Get On, Get Up, Get Off . . .

[NickDG 23]

The effects of climbing and jumping live broadcast towers has been a concern in the BASE community for a long time. Basically there have been three types of studies on the effects of electro magnetic radiation (EMR).

The ones commissioned by the broadcast and power industries yield either neutral, or favorable results while the ones commissioned by environmental groups and trial lawyers say detrimental health effects are dramatic. The third type done by Universities come back inconclusive, but usually lean toward “probably” causes some effects. Of course, these studies concentrate on people who reside under and around these radiators, but in our case this old advice still holds true, “Get on, get up, and get off” as quickly as possible.

I personally believe we all possess a “cancer switch” within our bodies. Flip that switch and cancer cells will begin to form. It’s just nobody knows what flips the switch in the first place, and it’s possible it’s not the same thing in all people. As BASE jumpers we already know to stay off AM broadcast towers, but even jumping the other kinds, you should be making informed decisions.

Nick BASE 194

http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~53~2289078,00.html

Article Published: Friday, July 23, 2004
Cancer rate up near towers on Lookout Mtn.

A study finds increased incidences of certain malignancies among residents, just weeks before debate begins on adding another antenna.

By Karen Augé
Denver Post Staff Writer

Three weeks before public debate reignites over whether to add another tower to Lookout Mountain, a state study has found higher cancer rates around the mountain's existing broadcast towers - but no conclusive evidence the towers caused the cancers.

Deb Carney, attorney for Canyon Area Residents for the Environment, which opposes construction of the proposed tower, said the findings left her "very concerned."

In a report that echoed findings of a 1999 study, a statewide panel of researchers found that people who live near the towers have a higher rate of brain and central nervous system cancers.

"Now they've found the same things, and it's troubling," Carney said.

The research team, from Colorado State University, the University of Colorado Heath Sciences Center and the state health department, found the increase "statistically significant."

But "this type of study cannot produce conclusive evidence about the cause of cancers," the researchers wrote.

One reason, they said, is that there just isn't enough knowledge about the effects of long-term exposure to the kind of radiation the towers shoot into the atmosphere.

Numerous health organizations, including the World Health Organization, have called for better understanding of how such radiation affects health.

Still, Carney said, the findings bolster her clients' arguments against the tower.

"It's not wise to increase the radiation under these circumstances," she said.

Carney represents an umbrella group that includes several neighborhoods around Lookout Mountain.

On Aug. 12, Jefferson County commissioners are scheduled to reopen the long debate over whether the Lake Cedar Group should be allowed to build one large broadcast tower that would replace some of its current towers. Lake Cedar Group is a consortium of several of Denver's major television stations, including KCNC-Channel 4; KMGH-Channel 7; and KUSA-Channel 9.

The commissioners approved the tower once, but the city of Golden and CARE challenged the decision in court.

As a result of that suit, commissioners have been ordered to revisit the topic and conduct additional hearings.

When commissioners approved the new tower, about a year ago, they said it would decrease overall radiation and reduce the visual impact of the towers. Lookout Mountain, south of Golden, began sprouting a garden of broadcast towers in the mid-1950s.

Staff writer Karen Auge can be reached at 303-820-1733 or [email protected] .

[neiljarvis 0]

Hey Nick

the "cancer switch" actually exists and is termed an oncogene This may be a bit simplistic but essentially you have hit the nail on the head.

Back to the medical journals....and dreaming of gainers....

[460 0]

There has been recent evidence that high power RF can cause some types of nerve damage at a minimum. Jennie-Jen please guide the way since you said you looked a little into this, and you work in the cancer field.

Looks like a death sandwich without the bread - Steve Deadman Morrell, BASE 174

[wilmshurst 0]

"As BASE jumpers we already know to stay off AM broadcast towers"

Why are AM towers so bad? Does anyone jump AM towers or are these definite 'no goes'?

The only thing worse than a cold toilet seat is a warm toilet seat.

[leroydb 0]

i think there is a shockingly good answer here....

Leroy


..I knew I was an unwanted baby when I saw my bath toys were a toaster and a radio...

[NickDG 23]

Here’s the difference between AM towers and other types (FM, TV, and Microwave).

With AM broadcast towers, the tower itself is the radiator of the signal. On the other types the tower only serves to elevate the signal radiators (arrays of small radiators, dishes, etc) above the ground. AM towers sit on large glass insulators and their guy wires are insulated from ground (and the ground) also. On the non-AM types the signal radiators are insulated from the tower.

Climbing and jumping any type of operating broadcast tower will expose you to a certain amount of EMR. However, AM towers are the worst. When climbing these you are in direct contact with the radiating part of the tower. On the non-AM types the current advice is stay far away from the radiators that are attached to the tower by jumping from below them, or climbing as quickly as you can, past them.

Some AM towers are also very hot, in terms of wattage. Fifty to one hundred thousand watts in not uncommon. Walk up and touch one of these AM towers while standing on the ground and you will get electrocuted. To avoid this, when we jumped this one particular local AM tower, we had a long wooden board stashed on the top of a small maintenance shed that sat next to the tower. It was up there for years. We’d climb to the top of the shed, push the board out over the edge until it was about three feet from the tower. Then with someone anchoring the board on the shed end, you could walk out, and then jump across to the tower. (I can’t believe we did stuff like this, but we were young and crazy for BASE.)

Once on the tower however, your problems weren’t over. (Keep in mind we didn’t know anything about EMR at the time.) This tower was 700-feet tall and took between 30 and 45 minutes to climb depending on what kind of shape you are in. After the climb we’d sometimes linger up there, getting our breath back, or sometimes just enjoying the night time view.

One night just before getting into position to jump I was gear checking another jumper and noticed his Three Rings are hot to the touch. I checked, and so were mine. We wondered why, but went ahead and jumped.

A few months later we heard of another jumper, on a different tower, who noticed the same thing, and when he deployed one of his Three Rings released on opening. Lucky for him this was the old days and he’s using skydiving gear and he just dumped a round reserve into the mess above him and it saved him. When he looked at the gear later he saw that the loop that holds the top ring in place had melted.

We still didn’t get the connection to EMR and continued to jump our AM tower, but not being complete idiots, we placed metal connector links over and through the three rings so they could not release if the loop let go.

There were other things happening too. Sometimes when jumping off the board and onto the tower you’d sometimes see a blue flash and sense a weird electrical smell. We later learned this was a form of St. Elmo’s fire like an aircraft sometimes experiences.

None of these things deterred us until a few years later when in Florida with Tom Sanders videoing some legal FM-tower jumps and spending large amounts of time on the tower. We saw Tom’s cameras being scrambled by the signals emanating from the radiators and after spending almost the day up there several of the crew are reporting feeling sick. We never noticed the video thing back on our AM tower as these were the days before cheap consumer type video cameras are available.

I’m not an expert in the field of how these towers work, or know if there are long lasting effects, but from what I’ve seen and experienced, I think they are bad news. I’ll never jump another operating tower again. And I wouldn’t really mind, knowing what we know now, dropping the “A” altogether except it would screw up a really cool name.

Nick BSE 194

[JeNnEjEnN 0]

Yes, I have done some reading on the subject. I'll write up a post tomorrow...
Just got in from getting my nightly *dose* of radiation...

Jen

BTW I do have a rather interesting article, of a few case studies. I believe it is too large to upload, so if anyone is interested in reading it PM me & I'll send it via email.

-------------------------------------------
"Scars remind you that the past is real..."

[RayLosli 11]

I personally think most of the jumpers on DZcom ..
Get more Radiation sticking there face in front of there
PC Monitors.
Than actually climbing and jumping Antenna.

[audacium 0]

No, I have a LCD-display with no radiation at all

--
Eduard

[TomAiello 25]

I gave up one particular AM tower after having a "jump and retch" experience a few years ago. I literally got to the top of the tower, feeling very nauseous, jumped immediately, hit the ground, flared, and vomited. It took me several minutes to pull myself together enough to get back to the car.

I think it depends a lot on the individual tower, but that one experience convinced me that they can be unpleasant enough that I'll stay off some towers entirely.

-- Tom Aiello

[email protected]
SnakeRiverBASE.com

[towerrat 0]

This is a fantastic post. You've explained the difference between A.M. and other types of towers very well.
I just wanted to add a few things for anyone jumping cellular towers, as I've spent a lot of time on them. You will find mostly panel antenna, or directional antenna. They are designed to be aimed in a certain direction, and generally are only designed and installed to just overlapp each others signals. I have stood behind them for many hours with no ill effects.
Omni directional antenna however, are a different story. They are designed to radiate 360 degrees. These are the (usually) fairly long, whip shaped antenna.They can be mounted either up or hanging down. It is best to avoid these if possible, as you can't hide "behind" them.
Although I've never had ill effects from an omni, I have also done what I could to avoid them.

As you have pointed out already, AM towers can be extremely hot.They will cook you...avoid them

Just a side note:almost every towerhand I know has had baby girls. I don't know if it's related, but seems to be an awful big coincidence. I know a lot of towerhands.

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes!

[NathanL100 0]

Quote

Omni directional antenna however, are a different story. They are designed to radiate 360 degrees. These are the (usually) fairly long, whip shaped antenna.They can be mounted either up or hanging down.

I haven't got a good picture of what an omni looks like. Can anyone help me out so that I may avoid these bad boys??

No Trolls, Thanks

Base # 942
The race is long and in the end, its only with yourself.

[julesUK 0]

Quote

I haven't got a good picture of what an omni looks like. Can anyone help me out so that I may avoid these bad boys??

Plenty of different ones in here. How to spot aerials

Jules

[JeNnEjEnN 0]

Hello again,
So for my input…

From everything I have read, which is mostly case reports, they all seem to have the same symptoms. Either from long term (several weeks working about a meter from an FM antenna) or suddenly (working 2 m above a newly installed national FM reserve antenna, hat had just been turned on), most of the symptoms have to do with nerve damage.

If they were exposed suddenly to a lot of radiation, they complained of feeling warmness (either on the complete side that was in front of the transmitter, or first in the eyes & testis). So look out for this!

The symptoms include, low back pain, nausea, diarrhea, general malaise, headaches, ‘hazing’ of vision (like there is a thin film over your eyes), shortness of breath, numbness and paraesthesia (skin sensation, such as burning, prickling, itching, or tingling, with no apparent physical cause).

Like I said, most of the symptoms (the chronic ones at least), are probably related to nerve damage. Of the case studies I have read, one of the doctors had concluded as well that the ‘results were compatible with partial lesion of nerves.’ Scary huh?!?

The most interesting article I have read (in which this post is a VERY short summary of) is “Effects of exposure to very high frequency radiofrequency radiation on six antenna engineers in two separate incidents” by Schilling, CJ.

Here’s the abstract;
Six men are likely to have been accidentally exposed to high levels of very high frequency (VHF) radiofrequency radiation (100 MHz) while working on transmission masts; four men in one incident and two in another. They experienced symptoms and signs which included headache, parasthesiae, diarrhoea, malaise and lassitude. The condition of four men, two men from each incident likely to have had the highest exposure, has shown no significant improvement. The first incident occurred in 1995 and the second in 1996.

Occup Med (Lond). 2000 Jan;50(1):49-56.


And like I said before, if anyone wants the full article, PM me your email address & I’ll send it!

Jen

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"Scars remind you that the past is real..."

[freakydiver 0]

I ride by those antennas 3-4 times a week on my way to my mtn bike downhilling fun - one of them looks interesting if you could really fly a canopy and land it in a tight space hah...

-- (N.DG) "If all else fails – at least try and look under control." --

[truckerbase 0]

Is there follow up on the men?What was the final outcome? Chronic means ongoing, lesion i believe is often used synonymous with "tumor". As temporary effects the symptomology I would think is acceptable, as chronic or terminal I would think not. Jumping Houstons 10 million watt stuff is the only antenna I have had any kind of problem with whether related or no (dry eyes and hazing, plus scattered thinking) although other people have claimed their antenna makes them sick, (FM) , when I have jumped them I have felt nothing nor seen or felt the warming, or electrical discharges some have mentioned. thanks.

[FIREFLYR 0]

Does anyone know the difference between an HDTV mast and other tv transmitters?
~J

"One flew East,and one flew West..............one flew over the cuckoo's nest"
"There's absolutely no excuse for the way I'm about to act"

[Skinflicka 0]

Quote

Does anyone know the difference between an HDTV mast and other tv transmitters?
~J

You get a much better picture from HDTV.

Trust this helps.

$kin.

Prizes to anyone who gets to read my posts before Mr Aiello's son, Tom deletes them.

[JeNnEjEnN 0]

Well the study followed the men for about 4 years, in which they were still having problems. Most seemed to improve a bit, but then remain there & make no further progress...
Jen

-------------------------------------------
"Scars remind you that the past is real..."

[baseninja 0]

I'll stay away from the ones that give you diarrhea, the rest of the symptoms I'm not too worried about...

PS I would also strongly recommend if you are unsure of the radiation from a particular A, just call the tower owner and simply ask...

[base311 0]

Quote

Just a side note:almost every towerhand I know has had baby girls. I don't know if it's related, but seems to be an awful big coincidence. I know a lot of towerhands.

Almost any guy can sire a Boy... but it takes a MAN to knock the balls off of it!

Gardner

[base311 0]

Quote

I’m not an expert in the field of how these towers work, or know if there are long lasting effects, but from what I’ve seen and experienced, I think they are bad news. I’ll never jump another operating tower again. And I wouldn’t really mind, knowing what we know now, dropping the “A” altogether except it would screw up a really cool name.

Nick BSE 194

I dunno if I wanna share an acronym with Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy

Gardner

[Faber 0]

only real guys get girls...

why would you make born to more males??I mean more girls are more fun.. unless most of the world is gay(nothing bad about gays but im only to girls)

Stay safe
Stefan Faber