Mortality by neoplasia and cellular telephone base stations in the Belo Horizonte municipality, Minas Gerais state, Brazil.

The Science of the total environment · 2011 · Harm · Very low evidence

← Research stream

HarmVery low evidencePaper 4452

Study snapshot

PublicationThe Science of the total environment · 2011

Study typeecological

Reported directionHarm

Evidence ratingVery low

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/cm(2), and the smallest was 0.04 μW/cm(2).

Machine Enhanced Logic

AI evidence extraction

Structured fields below were generated from the paper’s abstract and metadata to make the evidence easier to inspect. Automated extraction may be incomplete or incorrect; verify important details against the original paper.

Study typeecological

Effect directionharm

PopulationResidents of Belo Horizonte municipality, Minas Gerais state, Brazil (ecological analysis using mortality and population data)

Sample size7191

ExposureRF · 1996–2006 (mortality analysis); environmental monitoring period not stated

Evidence strengthVery lowConfidence: 78% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

From 1996–2006 there were 7191 deaths by neoplasia and approximately 856 base stations installed by December 2006. The mortality rate within 500 m of a base station was reported as 34.76 per 10,000 inhabitants, with fewer deaths outside this area. Environmental monitoring reported electric field measurements from 0.4 to 12.4 V/m and power density from 0.04 to 40.78 μW/cm².

Outcomes measured

Deaths by neoplasia (cancer mortality)
Spatial correlation between base station clusters and neoplasia deaths
Environmental RF-EMF exposure levels (electric field strength; power density)

Limitations

Ecological-epidemiological (descriptive spatial) design; individual-level exposure and confounding factors are not described in the abstract
Exposure characterization is limited (no frequencies, time-activity, or personal exposure measures reported)
Temporal relationship and causality cannot be established from the described approach

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "ecological",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "RF",
    "source": "base station",
    "frequency_mhz": null,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": "1996–2006 (mortality analysis); environmental monitoring period not stated"
  },
  "population": "Residents of Belo Horizonte municipality, Minas Gerais state, Brazil (ecological analysis using mortality and population data)",
  "sample_size": 7191,
  "outcomes": [
    "Deaths by neoplasia (cancer mortality)",
    "Spatial correlation between base station clusters and neoplasia deaths",
    "Environmental RF-EMF exposure levels (electric field strength; power density)"
  ],
  "main_findings": "From 1996–2006 there were 7191 deaths by neoplasia and approximately 856 base stations installed by December 2006. The mortality rate within 500 m of a base station was reported as 34.76 per 10,000 inhabitants, with fewer deaths outside this area. Environmental monitoring reported electric field measurements from 0.4 to 12.4 V/m and power density from 0.04 to 40.78 μW/cm².",
  "effect_direction": "harm",
  "limitations": [
    "Ecological-epidemiological (descriptive spatial) design; individual-level exposure and confounding factors are not described in the abstract",
    "Exposure characterization is limited (no frequencies, time-activity, or personal exposure measures reported)",
    "Temporal relationship and causality cannot be established from the described approach"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "very_low",
  "confidence": 0.78,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "radiofrequency",
    "RF-EMF",
    "cellular telephone",
    "base station",
    "antenna",
    "neoplasia",
    "cancer mortality",
    "spatial analysis",
    "ecological study",
    "georeferencing",
    "Brazil",
    "Belo Horizonte",
    "power density",
    "electric field"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "who-icnirp",
      "weight": 0.28,
      "reason": "Observational study of RF exposure from mobile phone base stations and cancer mortality; relevant to RF health risk assessments often discussed in WHO/ICNIRP context."
    },
    {
      "slug": "occupational-exposure",
      "weight": 0,
      "reason": null
    },
    {
      "slug": "5g-policy",
      "weight": 0,
      "reason": null
    }
  ]
}

AI can be wrong. Always verify against the paper.

AI-extracted fields are generated from the abstract and metadata and may be incomplete or incorrect. This material is for informational purposes and is not medical advice.

Identifiers and source

DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2011.05.051
PubMed: 21741680

Read the original paper →

Related papers

← Back to the Research Library