Communications Masts, Mobile Radiation: Presentation
Deputy Gormley: I welcome the delegation and I thank the committee for dealing with this important item. I believe the witnesses are the conveniently forgotten victims of this case, because the mobile phone business is very lucrative. Anything that will queer the pitch for those companies is put to one side.
Can Mr. Colbert explain to the committee the difference between the various types of radiation? At the moment, 3G masts are being erected throughout Dublin city, including in my constituency on Ardee Road. The Office of Public Works, under the Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Deputy Parlon, is allowing this to happen. Why is it that the guidelines for the Department state clearly that these masts should not be erected on schools, yet this mast is being erected right beside a school? Can Mr. Colbert confirm that radiation travels laterally? In other words, it is probably worse if it is erected right beside the school. What are the effects on children? It seems to me that investigations such as the Stewart report state that the effects of radiation are more profound on children. These are technical questions, but the committee needs to get the facts on the effects.
Mr. Enda Dalton: Deputy Gormley asked about the different forms of radiation and what they consist of. I am not sure if the committee members understand radiation in any way but, generally, it is divided into two sets within a spectrum of electromagnetic waves, which are generated by literally shaking electrons in space. They are divided at the line where we see visible light. The lower side is called non-ionising radiation and the upper side is called ionising radiation. Ionising radiation is the radiation we refer to when we are talking about nuclear physics, X-rays and the like. Non-ionising radiation is more or less in the field of radio, television and telephones.
The spectrum is divided into frequencies. Each frequency has its own characteristics and is used for specific purposes. The frequency used by the mobile phone industry is approximately 900 MHz, which means 900 million oscillations per second. It is that frequency, which is highly penetrative and can penetrate 30 feet of concrete, to which we draw attention. The mobile phone industry uses this frequency because of its penetrative quality so that one can receive telephone calls inside buildings and so on. Unfortunately, it appears that this range of frequency is the most inimical to people as it appears to interfere with the cellular structure of the body.
Embedded in that frequency are lower frequencies used for control purposes at eight to ten Hz. These low frequency pulses refer not just to ordinary GSM but also to 3G and the ordinary analogue signal. They are used in all three as control signals and they are more or less in line with brain waves. Therefore, there is a conceivable possibility that everybody, not just those of us sitting at this table, could be in some way affected by this radiation. It is not a simple matter of saying that we are sensitive. Everybody could be affected.
The effect of radiation is often dismissed as unimportant. A transistor radio is not connected to a mains as it is powered by battery, yet it will pick up signals and convert them to music, speech or otherwise. If one examines that radio, one would find that every component in it is perfect but if one turned on a vacuum cleaner next to it, there would be a hum or a buzz from the vacuum cleaner although it is not connected to the radio by cable or wire. This is because of electromagnetic interference inside the transistor radio, despite the radio being in perfect working condition.
A similar process applies to people. If a person is sensitive, he or she will react to the energy in the atmosphere, which is literally like a blanket fog of heat waves all over that person. However, if one goes to a hospital or doctor — this highlights the difficulty of proving the connection with illness — one will be examined in a biological sense and told that the heart, liver, lungs and so on are perfect and that, therefore, one must be healthy. However, while it cannot be demonstrated that there is any biological problem, people are being affected just as a transistor radio is affected by an outside source. This points to the difficulty medical professionals have connecting one issue with the other but if one is a victim, as we are, one would have no difficulty. People feel this damn thing so badly, and it affects them so badly, that they ask: “What in the name of God is bothering me but not bothering other people?”
We notice what is happening to others. As Mr. Colbert stated, people are suffering from asthma, bronchitis, brain tumours, cancers and leukaemia. The medical profession cannot connect this to a mast down the road but we can because we see it from the point of view of sufferers and believe it is likely. Lately, the medical profession has begun to examine this issue. The Irish Doctors Environmental Association, of which we are members, is concerned about the fact that radiation of this nature can interfere with biological operations in the body.
We ask the committee to consider the possibility that there is an invisible cloak of energy that affects us and perhaps everybody on the planet, for all we know. The possibility must be examined. Somebody with the required knowledge must become involved and interested in the subject.
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Deputy Gormley: Does it help if the power is reduced? Mr. Cummins referred to other countries and stated that our levels are much higher. Should the joint committee examine the possibility of reducing them?
Mr. Cummins: Yes, because it would reduce the intensity of the signal. The signals are very strong here and it attacks one’s entire immune system.
Deputy Gormley: Very well.