OXFORD, United Kingdom-Users of the United Kingdom’s largest TETRA network are reported to be suffering from health problems. The TETRA-based Airwave system, designed to provide a common communications platform for U.K. emergency services, is in the early stages of deployment, and 200 police officers involved in a pilot scheme have taken time off sick, complaining of migraines, sleeplessness and concentration problems.
Only a small number of police forces are involved in pilot trials, but several are already voicing concerns. Steve Edwards of the Police Federation, said: “It is worrying that so many officers believe they are suffering symptoms because of Airwave use. Nobody is saying these radios are unsafe, but we are being used as guinea pigs.”
The network, which has been dogged with technical and political issues, is due to be introduced nationwide by 2005 under a 4 billion euro (US$4 billion) program.
The consumer watchdog group Powerwatch said some scientists are concerned that the TETRA handsets pulse at 17.6 Hz, which is close to the 16 Hz at which brain signals operate. “We believe that these new radios are dangerous. Previous studies have shown that TETRA-like pulses put brain cells under stress.”
The U.K. Home Office, which has conducted two separate studies that have produced no direct evidence to support health concerns of the Airwave system, has now agreed to carry out further health checks as a precautionary measure and take advice from independent experts.
