Dear Sir or Madam,

I would like to make a request under the Freedom of Information
Act.

What safety data is their in relation to Mobile Telecommunications
masts in the UK?

I thank you for your assistance with this.

Yours faithfully,

Kieran Casey

Dear Mr Casey

Thank you for your email sent in on 1 September 2008 regarding the mobile
telecommunications mast and health in the UK.

Operators may establish, install and use radio equipment anywhere in the
UK, in accordance with their Wireless Telegraphy Act licences, issued by
Ofcom. Obtaining planning permission for the physical structures that
host the radio equipment is however handled separately. Ofcom does not
have statutory responsibilities for planning and is therefore unable to
comment substantively on such issues, though the following information may
be of assistance to you.

Ofcom has no role in the enforcement of planning law or the siting of
telecommunications masts. The responsibility for planning policy falls to
the DCLG - Department for Communities and Local Government
([1]www.communities.gov.uk). In particular, "Planning policy guidance note
PPG8"
[2]http://www.communities.gov.uk/publicatio...
deals with telecommunications installations, including mobile phone
masts. Individual planning authorities administer the planning laws
locally and issue permission to build through the normal planning process.

The mobile operators provide details of their masts within a local area;
and in some cases they already licence the use of their mast data for
research purposes. You may wish to contact the Mobile Operators’
Association to request this (or, alternatively, contact the individual
operators). The Mobile Operators’ Association is at Russell Square
House, 10-12 Russell Square, London WC1B 5EE, e-mail: [3][email address]
web:[4]www.mobilemastinfo.com.

Further information is available at:
[5]http://www.mobilemastinfo.com/planning/j... and the contact
details for the individual operators are available at
[6]http://www.ofcom.org.uk/sitefinder/tco/.

Following publication of the report by the Independent Expert Group on
Mobile Phones (IEGMP) (the Stewart Report) in May 2000, the
Radiocommunications Agency (now a part of Ofcom) was asked by central
government to measure the radio powers of cellular installations near to
schools and hospitals. Ofcom has completed over 400 measurements. In
every case the signal strengths measured were well below the maximum
exposure levels recommend by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing
Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). Recent details and information on Audit of
mobile phone base station can be found at
[7]http://www.ofcom.org.uk/sitefinder/audit... or
[8]http://www.ofcom.org.uk/sitefinder/audits/, and Mobile Phone Base
Station Audit Request Form
[9]http://www.ofcom.org.uk/sitefinder/sitef... for requesting audits to
be undertaken. Please note though that Ofcom’s remit is only the
measurement (not any wider interpretation) of field strengths, to ensure
compliance with ICNIRP guidance. The Health Protection Agency or the
individual operators may be able to assist you further with technical
enquiries of this nature.

After the initial IEGMP report was produced, a UK research programme
called the Link Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research Programme
(MTHR), has been set up to look into the possible health impact of Mobile
Telecommunications and details of this may be found at
[10]www.mthr.org.uk. A recent publication by the World Health
Organisation on Electromagnetic Fields and Public Health fact sheet No.
304, May 2006
[11]http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheet...) may
also be of interest. Further information including links to a number of
health studies can be found on the Mobile Operators' association website
at [12]www.mobilemastinfo.com.

The Health Protection Agency – Radiation Protection Division (HPA –
[13]http://www.hpa.org.uk/, formerly known as the National Radiological
Protection Board), has a statutory duty to give advice to Government on
Electro-Magnetic-Fields (EMF) and health; this includes assessing the
state of scientific knowledge and publishing guidelines for the safe
exposure to EMF.

I hope this information is helpful.

Yours sincerely

Shilpa Patel

Ofcom

This email is sent as routine correspondence from the Spectrum Market Team
and has not been treated as a response to a request for information under
the Freedom of Information Act 2000. If you think it should, please let us
know.

show quoted sections

References

Visible links
1. http://www.communities.gov.uk/
2. http://www.communities.gov.uk/publicatio...
3. mailto:[email address]
4. http://www.mobilemastinfo.com/
5. http://www.mobilemastinfo.com/planning/j...
6. http://www.ofcom.org.uk/sitefinder/tco/
7. http://www.ofcom.org.uk/sitefinder/audit...
8. http://www.ofcom.org.uk/sitefinder/audits/
9. http://www.ofcom.org.uk/sitefinder/sitef...
10. http://www.mthr.org.uk/
11. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheet...
12. http://www.mobilemastinfo.com/
13. http://www.hpa.org.uk/