By Alli Pyrah
CONCERNED campaigners are fighting plans for a second T-mobile phone mast in the middle of a Cashes Green residential area, near a primary school.
Phone company T-mobile has sent leaflets to some residents, saying it will apply for planning permission to build the mast on the corner of Springfield Road and Sunny Hill with the next fortnight.
There is already a Hutchinson 3G mast on the roundabout at the bottom of Springfield Road, just 20 metres away from the proposed site, which was built two years ago despite vigorous opposition from Cashes Green residents.
Residents and safety campaigners say that one mast is enough, and want local politicians to refuse the application.
Concerned resident Caroline Wilmot, of Springfield Road, is worried that many residents were unaware of the plans.
"We already have one mast," said Miss Wilmot, 26.
"People can't believe that we are going to have another one."
And Lynne Edmunds, the Gloucestershire representative of safety campaign group Mast Sanity, urged residents to write to T-mobile and the council.
"After the strong fight to stop the existing mast going up in the middle of a densely populated part of Cashes Green, extremely close to a primary school, these operators must make themselves aware of how much community opposition there is to any possible health risks," she said.
"As did the operators pushing for a mobile phone mast in Stonehouse recently, they should look for a site further flung away from homes and schools.
"The amount of scientific evidence pointing to health dangers, particularly to children, is growing very rapidly."
A spokesman for T-Mobile said: "There are 60 million mobile phones in the country and T-Mobile is seeking to install this mast in order to enhance and improve service to customers.
"Without a mobile base station, mobile phones simply do not work.
"All our installations conform to rigorous national and international health and safety guidelines."
Comment
Posted by: J Elliott, Gloucester on 10:03am Thu 19 Apr 07
I am appalled that the mobile operators are still siting their harmful, electro magnetic radiation emitting phone masts near schools and housing. There are over one thousand independent research studies proving that mast radiation caused ill health and cancers. This week the national papers reported that T-MOBILE has been accused of “burying” a scientific report it commissioned that concluded handsets and masts contribute to cancer and genetic damage. The report argued that officially recommended limits on radiation exposure should be cut to 1/1000th of those in force. The suggestion has not been taken up by the company or by regulators. Campaigners claimed T-Mobile’s handling of the report was part of a wider pattern of behaviour by the industry in its efforts to keep discussion of the health risks off the agenda. The idea that unelected bodies (the mobile phone companies) have a right to expose people to this proven risk, amounts to enrolling the population in a giant biological experiment without their consent. Considering that children, the most vulnerable of all, are included in this experiment is a national disgrace. It is shameful that their interests are disregarded so cynically in the pursuit of profit.
I am appalled that the mobile operators are still siting their harmful, electro magnetic radiation emitting phone masts near schools and housing. There are over one thousand independent research studies proving that mast radiation caused ill health and cancers. This week the national papers reported that T-MOBILE has been accused of “burying” a scientific report it commissioned that concluded handsets and masts contribute to cancer and genetic damage. The report argued that officially recommended limits on radiation exposure should be cut to 1/1000th of those in force. The suggestion has not been taken up by the company or by regulators. Campaigners claimed T-Mobile’s handling of the report was part of a wider pattern of behaviour by the industry in its efforts to keep discussion of the health risks off the agenda.
The idea that unelected bodies (the mobile phone companies) have a right to expose people to this proven risk, amounts to enrolling the population in a giant biological experiment without their consent. Considering that children, the most vulnerable of all, are included in this experiment is a national disgrace. It is shameful that their interests are disregarded so cynically in the pursuit of profit.
Posted by: James, Cheltenham, Longlevens on 12:14pm Thu 19 Apr 07
If there was a scientific risk I'm sure the government will not allow the population to be exposed to any harmful elements. It leads me to think that the attention seeking mast focus groups are ironically the only part of the mast debate that actually causes health issues by stressing out communities into thinking there is cause for alarm by their constant potentially-libelous claims. Mr Elliott claims there are a 1,000 research papers, I am sure the Government has 10,000 papers stating the opposite? We must learn to evolve as communities and accept that infrastructure changes with time. If we put a stop to a mobile phone mast due to potential 'risks' then we must also carry on this trend and put a moratorium on roads, rail, aeroplanes and any other form of infrastructure that has an element of risk. In essence, society should stand still as everything has a risk attached to it - even eating a Mars Bar!
If there was a scientific risk I'm sure the government will not allow the population to be exposed to any harmful elements. It leads me to think that the attention seeking mast focus groups are ironically the only part of the mast debate that actually causes health issues by stressing out communities into thinking there is cause for alarm by their constant potentially-libelous claims. Mr Elliott claims there are a 1,000 research papers, I am sure the Government has 10,000 papers stating the opposite?
We must learn to evolve as communities and accept that infrastructure changes with time. If we put a stop to a mobile phone mast due to potential 'risks' then we must also carry on this trend and put a moratorium on roads, rail, aeroplanes and any other form of infrastructure that has an element of risk. In essence, society should stand still as everything has a risk attached to it - even eating a Mars Bar!
Posted by: J Elliott, Gloucester on 1:07pm Thu 19 Apr 07
Oh dear James you have a lot to learn about government. The government receive £10 billion per annum in taxes from the phone operators. It has taken our government 50 years to finally take measurers to protect us from smokers. Asbestosis, over head power lines, thalidomide, CJD together with smoking, how long did successive governments hide the truth from the general poulation despite repeated research warning them of the dangers? Money and big business will always preside over people's health. Eight years ago they sold the airwave licences to the phone operators for £23 billion without proof that this technology was safe. Oh and by the way the only research which alleges that this technology is safe is that funded by the phone operators. But as we have seen this week, even their own vested interested research proves that it causes cancer! The risk is not "potential" it is actual! And no, the government has not carried out ANY research at all into the long term safety of this technology. But don't take my word for it, look at the Powerwatch and Mast Sanity websites. The cat is now out of the bag on this. The ill health and cancer clusters in the vicinity of phone masts can no longer be ignored.
© Copyright 2001-2007 Newsquest Media Group
http://stroudnewsandjournal.co.uk/display.var.1337479.0.fight_against_mast.php
The article does say that the campaign is headed by "Lynne Edmunds, the Gloucestershire representative of safety campaign group Mast Sanity" so someone should have her contact details.
A current cancer cluster not on the list is one at Berkeley Flats, Staple Hill, Bristol. I don't have any contact details of the residents but the councillor involved is Shirley Potts, email address: shirley.potts @southglos.gov.uk. 2 masts already sited on top of the flats with about 7 cancer cases appearing after they were sited. They now want to site another mast on top of the flats.
John E
http://omega.twoday.net/search?q=cancer+clusters
