Infected airwaves

Infected airwaves

Despite health concerns being linked to the police force's new Tetra radio system, roll out will continue this year.  Rowena Byrne-Jones explores the evidence for a causal link and assesses potential insurer ramifications. 


Much has been written recently on the potential  for oesophageal cancer, and other health scares, caused by exposure to radio waves, with particular reference to the installation of a new and controversial radio system. 


Currently, the Home Office is equipping the 53 police forces in England, Scotland and Wales with the Tetra system - Terrestrial Trunked Radio - at a cost of £2,9bn.  Rollout of the new system will be complete by the end of 2005 and it will replace an outdated and unreliable VHF system.  


Approximately 2500 of the required 3500 transmitters have been erected and 65000 officers in 39 forces are using the system.  Tetra will also be installed for the fire and ambulance services, and MM02 Airwave - the telecommunications company carrying out the installations - is currently bidding for its licences.  The result will be made available during the next six months. 


However, the system has provoked strong protests, with claims that the radio signals cause headaches, sickness, disturbed sleep and skin rashes.  Although the health fears surrounding Tetra are linked to concerns  about  mobile-phone  masts,  as  the  symptoms  that  affect  some  people  appear  consistent  - sleep deprivation, nausea, headaches, ear pressure and nosebleeds - the symptoms appear to stop when the Tetra exposure ends.


Precautionary approach
Prior to implementation of the system a report was issued, which concluded that, although the evidence to date did not suggest adverse health effects, a precautionary approach should be adopted.  


Despite this, however, Tetra went on to be piloted in Lancashire and now continues to be rolled out across the rest of the country. 


The Police Federation then commissioned a report on Tetra in 2001 from the independent physicist Barrie Trower, who predicted the occurrence of cancers resulting from the use of Tetra and recommended that the system "be halted until further research on safety is carried out".  He has warned that the system could lead to "more civilian death in peacetime than [caused by] all the terrorist organisations put together". 


Yet, the implementation of the system was not halted.    During  the  past  two  years,  more  than  300 officers in Lancashire and Yorkshire  have  reported  numerous  accounts  of  ill  health  that  they  have attributed to using the system -  the complaints being compiled in a questionnaire that was put together by the Police Federation.  Further complaints were raised in the Crime Investigation Unit in Lancashire after throat tumours had occurred as well as numerous other ailments. 


In Leicestershire, the family of a police officer who died of oesophageal cancer have questioned whether the force's controversial new radio system caused the disease.  A second officer, who is aged 40 and works for the same force, has also been diagnosed with the same cancer and is being treated. 


As a result, the Home Office last year announced a £5m health study, including a detailed study of 150 officers and a 15-year monitoring programme involving 100,000 users. 


http://www.next-up.org/pdf/CunninghamLindseyAssuranceTetraInfectedAirwaves10022005.pdf