Thank you so much for that Paul, very interesting indeed !!!
I was going to ask / point out that whilst WE might be at a safe distance from
EMR emissions on the ground BUT Bees and birds fly high and can get far closer
to these masts than we can. Also Microwave ovens operate at 2450 MHz which is
within the band that mobile phone masts emit.....800 MHz – 3,000 MHz.
Microwaves (I’m sure you know) excite water molecules in food which results in
heating). A Microwave oven will boil even a single drop of water (or a single
Bee), so resonance might not be the only thing to consider. Also the Bee has
Magnetite in it’s abdomen which is responsible for Bee navigation. Magnetite in
Bees has remnanence (residual magnetism). Residual magnetism is used in
magnetic storage devices .... I wonder if flying too closely to a mast could
“alter” their remnanence and so prevent them finding their way back to the
hive? Even a small change could mean they were a good way off home and so may
never return. Lastly .... and I’m just “spit ballin here” as those across the
pond might say.... I wonder if bees are somehow “attracted” to the emissions
from a mast, like a moth to a flame as it were? I’ve found several papers
suggesting that EMR from mobile phone masts can cause anything from reduced
numbers returning to the hive, immune problems, reduction in Queen laying and
severe agitation leading to increased aggression AND induced swarming behaviour
!
What an interesting topic !!!
Thanks again Paul and any further thoughts would be very welcome.
I’ll pass your info onto Derek but I’m definitely going to lodge a complaint
asap. I think I have sufficient info to back my belligerence lol.
BTW I love your suggestions on tackling unsociable neighbours, didn’t think of
those at all. Derek will be tickled lol.
ttfn
Ann
p.s. I hope you’re not melting like me ! Phew .... my new residence is in the
refrigerator lol
From: Paul Honigmann (Redacted sender "paul.honigmann" for DMARC)
Sent: Thursday, July 26, 2018 6:02 PM
To: oxnatbees@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [oxnatbees] Re: Mobile Phone Mast Emissions ?
Further info from a mobile phone engineer rather than me:
There probably is a slight increase in brain cancers from using mobile phones
but it is tiny and difficult to prove. Some years ago phones were redesigned so
they radiate away from your head. I didn't ask but presumably that means if you
are only gettig 3 bars signal turning the phone may help.
However although phones themselves may not radiate much the signal strength
near a base station is massive. The only good thing is there is a bit of a
signal shadow at ground level - they don't waste power radiating to the ground
- but it could still be high.
On the subject of whether bees are susceptible he said, well no one would know
without research, but it's not inconceivable their nervous systems are more
sensitive than ours. Now, whilst they may be much smaller than a wavelength,
near basestations you do get spots where standing waves build up. A bee at one
end of a cluster may experience nothing and one at another end may experience a
high field strength.
Basically the best protection is distance.
Another electronic engineer listening to the conversation suggested pointing
out to the planning authority the existence of the SSSI, especially if it has
rare creatures in it. But you were going to do that anyway.
May I suggest you say the ariel would ruin the look & ambience of the SSSI.
In conclusion apart from objecting on the grounds of general NIMBYism, ("if
it's not a problem put it next to his house") if you can maybe get a signal
strength pattern from the mobile phone company you could negotiate round that,
maybe move the ariel a few metres to place the hives in a low strength spot.
They might feel warmer towards you if you spoke their language and seemed
reasonable.
Paul
‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Original Message ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
On 26 July 2018 12:18 AM, Paul Honigmann <paul.honigmann@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hi Ann
Here's some stuff you don't want to hear...
My experience in physics, electronic design and beekeeping seem to overlap
here so I guess I ought to say something, even though I don't feel like an
expert on this aspect.
First, there's been a lot of debate over whether mobile phones are bad for
humans. I've not followed it closely over the years, but I've kept a vague eye
on it and the following Guardian article seems a pretty good summary - for
humans:
www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/jul/21/mobile-phones-are-not-a-health-hazard
it concludes they are not a problem for humans.
Now, I've seen claims that mobile phone radiation is bad for bees and
initially I dismissed these because the wavelengths of the radiation are many
times larger than a bee. Generally speaking, radiation can't interact with
stuff smaller than its wavelength. However Gareth pointed out that frames
contain wire (to reinforce foundation) and this is about the right size to pick
up such signals. But, I'm sure you use foundationless hives Ann, so that's not
an issue here.
The only other way I could initially see for bees to interact with mobile
phone radiation was that a cluster of bees more or less matches the wavelengths
involved. But that doesn't seem like a credible mechanism to me. I mean... I
have seen LEDs randomly light up from the energy a mobile phone pumped into
them, a macroscopic effect, but that's because the RF was rectified to DC by
semiconductor junctions (like a crystal radio set). (I'm assuming I'm not
getting too technical here 'cos you are a physicist, Ann.) I don't know of any
biological rectifiers in organisms.
Also the signal strengths are really weak. People don't have an intuitive
grasp of this. If you are within a foot or so of a mobile phone - or a mobile
phone mast - you are in the "near field" zone and field strengths go vast and
nonlinear. But a few feet away and they drop at inverse square rates with
distance. Which is a very rapid decay with distance. You know phones have to
amplify the received signals a lot to get a signal? The signal strength a few
metres from the mast is really low. I hope to meet a friend tomorrow who works
in mobile phones, I'll ask him for more detail.
I would be much more prepared to believe bees were affected by electricity
pylons because they carry huge voltages and currents, and at just 50Hz a fast
reacting insect like a bee might be able to feel those effects on their fur.
Heck, I can see 50Hz flicker out the corners of my eyes. But weak, GHz mobile
phone signals? Imperceptible.
I've only seem one paper on bees and mobile phone masts. It struck me as a
weak analysis with general rules drawn from too few hive examples. I think they
said the bees' navigation skills were impaired at one distance but seemed
enhanced at another. That smacks of random variation, not statistical certainty.
Now, as to this awkward neighbour. Why not suggest to your apiary landlord
that he talks to the mobile phone company and offer them a place on his land of
his choice for just £6k a year? If his land is higher it would be easier
(cheaper) to build. Also could it look like a tree, like some do? Without
talking to the phone company you don't know what the options are. Can you get a
field strength estimate from them? Can they design the ariel to ensure it does
not radiate in the direction of the hives? (That last is a serious question,
but let me check with Pete tomorrow).
Paul
‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Original Message ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
On 25 July 2018 3:09 PM, Ann Welch <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hi All,
Does anyone know of anything specific regarding the effect that High
frequency EMR emissions from Mobile Phone repeater masts has on bees ? I’ve
done a little looking around so far and found an article that says it has been
linked with colony collapse disorder and immune system dysfunction. Also it
can apparently screw up their navigation ability and stop them foraging.
I ask because all our heads together are better than one..... AND the
farmer who lives next door to the land where my out hives are situated is
trying to get permission to site a 22.5 M high mobile phone mast. From all
accounts the telecom company don’t really seem to care where they site it as
the government are shouting in their ear to improve rural communication. Also
this man is not a very nice chap and is extremely awkward to his neighbours. He
wants to site this mast on his land (to pocket the rent) BUT as far away from
his property as possible which means it’s just over the fence from my bees. Not
only that but the site is directly next to nature reserve AND a site of special
scientific interest, AND in the middle of some very ancient woodland that
includes some lovely very old oak trees that are home to a good population of
wild honey bee colonies. It seems a bonkers place to site it but he doesn’t
care about that, he just want’s the £7,000 rent pa !!!
Any info or leads to good articles / research papers that I could submit to
AVDC planning department to support my objection would be wonderful and very
much appreciated.
Thanks again
Ann
