Subject: British MP speaks out against cell phone "masts" (Pegg)...
Date: Mon, 11 Oct 1999 160718 -0500 (CDT)
From: "Roy L. Beavers"
To: emfguru
--------------------------------------------------
......"I want to see the law changed so that local authorities can take
into account any possible threats to health."
James Gray, Member of Parliament
........Eminently sensible, I'd say.......GURU......
Roy Beavers (EMFguru)......
rbeavers@llion.org.......
.....It is better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness.....
EMF-L web-site can be found at:
EMF-L archives can be found at:
..................PEOPLE ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN PROFITS..................
..........DO YOU KNOW OF OTHERS WHO SHOULD BE ON THIS LIST??????..........
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Mon, 11 Oct 1999 21:26:57 +0100
From: hazel pegg
To: "'Roy L. Beavers'"
Subject: UK MP
James Gray (Conservative MP for North Wiltshire) in Western Daily Press
(11/10/99)
Are mobile phone masts giving out the wrong signals?
I AM not against mobile phones. I rely on my own mobile phone and personal
bleeper so I can be contacted between meetings or when I am travelling.
They are a fact of modern life and I am certainly not a Luddite wanting to
see their abolition.
The fact that mobile phones are in such widespread use inevitably means
that there must be a string of telegraph masts scattered across the country
helping to provide coverage for even the most rural of areas.
Their value is undeniable, but the burning issue is where these masts
should be positioned.
In recent weeks I have been contacted by hundreds of my constituents in
North Wiltshire objecting to the erection of a 37 foot mast near two
schools at Lyneham, near Swindon.
Scientists in America have suggested that there is a link between cancer in
young children and the exposure to electro-magnetic fields from such masts.
They have made it clear that adults exposed to the fields are in no danger
so people with masts at the foot of their garden should not fear. But
parents are understandably worried their children's lives could be put at
risk if they go to a school in the shadow of a mobile phone mast.
I am no scientist - all I can do is listen to the experts but the problem
is that the experts simply aren't yet in a position to quantify the risks.
The last thing I want to see is another health-scare. In the West country
we know full well what happens when health-scares get out of hand - look at
the BSE issue.
What we need is for more research to be done that will provide us with some
proper answers.
It is only then that we will know what we are up against.
Researchers in the Department of Health are currently investigating the
issue of mobile phone masts and looking to see whether the research
completed in America is correct.
In six months time they could well say that it's all a storm in a teacup
and that we've been over-reacting. They might find there's no threat
whatsoever to our children from the masts.
If that's what they find then I won't argue with them - it would be music
to my ears. It would mean that we had been worrying unnecessarily - but at
least we would know they are safe.
On the other hand, they might say that we were right to be cautious and
that the masts are, in fact, extremely dangerous. We must not pre-empt the
findings of the research but I don't want us to be in the position of
shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted.
I am a father myself and would not want my children going to a primary
school with a possibly dangerous mast in the near vicinity - it's as simple
as that.
Until we know what the actual medical implications of the masts are then we
are all in the dark.
As soon as Parliament reconvenes I intend to raise this issue before the
Government.
At the moment the siting of mobile phone masts does not need planning
consent. They can be positioned under a General Development Order (GDO),
originally introduced to make sure local authorities did not become swamped
with paperwork from the utilities such as the electricity and gas boards.
Applications to local authorities for GDOs can only be turned down under
certain conditions, for example if a plot of land is privately owned. But
under current legislation, applications cannot be turned down on the
grounds that they may cause a danger to health.
To me this is all wrong.
I want to see the law changed so that local authorities can take into
account any possible threats to health
before issuing GDOs.
The problem of these masts affects people all over the country, not just in
my constituency. If the law were changed it would allay the fears of so
many parents who believe there is simply no point taking any risks over
their children's health - nothing is worth that.
In addition to the possible health implications of the masts it must be
said that they are extremely ugly. When I look out of the window of my home
in Slaughterford I can see a line of hideous pylons marring my view of the
surrounding splendid English countryside.
As mobile phone masts become more and more abundant I fear that we will end
up making the same mistakes that were made in the Sixties when electric
pylons were first erected. Of course on a practical level they are
important but they have sadly created a hideous blot on the landscape.
We must act now and make sure mobile phone masts do not cause the same
damage to our countryside. If they must be erected then let it be in an
unobtrusive position. Thankfully some firms are beginning to understand
that people don't want to sacrifice the countryside for the sake of
technology and they are coming up with ways of disguising them, such as
masking them as trees.
Engineers have also said that it is technically possible for several mobile
phone companies to club together and use the same masts as each other. That
would make more sense than having unnecessary masts cluttering up the
landscape.
Giant mobile phone companies such as Orange must realise erecting masts on
sites which will upset hundreds of people could be very commercially
damaging. Sales could plummet if they do not listen to our objections.
We can use our economic power to change things and make companies listen
about our concerns. Thankfully Orange are now looking at alternative sites
around Lyneham which will be more appropriate.
We may be near to victory in this case but the issues surrounding mobile
phone masts are too important to be ignored any longer.
Archive provided courtesy of WaveGuide, http://www.wave-guide.org
Reprinted with permission of Roy Beavers, http://www.emfguru.com