Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 18 Apr 1996

Vol. 464 No. 2

Written Answers. - Microwave Emissions.

Thomas P. Broughan

Ceist:

148 Mr. Broughan asked the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications his views on whether a limit of 20 milliwatts, rather than the current 100 to 600 milliwatts, should be put on microwave emissions from mobile phones as recommended by CENELEC in view of health and safety reasons; and the plans, if any, he intends to implement, in conjunction with the Ministers for Health and the Environment, to reduce public exposure to the current proliferation of mobile phone microwave ground stations. [7927/96]

Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications (Mr. Lowry)

It is not known to what limits the Deputy is referring in the text of the question. The most widely accepted standards for limiting public exposure to electromagnetic fields from mobile phones and from their associated transmitter towers are those of the International Radiological Protection Association (IRPA). At all of the frequencies employed by Irish mobile phone systems the IRPA exposure limit is 0.45 milliwatts per square centimetre. The general public exposure in Ireland to electromagnetic fields from mobile phone systems is about one thousand times less than this. The users of mobile phones experience greater field strengths than those experienced by the general public but these fields are also within the IRPA guidelines.

The IRPA standards are kept under continuous review by independent groups of scientists recognised by the World Health Organisation. The CENELEC recommendations in respect of mobile phone systems are the same as those of the IRPA. There is no reason or basis to propose standards different from those proposed by a knowledgeable scientific body which has been endorsed by independent expert groups free of any industry influence.