Do people have anything to fear from mobile phone masts or are they just blots on the skyline? Jamie Smyth reports
A small group of residents gather under the shadow of the nine-metre-high mobile phone mast as the corporate suits from 3 - Ireland's newest mobile phone firm - arrive on the scene. None of the locals minces their words at Home Farm football club, which recently agreed to the erection of the mast in return for a €12,000 annual fee.
"Horrific", "eye-sore" and "alien" are a few of the adjectives tripping off the tongues of the protesters, who span a wide range of professions and ages. Concerns over the effect the masts could have on children's health, property values and the skyline are all aired at the meeting. And the residents living close to the mast all agree: it shouldn't be there and 3 should move it.
"I am not anti-mast but it is the way they put them up with little or no consultation," says Karen Heneghan, who for several years lived sandwiched between two mobile masts on Griffith Avenue, which neighbours Home Farm. "They are horrific to look at and no one knows about the potential health issues - look at how long it took them to find out about cigarettes," says Heneghan, a member of Home Farm who lobbied against the decision to allow 3 to erect a mast, an issue that has divided the club's membership.
Protests about mobile phone masts are nothing new. But the imminent entry of a fourth operator to the market and the roll-out of third generation technology (3G) has led to an explosion in masts, and a corresponding increase in protests.
There are now 5,181 dedicated mobile phone sites in the Republic, three times the number that existed in 1999. This could double over the next 10 years. So does the public have anything to fear from masts or are they just a blot on the skyline? Scores of reports have been published on the health impact of mobile technology, but the short time-frame of research has led to inconclusive findings. Most experts believe further study is needed.
The most recent report by Britain's National Radiological Protection Board found that exposure to the low level radio frequency fields created by mobile masts and handsets may cause a variety of subtle biological effects on cells, animals or humans. But the possibility of exposure causing adverse health effects remains unproven, says the report. It also highlights that the very low levels of exposure to non-ionising radiation created by base stations were unlikely to cause any biophysical effects, whereas localised exposures - typical of those from a handset - may induce effects as a result of "mild heating of superficial tissues".
The mobile phone industry, which generates several billion euro of revenue per year in the Republic, says there is no evidence of any health risks. It also warns against reports not based on fact that scare the public.
"No mobile handsets sold in the Republic or any masts have emissions above the international guidelines," says Tommy McCabe, director of the Irish Cellular Industry Association (ICIA), who notes that mobile phones are now an essential feature of modern life.
Ironically, public pressure to remove or prevent masts being erected in certain areas could increase emission levels in certain areas, says McCabe, because a handset has to use more power to connect with mobile antennae further away.
THIS ARGUMENT HOLDS little sway with people organising protests against the erection of masts all over the State, the latest in Ballymun yesterday. Just a 15-minute walk from the protest at Home Farm football club, Mary McKeon and a group of up to 80 other locals have been preventing 3 from erecting an antenna on the roof of Advance Pit Stop for 122 days. And there is no sign of a compromise.
"There are five schools in the area and the masts are not meant to go anywhere near a school," says McKeon, who criticises the planning process for not following current guidelines recommending that masts are not put up near schools or health centres. "In our particular case the mobile company put the planning application on a shutter that could not be seen by the public . . . the next thing we knew there were men trying to attach the mast to the roof."
The inadequacy of the planning guidelines first set in 1996 was one of the key targets of an Oireachtas report on mobile phones published this week. Non-ionising Radiation from Mobile Phone Handsets and Masts urged the Government to amend the planning guidelines and exemptions to ensure that in future no mobile masts can be located near health centres, schools or sensitive sites such as sports pitches and playgrounds.
Noel O'Flynn, chairman of the Oireachtas committee that compiled the report, said the erection of mobile phone masts was one of the biggest issues TDs were currently being lobbied on. "It is not our view that the radiation levels from mobile masts or handsets are dangerous, but a precautionary approach should be taken," said O'Flynn, who is supporting a recommendation in the report that handsets be clearly labelled with the levels of radiation they emit.
UNDER THE CURRENT guidelines, many antennae do not require planning permission if they are attached to public buildings and there is no outright ban on siting a mast close to a school. Indeed, since October 2004, the Office of Public Works has signed 32 contracts with mobile operators that want to use public buildings as sites for masts. The contracts will net the Government €400,000 per year, but in at least one case the mast plan is being vociferously opposed by staff.
The Civil and Public Service Union (CPSU) has threatened strike action if a proposal to erect a mobile mast on the Department of Social and Family Affairs building in Sligo goes ahead. It says it is concerned about 37 children who attend a creche next to the building.
The industry's reputation is not helped by its continued failure to share infrastructure, a measure that would reduce the number of masts. A plan to enable all operators share the Garda masts - which are used only by O2 - is still not in place.
With the number of mobile masts expected to soar, more clashes between the industry and communities are inevitable. But the growing antipathy to masts is unlikely to cause people to throw away their handsets - at least not unless a link between non-ionising radiation and ill-health is proven.