First study of phone mast dangers

The Government is to investigate whether living near mobile phone masts can damage health, it is revealed today.

The Department of Health is backing Britain's first study into whether the radio waves emitted from the base stations trigger symptoms including headaches, dizziness and memory loss.

The two-year project at Essex University is being jointly funded by the health department and the mobile phone industry at a cost of more than £100,000.

Millions of families in Britain are concerned about the health effects of the thousands of masts near homes and school playgrounds. Research by the Evening Standard showed as many as 80 masts stand within 500 feet of each school in central London. Britain now has more than 35,000 masts.

Scores of people who live near masts have reported frightening neurological symptoms.

Professor Simon Saunders, one of the team of scientists involved in the study, said: "At present, there is no documented evidence of a link between health and exposure. But there may be some people who are hypersensitive to the signals these masts produce. That is what the experiment aims to find out."

About 200 people who believe they are sensitive to radiowaves, as well as volunteers who do not, will alternately be exposed to radio waves from conventional base stations, from the more advanced 3G masts, and to no radiowaves at all. They will be asked to note down any health effects they notice.

The study will not look at whether the masts could cause leukaemia or other cancers.

Dr Mike Clarke from the National Radiological Protection Board said the research was vital.

"There has been an awful lot of research looking at the radiation from mobile phone handsets. But there has been nothing to look at the effect that the constant, lowlevel radiation from masts can have on health. This piece of work is vital to fill that gap," he said.

Handsets emit far more radiation than masts but they are only held close to the head for a few minutes at a time, whereas the radiation from base stations is constant.

To date, scientists worldwide have failed to find conclusive evidence that mobile phones can cause cancer, brain damage or any other form of illness.

But they believe that more research is still needed before an absolute assurance can be given to the public.

Electricity pylons - which also emit radio waves - have already been linked with an increased rate of childhood leukaemia, raising concerns over mobile phone masts.

At present, most mobile phone masts erected in Britain produce very low electromagnetic fields, often less than 0.2 per cent of the amount considered a potential threat to health.