The cellular phone tower at Faraway in Warwick poses no increased health risk to residents, children or pregnant females. That was the expert opinion given in supreme court yesterday by professor John Moulder as Bermuda Digital Communications (BDC) seek to keep its lease.

The Fairmont Southampton Princess, through its subsidiary West End Properties Ltd. own the Warwick site and leased it to BDC to operate a cellular tower.

The site is within the hotel's employee housing complex and following an outcry from the residents there, the hotel issued notice to BDC of a termination of their lease.

Narinder Hargun, lawyer for BDC contended that if West End Properties is ending the lease for health risk or safety reasons, the burden of proof is with them, and that they should have to bring evidence of the risk.

He presented professor John Moulder, a well respected radiation biologist as a scientific expert in the field.

Professor Moulder painstakingly explained many of the flaws with arguments presented to date and held that the Warwick site is not a health hazard.

"There is very strong scientific evidence that there will be no biological differences for residents as this is a very low density site,'' he said.

"Studies show no increased risk of cancer for children,'' he continued. And professor Moulder further explained the risk for pregnant women comes with MRI's and radiation that may heat up the amniotic fluid, "not the low level density from a bay station''.

Concerns that exposure for Southampton Princess employees was greater because there is a cell tower on the roof of the hotel as well, were dashed by professor Moulder who explained that in formulating the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) standards, worst case scenarios were adopted.

"It probably makes no difference if you are exposed one hour or 24 hours,'' professor Moulder contended.

Led sentence by sentence through a letter in which Dr. Peter Carpenter detailed concerns of radiation exposure, professor Moulder claimed most as unscientific.

Dr. Carpenter had addressed the issue on behalf of the action group Community Against Radiation Emissions (CARE) who formed as a result of the Faraway tower erection.

Acknowledging that Dr. Carpenter has a medical degree from Harvard University, professor Moulder did not recognise him as an expert in the field of radiation and discounted much of the referencing he made in his letter as "making no sense''.

Pointing out that `frequency' does not relate to `energy' professor Moulder threw out assertions by Dr. Carpenter that increased frequency meant increased exposure to high energy levels.

As a scientist he explained his inability to declare the Faraway cellular site as safe.

"As a scientist there is no way we can prove something is safe,'' he said.

"We conduct research and look at studies and the majority of studies conducted do not suggest that cancer is caused,'' he insisted.

"There at least five animal studies where creatures that were not genetically altered showed no increased risk of cancer.

"I see no reason why this bay station should cause any increased risk to the health of children provided it is adequately fenced to prevent children from getting into where they should not be.

"I am not aware of anyone in the scientific community who is against radio frequency from bay stations which have met FCC standards,'' he said.

Professor Moulder also noted that in the US cell towers "are routinely erected in residential areas'' and refuting claims in a letter from the residents of Faraway, he pointed out that two out of five schools in his hometown area of Milwaukee Wisconsin have cell stations of their roofs.

West End Properties Ltd. are represented by lawyer Jai Pachai before Assistant Justice Philip Storr.

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