Madam, - I refer to the articles by Joe Humphreys and your editorial comment (July 9th) concerning the health complaints of the Ryan family of Co Tipperary following the erection of a mobile phone mast on their lands.
The headline on one of Mr Humphreys's articles reads "Monitoring the masts: who is responsible?" but the article does not answer the question. A little research on his part would have given him the answer - my Department, and specifically, my office.
It is correct for ComReg to state that it has no remit in the areas of planning or health; it provides measurement services which allow my office and members of the public to assess how individual sites have performed against the relevant international guidelines.
The office of the Chief Technical Adviser in the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources maintains a watching brief on all matters connected with non-ionising radiation.
As such, I represent Ireland on the following international bodies: International Committee for Electromagnetic Safety; World Health Organisation International Project on Electromagnetic Fields; EU Joint Research Committee on Electromagnetic Fields.
I am also responsible for Ireland's implementation of the International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) guidelines for exposure.
I have access to all the international work in this area.
I can state categorically that it has not been proven, through replicated studies, that exposure to non-ionising radiation at the levels specified in the ICNIRP guidelines causes any adverse health effects.
The international organisations above are charged with continuing research to try to establish any causal connection between non-ionising radiation and adverse health effects, and, as yet, none has been proven.
My office provides information and advice to organisations and members of the public in this area.
Since Mr Ryan has chosen to go public with his allegations, I can now state that this office has provided advice to Mr Ryan, his neighbours and the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers' Association; this advice has effectively summarised the results of all the international work in this area and concludes that there is no proven connection between the symptoms allegedly experienced by Mr Ryan and his family and the specific transmissions from the mobile telephone installations close to his residence.
Officials in this Department familiar with the file are sympathetic to Mr Ryan's concerns; that is why this country commits significant resources to subscribing to the best and most up-to-date international research work in this area.
We are far from complacent. We sympathise with the Ryan family, but must state that there has been no proven connection between their symptoms and the mobile phone installations that they allege to be responsible. - Yours, etc.,
BOB HANNA, Chief Technical Adviser, Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Adelaide Road, Dublin.