§ Mr. GibbTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Perth (Annabelle Ewing) of 17 March 2004,Official Report, column 354W, on Tetra, if he will set out details of the comprehensive programme of work on Tetra health issues; and what institutions are carrying out this work. [171915]
§ Caroline FlintFollowing the publication in May 2000 of the Stewart Report on Mobile Phones and Health, we took expert advice from the National Radiological Protection Board's independent Advisory Group on Non-Ionising Radiation (AGNIR) on the health and safety aspects of TETRA technology.
The AGNIR experts confirmed that it was unlikely that the specific features of TETRA technology could pose a risk to health and suggested a number of areas where further research would be useful. These suggestions have been taken forward as follows:
The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) is assessing the effects of TETRA exposure on various types of cells. Dstl concluded that TETRA has no effect on calcium exchanges in cells. Further work on epileptiform activity and cognitive performance is underway.Imperial College is carrying out a national health monitoring study of police users of Airwave.The University of Birmingham and the University of Manchester are looking into patterns of work of Airwave users.Microwave Consultants Limited are measuring Specific Absorption Rates (SARs) from TETRA equipment.The National Radiological Protection Board have completed further work on modelling SARs.The Radiocommunications Agency (now Ofcom) checks emission levels from TETRA base stations.In addition, we are funding TETRA research as an adjunct to the Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research (MTHR) programme. Studies funded under this arrangement are selected and managed by the MTHR Programme Management Committee. As part of this adjunct programme, the Burden Neurological Institute in Bristol is examining possible effects of microwave radiation on the electrical activity of the brain.
353WThese extensive studies have shown no evidence of any particular risk to health from TETRA.
Fuller details of the research programme are available on the Home Office website at: www.homeoffice.gov.uk/docs/tetra.html.