Subject:  Brits object to "mast" siting rules (Pegg)..
Date:     Mon, 8 Nov 1999 052307 -0600 (CST)
From:     "Roy L. Beavers" 
To:       emfguru 
--------------------------------------------------



Roy Beavers (EMFguru)
roy@emfguru.com
.....It is better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness.....
                       NEW!!!  Website 
...................People are more important than profits.................

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Mon, 8 Nov 1999 09:46:03 -0000
From: hazel pegg 
To: "'Roy L. Beavers'" 
Subject: UK: Western Morning News


This is on the front page of the Western Morning News, a local UK newspaper 
covering the West Country.


MPs act after new safety fears   Masts for mobiles 'must be curbed' by 
Martyn Oates & Julie Wheldon

     Westcountry MPs are demanding tighter controls on the siting of mobile 
telephone masts amid growing fears about their safety.
     With an application for a mast being considered in Devon this morning, 
and another proposed next to a school in South East Cornwall, MPs want the 
law changed to allow local people to have more say in where they are sited.
     There is no firm evidence of a link between electro-magnetic fields 
caused by the masts and health problems, but new studies claim mobile 
telephone use can increase the risk of developing Alzheimers's disease, 
multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease.
     Another study claims that mobile phones - used by more than 13 million 
people in Britain - cause long term memory loss.
     Westcountry communities living near proposed masts are concerned about 
similar health risks, and are particularlarly worried about masts being 
sited near schools and hospitals.
     In Holsworthy, North Devon, where an application to heighten a mast is 
being considered today, organic farmer Richard Riggs said : "Basically we 
don't want to be microwaved".
     Mobile phone companies do not go through full planning procedures to 
put up new masts but can take advantage of a "fast track" system 
established under the previous Government to support the massive growth in 
mobile communications.
     And the Government has indicated through a number of planning appeals 
that local authorities should not refuse permission on health grounds.
     Taunton Liberal Democrat MP Jackie Ballard said local authorities had 
too little room for manoeuvre and should be able to refuse planning 
applications on whatever grounds they saw fit, including public safety.
      "They are representing the local people concerned", she said. "I
don't want to cause hysteria because there isn't conclusive evidence of a 
link, but often research doesn't come out until 20 or 30 years later. We 
should take precautions against siting them near our school buildings."
     In Fowey, in South East Cornwall, where Orange is appealing against 
the rejection of a 15 metre mast in the shape of a tree next to the primary 
school, town councillor Alan Trenary said he was convinced there were 
health risks.
     "The National Radiological Protection Board has said there is no 
evidence of ill effects, but it is only allowed to consider 'established' 
evidence." he said. "These digital masts have only come into service in the 
last two-and-a-half years, so it is not possible to have 'established' 
research in that period".
     Local Lib-Dem MP Colin Breed said: "It would seem common sense for 
masts not to be built near to schools or hospitals while the long-term 
health effects are unknown."
     He also wants an end to the fast-track planning system, saying it took 
away a lot of local residents' opportunities to lodge objections.
     "We need to put them back into the full procedure so people have a 
reasonable period in which to lodge their objections." he said.
     One application under consideration by planners today is at 
Holsworthy, in West Devon, where Orange wants to heighten its mast near the 
town from 15 to 20 metres. Holsworthy Town Council and local residents 
oppose the development because of fears of a link between electro-magnetic 
fields and health risks,
     Mr. Riggs, who can see the mast from his property, said: "I don't like 
it at all. It's bad enough that it's there in the first place, but if they 
make it higher, presumably it's going to become more powerful. If they do 
need to have a mast, I think they could find somewhere with fewer people 
near it".
     The bid comes nine months after Torridge District Council threw out 
Vodafone's bid to put up a 24 metre mast near a children's playgroup in the 
centre of Holsworthy.
     Torridge and West Devon Lib-Dem MP John Burnett said last night he had 
written to the Department of the Environment asking if planning guidelines 
for local authorities could be considered, and added that more research 
needed to be done about safety.
     "Even a suspicion of a problem is enough to precipitate a proper 
scientific evaluation," he said.
     The Government and mobile phone companies maintain there is no 
conclusive evidence of a health risk.






Archive provided courtesy of WaveGuide, http://www.wave-guide.org
Reprinted with permission of Roy Beavers, http://www.emfguru.com