More On The Towers Of Terror

In May 2006 news reports carried items about a cluster of brain tumours at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT).

The building concerned has now been cleared of causing brain tumours, but staff are still unwilling to return to it, since the OH&S report only looked at brain tumours, while the staff apparently had a variety of cancers, both malignant and benign. Twelve cases of cancer were reported, of ten different types. While the ABC's report doesn't go into the details any further, the cases investigated show no signs of being linked, or being statistically different from the general population.

Matthew McGowan, Victorian Secretary of the National Tertiary Education Union, states

Well we are concerned that staff, within hours of the release of the report, are feeling pressured and are having putting pressure put on them, to move back to level 16 and 17 before they have had a chance to either digest the report, to understand the report, or for their to be any discussion about what else needs to happen.

A worker at RMIT started a blog on the subject, stating seven staff members had brain tumours. Unfortunately, after the first post, there have been no further posts made, without explanation.

It appears the union, workers and the media are no longer blaming telephone towers, but the two floors of the university involved for the cancers.

RMIT is also the home of the Australian Centre for Radiofrequency Bioeffects Research, the Chinese Medicine Research Group, as well as providing courses on Osteopathy, Chiropractic and Chinese Medicine.