New masts get a bad reception
THEY'VE been linked to everything from suicides in Bridgend to cancer in Bristol, and every time a phone company wants to install a mast near houses, schools and public places there's outcry.
The most recent furore has surrounded a mast installed by Vodafone in Townhill, despite Swansea Council planners voting to reject the company's application.
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A delay of 24 hours in telling the company of the council's decision meant the installation could go ahead anyway.
Around 200 local people had signed a petition to stop the mast being built in the middle of a residential area. They were concerned about their and their children's health.
Campaigner Sarah Powell, of Dyfed Avenue, was the main drive behind the petition.
She said: "There's a fear that it could be a health risk. There's so many people who live in close proximity to the land.
"Councillors wouldn't want them in their back gardens, so why should we have them in ours?"
Residents in Gorseinon are also up in arms after Vodafone put up a mast in their community — allegedly without council permission.
Lime Street resident Hazel Stock watched in horror as the mast was being built 15 metres away from her house.
She said: "The feeling is one of disbelief. If we had been turned down by planning permission, we would have had to comply with it. But Vodafone has just gone ahead with it.
"We feel because they are a company they are overriding the residents' and council's wishes. The residents feel it is us versus the big business." But whether they are a blot on the landscape or not, what are the health risks associated with them?
This month, research was released which suggests children and teenagers are five times more likely to get brain cancer if they use mobile phones because of the type of radiation associated with them.
It is thought those under 20 are more susceptible to cancerous cells growing because their brains have not yet fully developed. The radiation from masts has also been linked to high levels of depression.
Roger Coghill, who sits on a Government advisory committee on mobile radiation, discovered that many of the youngsters who killed themselves in Bridgend lived far closer than average to a mast.
Dr Coghill said: "There is research that has, over the years, pointed to the fact that exposure to mobile radiation can lead to depression. There is evidence of higher suicide rates where people live near any electrical equipment that gives off radio or electrical waves."
But what about the other side of the argument? Many scientific bodies have dismissed fears mobile masts cause health problems.
Fears that masts on school buildings expose children to dangerous levels of radiation have been dismissed.
A study by the National Radiological Protection Board found that roofs soaked up the radiation emitted by masts, meaning that levels absorbed by children inside classrooms were very low.
The NRPB carried out tests on 118 different points at 17 sites — at masts near schools and outside offices and homes.
Simon Mann, one of the authors of the NRPB study, said: "There has been huge public concern over exposure to radio waves from base stations, and there was a real need for someone to produce some independent data that could be held up for everyone to see.
"We chose places to investigate where people were concerned about masts, but in all of them we found the levels of radiation were well within guidelines and not hazardous."
But whatever the research shows, one fact remains clear: whenever a mast is installed in a built-up area, the residents make as much noise as they can to get it taken away.
Campaigner John Charleston, who tried to stop O2 installing a mast in his native New Quay, Ceredigion, had the last word.
"Move the mast — end of story," he said.
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by James Sheridan, Swansea
Saturday, October 04 2008, 10:47AM
“With regard to the Dyfed Avenue/Ceirog Road Phone Mast, the important thing in this case was that Residents did not want it built (over 160 of us objected) and to be fair on the Council Members at the Planning Committee, across party lines, listened to the Residents and rejected it. May I remind readers, as an attendee at the Planning Committee, Vodaphone chose not to attend via self representation or by their 'agent'.
Vodaphone, along with the other members of 'MOA', are supposed to consult with the Communities in where they site Masts (it is supposed to be their number one priority!). Vodaphone did not in this case.
Independent data is available for the NPRB, and others, to analyse, from not just in this country, but from global sources, which paints quite a different picture of the affects of emissions from Masts and the mobile phones themselves. Most studies are government funded in this country, but as Government are aligned with the Mobile phone companies such as via the original sale of the UK 'Communication airspace' of £22 billion, with very little of this revenue spent on the research by either Government or the mobile phone companies themselves.
The guidelines which Mr. Mann refers to, have been widely criticised, in reference to the what the appropriate emission of radio waves etc. are. As humans, we have our own magnetic fields which may be affected by such stimuli as emissions from masts or mobile phones.
Various reports have stated that certain individuals may have greater susceptabilty to illness than the general populus.
Nationally, we, generally, do not want these masts in our Communities as we are genuinely concerned for our health and our environment and our National Government appears to be ignoring the general views of the people. We have not been reassurred that Masts and mobile phones are completely safe or do we have to wait for illnesses and deaths to our friends and families?
Government does not care, Mobile phone companies appear not to care, so its up to us to care!
Jim Sheridan”
by Lis Davies, Swansea
Friday, October 03 2008, 9:50PM
“Phil, you are wrong on two points the first being I never said the Council had payment for allowing masts to be sited on the highway. The second point is your misleading statement that the Council stopped allowing masts onto their land and buildings years ago. The Council have never introduced a MORATORIUM on masts; each application has always been dealt with on its own merits. The only reason we have not been saturated with masts in Swansea is because since 2002 sufficient information has been fed through to Councillors by the mast lobby group GRAMM which enabled them to make an informed decision which was usually one of refusal.”
by Phil, Swansea
Friday, October 03 2008, 3:58PM
“Mrs Davies is incorrect. The Local Authorities do not receive rental for the installations on highways and stopped allowing operators on authority owned land or buildings many years ago. If the local authority, as a major landowner, did make their land and buildings available however it would mean that sites could generally be placed better placed.”
by Sarah, Townhill, Swansea
Friday, October 03 2008, 3:42PM
“I am the person being portrayed as the driving force behind this petition, I will say that at first I did ask people to sign the petition but I have had nothing to do with the matter since January due to my own ill health and other residents have been the driving force. Today was the first I heard of the mast staying. Although there were health risks for the petition there were other grounds as well, where we live in Townhill we have lovely unspoilt views over Swansea Bay. The mast that has been erected does not blend in with the surrounding area and looks nothing like any of the other masts I have seen, This is wooden and approx 3 times with width and 3 times the height of a normal telegraph pole and painted in what looks like a brownish/ black oil slick and when the original plans went in there were supposed to be 3 antenna protruding from the top of it. So now when we look out from our homes we no longer have the unspoilt views of Swansea Bay but of this mast. It is something we are all going to have to get used to living with as the council are willing to let these things keep happening.”
by Lis Davies, Swansea
Friday, October 03 2008, 2:46PM
“Yes I agree that most of those who complain about masts, myself included own a mobile phone but that does not make anyone a hypocrite. The telecommunication companies only site them in our communities because it is the cheaper option for them. The local authorities allow them because they get rental off the operators ¿ its all down to money. I for one am not knocking the technology but what I object most strongly to is the inappropriate siting of these killer masts in our communities.”