Telecommunication Equipment on Council Buildings -2

Written on: Monday, Nov 3 2003 at 12:00 GMT
Written by: Education and Lifelong Learning

Summary

Background

In 1999 the Council decided that as a precautionary measure all requests to site telecommunications equipment (principally Mobile Telephone Masts) on Council buildings would be refused because of a lack of information over the effect of non-ionising radiation emitted by this equipment. Council buildings includes schools, care homes, offices, libraries & museums, leisure facilities etc. On 30 October 2003 Members will vote on whether to amend this policy.

Why change?

There are three reasons behind the wish to amend this policy:
1. There is now more scientific knowledge on the effects of this equipment
2. Growth in the type and range of equipment means that not all equipment has the same level of emissions
3. For the Scottish Borders there is a huge and growing need for wireless technology to support a range of developments in education, to enable the expansion of current businesses and attract inward investment and in the delivery of public services. Scientific Evidence A large number of scientific studies across the world have been published since 1999 on the effects of the non-ionising radiation. The leading British group involved was the Stewart
Committee (the Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones).

The basis and findings of this scientific work was reviewed by the European Parliament and has led to the establishment of clear international standards on acceptable levels of emission. Produced by ICNIRP (International Commission on Non Ionising Radiation Protection) this standard has been adopted by the UK Government. For the UK, adoption of the standard was an additional safeguard as in fact most transmitters within the UK operate substantially below these levels.
Before proposing this amendment, a further independent scientific report was commissioned to review the latest research and officers from planning, health & safety, education, ICT and trading standards examined the research and met with the scientific consultant to question his findings.

Broadband

Broadband will bring huge benefits to the people of the Borders by providing access to fast and easy communications for rural and remote areas, make the Scottish Borders a more attractive place to locate and develop businesses, help us deliver better, cheaper more connected public services - to the benefit of all our customers and make the Borders a more integrated and more connected place - locally, nationally and internationally.

For the Scottish Borders, with our dispersed rural communities and settlements, it will be very difficult and expensive to deliver Broadband without using wireless technology. However the equipment for broadband technology has emissions many hundreds of times below the standard set by ICNIRP.

Independent Monitoring

A recommendation from the Stewart Committee was that regular and independent monitoring of all emission is required and that any equipment be decommissioned immediately if ICNIRP standards are not met. The Council will ensure, if the new policy is adopted, that this is observed and action taken if the standards are not met. The cost of monitoring and if necessary removal of equipment will be met by the organisation installing the equipment.

Approval of schools and parent

One other precautionary measure agreed by the UK government was that where the beam of greatest intensity of radiation fell within school grounds, schools and parents had to agree to the installation of the equipment. The Council is proposing to go beyond this guidance and will not allow any installation if the beam of greatest intensity of radiation falls within a school ground. Furthermore the Council intends to consult with schools and parents whenever equipment is proposed for installation on school ground.

Are you proposing to put equipment in school grounds?

At the present time the Council has had requests to install equipment at three schools, Earlston and Kelso secondary schools and Earlston primary school but it is likely that to make Broadband technology fully available, more schools may need to have equipment installed in the future. Consultation with these three schools will begin in the near future.

Where can I get more information? There are a number of sources of information, including:

Department for Education and Skills - www.dfes.gov.uk
British Educational Communications and Technology agency - www.becta.org.uk
Technology Colleges Trust - www.tctrust.org.uk

A copy of the report commissioned by the Council from Doctor Andrew Mackie, Head of Analytical and Scientific Services, City of Edinburgh Council is available by downloading the PDF document to the right of this page.

Free access to these (and any other web sites) is available from any of the Borders public libraries, where staff will be pleased to help you.

Summary

The Council is proposing to allow the installation of telecommunication equipment on Council buildings, subject to a number of conditions:

Any equipment installed must meet ICNIRP standards.
That the emissions from the equipment are independently monitored on a regular basis and that the equipment be removed if at any time it fails to meet the required standards.
That schools and parents are consulted on the installation of equipment on school grounds.
That no installation will be approved if the beam of greatest intensity of radiation falls within a school’s grounds.