Tetra Radio

[Theskeat]

Why dont birds nest in mobile phone masts but will nest in overhead power masts?

[matty]

let me correct you,those who are affected by the system,it is not only the vehicle mounted type,when the onboard tetra is disconnected,if you get anywhere near a mast,instant headache

 

Are you seriously saying that people get an instant headache from an antenna that is not connected to a transceiver???

[mojomonkey]

In a previous role a number of years whilst working in local government in England I had the pleasure of having some dealings with a mobile mast that had been erected in the grounds of a primary school. Without going into the technicalities, the situation was basically that the mast was of a size and in a location that did not require planning permission. Anyway two things stood out for me during my involvement.

 

Firstly, the school's governors made constant complaints about the mast and were adamant that planning permission was required (it simply wasn't). However it transpired that the school governors who were complaining were the same ones who had signed the agreement with the network operator to lease the land to erect the mast. Rather unsurprisingly after I queried this with them the complaints from the school governors stopped.

 

Secondly, in retrospect I foolishly agreed to a meeting with a number of the parents of kids who went to the school in an attempt to explain that the mast was exempt and didn't need planning permission (i.e. blame central government not me as I've no powers to do anything about it). The tone of the meeting wasn't too pleasant and I was basically accused of killing their kids. During the course of taking this abuse I really had to bite my lip as not once but twice the mobile phones of two of the concerned parents rang. I don't think that they saw the irony of wanting a mobile phone but not wanting the system to make them work.

 

I personally think that mobile phone masts are a very emotive subject as no one wants to be ultimately responsible for another person's health. Like many subjects there are lots of conflicting reports to be found on the internet. One generally agreed issue is that it’s actually that the phones that are potentially more of a risk to the public than the masts. Over here on the Island the actual number of masts is really quite limited. I guess the bottom line has to be that if people want modern technology such as mobile communication they need to be prepared to accept the infrastructure that comes with it.

 

For what its worth that’s my basic thoughts on the subject.

[Chinahand]

Summary – maybe worry what the police do with their TETRA kit but don’t loose sleep over the kit as such. Loose sleep over the effects of power lines. Those, at least in my opinion, ARE a problem.

 

Not sure how interested people are to continue this particular debate, but reading the conclusions of the British Medical Journals study into childhoodl eukaemia does seem relevant.

 

We estimate that of the 9.7 million children in the population (2003 estimate), at birth about 80 000 would have lived within 199 m of a line and 320 000 between 200 and 599 m. Thus, of the 400-420 cases of childhood leukaemia occurring annually, about five would be associated with high voltage power lines, though this estimate is imprecise. We emphasise again the uncertainty about whether this statistical association represents a causal relation.

 

As far as I know there aren't any statistically reliable long term large studies that report any major risks from TETRA. There are such studies for leukaemia and power lines, but these studies cannot find any causal link between power lines and the increased cancer rates: later letters critiquing this study pointed out that powerlines tend to follow railway lines and motor ways and these generate carcenogens and so the study may be picking up the effects from breathing in diesel fumes and not the affects of high voltage electrical / magnetic fields. Its complicated.

 

And the conclusion 5 additional cases of leukaemia. Personally I'm amazed that society is sophisticated enough to be able to generate the data so we can find statistically relevant correlations between 5 cases of leukaemia and electricity cables within the 400-420 cases of leukaemia per year.

 

Every case of leukaemia is devastating for the family involved, but the question is what reasonable measures can be taken to reduce this. Is the cost of moving thousands of miles of power lines worth while when the result may not have any affect on cancer rates and when only 5 cases may be saved.

 

People making extravagant claims about dangers from TETRA should apply the same reasoning to their claims. What are the real risks, and costs involved in reducing those risks? I doubt they are measurable in any meaningful way.