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Huge boost for mast campaign

Eastern Evening News, September 8, 2004 12:44

FAMILIES in Norwich are set to have a big say in a new report investigating possible health risks caused by phone masts.

Ian Gibson, MP for Norwich North, has secured a promise from industry expert Sir William Stewart to make a fact-finding visit to Norwich, which is expected to take place in November.

It marks a major victory for the Evening News' Masts Out campaign, which has called for no more masts to be sited near homes or schools until further evidence about potential health risks is made available.

Sir William is chairman of the National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB) and the Health Protection Agency.

The NRPB is in charge of an update to Sir William's report from 2000 on mobile phones and health, which will be published at the end of the year.

This update is being worked on by the Mobile Telecommunications Health Research Programme, which has received funding from both the Government and the mobile phone industry.

Sir William told Dr Gibson that he would visit Norwich and Norfolk to hear the views of the public before the report is finished.

He made this pledge on Monday at the first session of a five-day conference in London on childhood leukaemia, which Dr Gibson is chairing.

The conference is looking at the incidence and causes of the disease, and Sir William gave the keynote address of the day.

A large part of his talk was taken up with the unknown hazards of telecommunication masts.

Dr Gibson said: "His views are very sympathetic to the campaigners and he wants to talk to some of them.

"He thinks the industry is spinning it far too hard, saying that there are no health hazards, and he wants to get people to talk to him."

The meeting has been provisionally booked for November 26 at 7.30pm in City Hall, Norwich.

Sir William published the widely-read Stewart Report in May 2000, where he advised that planning authorities should take a cautionary stance when considering phone mast applications and consider the issues surrounding health fears.

During his speech he condemned the industry for misinterpreting his report and failing to adopt the precautionary principle.

He said: "The general public, also increasingly, and rightly, demand clear, understandable information, often so that informed individual choices can be made.

"There is a need to seek to ensure that advice given, and decisions made, are based on sound science, that they are independently confirmed and defensible against criticism.

"I have a niggling doubt, nevertheless, that when positive results of an adverse effect are eschewed, the cry goes up that they have to be independently confirmed.

"But perhaps too often, the same attention is not paid to the need to confirm a negative result."

Sir William went on to say that while it was known that high level exposure to electromagnetic fields was known to affect health, the effects of low level exposure were still not known.

"There are concerns however that they could influence the development of childhood cancer and the proper functioning of the brain and nervous system, while other effects may also be possible," he said.

"It is advisable to adopt a precautionary approach to cover potential adverse effects of new technologies until the scientific evidence clarifies the situation."

The Mobile Phone Operators Association has pledged that it will take a precautionary approach and supports scientific research internationally.

This will not be the first visit by Sir William to Norwich. In July 2001 he spoke to dozens of families in a special meeting at Norwich Playhouse, chaired by Evening News editor David Bourn.

Dr Gibson added that the meeting was not just for people concerned about phone masts but also those interested in new technology.

"Telecommunication masts are a very good example of a new technology which the public is suspicious of and don't want," he said. "There are lessons to be learned here."

Mick Banham, city councillor for the Sewell ward, who has been involved in campaigns against a number of masts in north Norwich, said: "I'm hoping that it's going to be the biggest meeting in this area relating to these issues," he said.

"We want as many people as possible to come along and have a say, whether they believe that masts are affecting their health or they feel that they are just not being listened to.

"People cannot be heard if a mast is put up that is under 15 metres tall. What we are really campaigning for is for the right for people to be able to be heard if a mast goes up in their area. A local planning committee should determine whether it's a good thing or not."

Jo Rice, who has been involved in campaigning against phone masts near her family's home in Thorpe Hamlet, said she hoped as many people as possible would attend the meeting.

"There are several things Sir William Stewart said in his report that should be more widely published so that people might be made more aware of the facts and also research that has been done in other countries," she said.

"In places like Australia and New Zealand they are not allowed to place masts within 500 metres of schools, residential areas or hospitals.

"I'd like to see members of the planning committee at this meeting so that they can be better informed about the scientific facts."

Since December 2000 the Evening News has campaigned for a ban on phone masts being installed near homes and schools until it can be proved conclusively that they do not pose a risk to health.

Further information on the Norwich meeting can be obtained by e-mailing woodse@parliament.uk or write to the Constituency Office, 59 Bethel Street, Norwich NR2 1NL.

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