§ Mr. DrewTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the latest health evidence on the safety of TETRA masts. [8567]
§ Ms BlearsA report by the Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones (IEGMP) (the Stewart Report) provided a comprehensive and authoritative review of possible health effects of emissions from mobile phone masts. The report concluded that the balance of evidence indicated that there is no general risk to the health of people living near to base stations on the basis that exposures are expected to be small fractions of guidelines. The group was concerned that there could be indirect adverse effects on people's wellbeing in some cases and efforts have been made by Government to improve the availability of information about the siting and emissions from base stations.
The Report also indicated that there are some unique features of emissions from terrestrial trunked radio (TETRA) telecommunication systems that may be a cause for concern. This was addressed in a report by the National Radiological Protection Board's (NRPB's) Advisory Group on Non-ionising Radiation at the request of the Government. This report was published on the NRPB web site at the end of July 2001. In relation to exposures from TETRA base stations it concluded that exposures of the public would be small fractions of exposure guidelines and comparable to those arising from the operation of other telecommunication systems.