OUR director John Curran.
RESULTS from an audit into phone mast emissions are expected by the end of June.
The Office of Utility Regulation has commissioned consultants Red-M to carry out the review which will measure the emissions produced on each site used by the three telecom operators individually and combined. Initial work into the audit has already started with information being collected from the companies, while the site audit work itself will take about five weeks to complete.
The last full audit of sites was undertaken in November 2004 with results published in February 2005. OUR director-general John Curran said results of the latest review into operational sites would also be made public.
The project with Red-M will also include smaller random audits taking place in 2009 and 2010 on about 15 sites each year.
‘While the OUR has every confidence that the operators all comply to a very high degree, as the previous audit highlighted, and while we have no specific concerns at this time, we believe it is important that the public is reassured that this remains the case,’ said Mr Curran.
‘Undertaking a full audit of every site in the Bailiwick will hopefully provide that reassurance.’
Red-M is one of the experts in its field and has undertaken work for Ofcom and a number of airport authorities.
In addition, the firm has been appointed by the UK Department of Health to develop and install a system for the University of Essex to facilitate a two-year study of the effect of emission exposure on humans.
The company, when it was known as CDS, also conducted the OUR’s first audit into emissions in 2004.
Mr Curran said there was no suggestion that mobile operators in Guernsey did not comply with the ICNIRP guidelines – the recognised standard for emission levels – as was argued by one guest at the most recent Chamber of Commerce lunch where he was a guest speaker.
‘The ICNIRP guidelines are recommended by the World Health Organisation, the EU, the UK’s Health Protection Agency among others and have been included in mobile operators’ licences in Guernsey as the standard they should adhere to,’ said Mr Curran.
‘We have, as a matter of course, asked the consultants to consider whether ICNIRP remains appropriate and if not what other appropriate guidelines should be followed.
‘However, based on previous audits in Guernsey, even if the limit were 100 times lower, all sites in Guernsey would still comply.’
Article posted on 29th March, 2008 - 9.29am
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