Review of Council Policy on Telecommunications Masts

For the general population, the levels of exposure arising from phones held near to the head or other parts of the body are substantially greater than whole-body exposures arising from base stations.

There are two direct ways by which health could be affected as a result of exposure to RF radiation. These are by heating effects caused mainly by holding mobile phones close to the body, and as a result of possible non-thermal effects from both phones and base stations.

There can also be indirect effects. There is evidence that using a mobile phone whilst driving can increase the risk of accidents. Also some people’s well-being may be adversely affected by the environmental impact of mobile phone base stations sited near their homes, schools or other buildings, as well as by their fear of perceived direct effects.

For base station emmissions, exposures of the general population will be to the whole body but normally at levels of intensity many times less than those from handsets.

We conclude that the balance of evidence indicates 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. However, there can be indirect adverse effects on their well being in some cases.

If there are currently unrecognised adverse health effects from the use of mobile phones, children may be more vulnerable because of their developing nervous system, the greater absorption of energy in the tissues of the head, and a longer lifetime of exposure. In line with our precautionary approach, at this time, we believe that the widespread use of mobile phones by children for non-essential calls should be discouraged. We also recommend that the mobile phone industry should refrain from promoting the use of mobile phones by children.

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