MP raises TETRA issue (From Gazette Series)

MP raises TETRA issue

STROUD MP David Drew has this week asked Parliament to look into the health implications of TETRA masts.

"I've put a question about the one in Dursley as that one seems to have raised the most interest," he said.

"It's been broadcasting long enough now to be able to monitor what effects it might have had on the health of people who live and work nearby. There have been rumours but it's all anecdotal at the moment.

"I want to know if it is being monitored and, if it isn't, why not? If this information is available it ought to be in the public domain. We need to know if there is a health issue or not."

The MP said he was totally unhappy with the planning process, both that health concerns could not be used as a reason for turning down applications to erect the masts and also that the company which operates the network had not tried harder to find out-of-town sites for its masts.

Mr Drew said it ought to be easy enough to gather data from GPs in the surrounding area to find out if there had been an increase in the number of visits they had received since the mast went on-line and if they had diagnosed an increased number of cases of illnesses that could possibly be related to the mast.

That would at least provide a starting point for proper research into the health implications of the masts, if any.

"The problem is it's all really after the horse has bolted," he said. "But we do need to have proper, effective monitoring to clear this thing up."

Lynne Edmunds, who is a leading Gloucestershire campaigner against such masts, said: "People all over the country are complaining about health effects. Dursley is one of these areas. We are glad he is drawing attention to it now but it's very late in the day."