Open letter to Dublin City Council
dublin |
environment |
news report 
Tuesday August 19, 2008 22:09
by Alfied - Inthesenewtimes
martinanne94 at yahoo dot co dot uk
00441415645362
unprecedented attack on the people of coolock's health
At present there are 50 plus mobile phone masts on top of the Northside Swimming Pool in Coolock.
I find it's sad that we have got to the stage without anybody lifting a finger. I am not living in the area at the moment, but appeal to anybody from Coolock who reads this, and thinks it is an outrage, to make a commitment to do something about it. Phone, write, make a leaflet, tell friends and family and let's try and get a public meeting on the go.
Eight questions for Dublin City Council regarding phone masts on top of Northside Swimming Pool
As a former resident of Kimore West, and someone whose family still lives in the area, I would like to register my protest, in the strongest possible way, against the presence of approximately 50 mobile phone masts on top of the Northside Shopping Centre swimming pool.
I believe their presence is an attack on the health of the men, women and children in the immediate and surrounding areas. A number of independent studies have linked increases in childhood leukaemia, breast cancer, brain tumours, Alzheimer’s disease, neurological disorders, chronic fatigue, anxiety and depression to the radio frequency radiation generated by these devices. I refer you to one, the Bioinitiative Report, which can be found online at http://www.bioinitiative.org/report/index.htm.
Aside from the threat to people’s health I can see no technical or commercial justification for these masts. In light of this, I think the people of Coolock and the whole of Dublin have the right to know the answers to the following questions:
1. Exactly how many masts are on top of the Northside Swimming Pool?
2. Which companies do the masts belong to?
3. How long has each mast been on top of the building (i.e. the dates when each one was erected)?
4. What is their purpose?
5. What is the strength of signal coming from this building?
6. What consultation, if any, took place with the local community before these masts
were erected?
7. What risk assessment was undertaken, and if so, what was the nature of it?
8. What payment have Dublin City Council received from each company for
allowing them to be erected?
I have already sent Mr John Tierney a letter asking these very questions but have, as of yet, received no reply.
I would like to remind him that it’s Dublin City Council duty to act in the best interests of it citizens, and I would expect him to provide comprehensive and honest answers to these questions.
Comments (4 of 4)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4Fair play to you with your efforts on this
I would fraternally suggest that you copy and bring your questions to a trustworthy councillor, L O' Toole , B Maher, etc sholuld be kosher and get them to put them down as council Qs to the City Manager, they are legally bound to reply in writing to your questions and you can submit them and more, if you are not satisfied with the replys.
Remember they have to reply to your Qs in writing, thay have NO choice in the matter. Whatever way it turns, you are building a body of evidence. All the best.
Register your Letter to Teirney and request a copy of of the planning application details, in detail.
That sticks it,on the record.
I will do that.
To be honest this is a storm in a tea cup. A brief look at the comreg website will show you that there are masts everywhere. Most of them are hidden, but nobody bothered hiding these ....
1. Exactly how many masts are on top of the Northside Swimming Pool?
Lots and lots, but it doesnt really matter. Its signal strength coming out of the entire site that is important. For example 10 low power transmitters could be preferable to a single high power unit in terms of radiation.
2. Which companies do the masts belong to?
Pretty much everyone has a mast there, including the telco's . Meteor, Vodafone, O2, three and numerous other non telco related units.
3. How long has each mast been on top of the building (i.e. the dates when each one was erected)?
Again , not sure of the relevence ... all that really matters is how many are there now !
4. What is their purpose?
They are all telecommunications masts. As I mentioned each of the mobile operators maintain a presence there , along with a range of other wireless internet companies, taxi firms , b2b comms. Pretty much everything lives up there :)
5. What is the strength of signal coming from this building?
Last measurement was a number of years ago at this stage, but at that time the peak was around 8*10 to the power of minus 3. The accepted safety limit is around 4.4 .... but this all varies for each frequency range. The Mason Comms tests are available on the comreg site, with a full breakdown of the figures. If one accepts the International Commission for Non-Ionising Radiation Protection safety limits, this site is well within limits. In fact the signal would need to be almot 200 times stronger before it became an issue.
6. What consultation, if any, took place with the local community before these masts
were erected?
Close to none. There are thousands upon thousands of masts in the Country. For example, apart from the shopping center there are masts on Coolock Garda station and in the industrial estate next door. These sites are pretty close , yet as they are hidden no one really thinks about them ....
7. What risk assessment was undertaken, and if so, what was the nature of it?
The equpment used is tested and certified to meet international emission standards. A site survey on install, followed by an independent survey by Comreg was also performed. This would essentially involve measuring the radiation from the masts at a number of sites,over a number of short periods.
8. What payment have Dublin City Council received from each company for allowing them to be erected?
For that site, not much, as altho it has a wide line of sight, there are a number of alternatives very close ( such as the sites in the industrial estate, the Garda station
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