Summary of Oral Evidence presented to IEGMP by Mr J McDonald, on Friday 12 November 1999

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Mr McDonald introduced himself as a concerned father. He had become involved with mobile phone issues as a result of an application by Vodafone to erect a base station about 70 m from his home. Although the area is surrounded by open countryside, the base station site is only 45 m from the nearest house. Mr McDonald was initially concerned about effects on property values, local amenities, access and climbing hazards, but is now more concerned about possible adverse health effects. Although more information is available about thermal effects, his greatest concerns relate to possible non-thermal effects. These could include interference with biological and neurological function, and in the case of an effect on brain cancer development could take many years to show. Mr McDonald noted that countries such as New Zealand have much lower guidelines, and expressed concern that future developments involving data transmission are likely to result in increased exposures. He tried to obtain information by contacting Members of Parliament, the National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB), the Department of Trade and Industry, and other agencies. In general these agencies responded with a package of material, which he found unsatisfactory, but were not forthcoming when pushed for more information. As a consequence he turned to the internet, particularly Alasdair Philips (Powerwatch), and the press for information. Mr McDonald raised a number of objections to the planning application, including health issues, advice from the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP), mast location and the precautionary principle as stated in the Maastricht Treaty. The application was rejected, but not on health grounds. Vodafone appealed against the decision, and an inspector from the Scottish Office Inquiry Unit found in favour of the company. Again, health issues were not considered. Mr McDonald stated that he has a draft of a Scottish Office Development Department document entitled Land use planning and electromagnetic fields, which indicates that perceived health risks are material planning considerations. Mr McDonald’s daughter is now fighting for legal aid to take the Secretary of State to the Court of Session.

Mr McDonald would like to see base stations sited at least 200 m away from homes and schools, a review of planning procedures in Scotland, and a requirement for planning permission for masts under 15 m.

Mr McDonald believes that the current mobile phone market has been created as a result of a skilled marketing campaign based on the public’s desire for gadgets. He suggested that mobile phones are rarely used for useful purposes and that greater use should be made of the land line system. He considers that the current number of mobile phones is too high and that the UK population are being used as guinea pigs. Mr McDonald believes that NRPB is central to the issue in the UK, receiving information from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and ICNIRP, and providing information to national and local government, especially planning departments who rely on this advice. However, Mr McDonald is critical of the WHO document Electromagnetic fields, and believes that there are inconsistencies in the conclusions of the ICNIRP document Health issues related to the use of handheld radio telephones and base transmitters. He is concerned about the independence of NRPB, given that it receives some of its income from telecommunications industry sources, and felt that it should have more teeth. He is also concerned that even NRPB could make mistakes. Mr McDonald provided a list of possible health effects that he believes could be associated with mobile telephony, and suggested a number of solutions that he would like to see adopted. Mr McDonald identified previous 'great silly mistakes' including asbestos, thalidomide, high voltage cables, x-rays, drugs, alcohol, and genetically modified foods. He suggested that line of sight microwave communications links should be replaced with land lines.

First issued 5 April 2000