on the assessment of the scientific evidence from January 2000 till August 2012, the Expert
         Panel find that the underlying basis of the ARPANSA RF exposure Standard remains sound and
         that the exposure limits in the Standard continue to provide a high degree of protection against
         the known health effects of RF electromagnetic fields.” 13




10
   Electromagnetic Fields and Public Health: Base Stations and Wireless Technologies
11
   http://www.who.int/peh-emf/about/WhatisEMF/en/index1.html
12
   http://www.who.int/peh-emf/about/WhatisEMF/en/index1.html
13
   Review of the Radiofrequency Health Effects Research – Scientific Literature 2000 – 2012, Technical Report Series No.
164

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