My Department has commissioned a study to review and report on international developments on the potential health effects of electro-magnetic fields. This study is examining international research developments in to non-ionising radiation (NIR) and electromagnetic fields (EMF) which have taken place since the publication in 2007 of a report by the then Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, entitled Health Effects of Electromagnetic Fields.
Representatives from a number of Departments, together with national and international experts, are overseeing the study which is being undertaken by RIVM, the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment. It is expected that the report will be completed in the near future. The 2007 Report noted that the majority scientific opinion was that no adverse short- or long-term effects have been demonstrated from exposure to electromagnetic fields at levels below the limits recommended by the International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). Extensive international research on the issue continues to be co-ordinated through bodies such as the World Health Organisation.
The Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg), the licensing authority for the telecommunications industry, commissions audit reports to verify that its licensed operators are in compliance with their licence conditions relating to emission limits for non-ionising radiation. The detailed measurement results from over 1, 0 00 transmitter sites surveyed to date have so far shown total compliance. Recorded levels of radio-frequency signals are typically measured as being within the range of 0.002% to 2% of the safe exposure levels set by the ICNIRP guidelines. The location of licensed telecommunications antennae and the results of individual site survey reports can be found on ComReg’s website: http://www.askcomreg.ie/mobile/siteviewer.273.LE.asp.