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The family of a police officer who died of cancer have questioned
whether the force's controversial new radio system caused the
disease.
Pc Neil Dring, 38, died 10 months after being diagnosed with cancer
of the oesophagus. His family said he was a keen sportsman who had
always enjoyed excellent health.
However, he began complaining of severe headaches shortly after the
Government's £2.9 billion Tetra system was introduced.
Pc Dring, who left a wife and two young children, complained to his
superiors that the handset, which emits pulsing radio frequencies,
was making him ill.
He told his family that he was "convinced" it caused his cancer.
A second officer, who is 40 and works for the same, force has also
been diagnosed with the same cancer and is being treated.
Pc Dring's brother, Ian, said: "Neil was convinced it was the
radio that was to blame for the cancer. He had raised the issue with
a sergeant and a superintendent and we feel it is our duty to follow
this through for his sake.
"No one seems to be sure how safe this Tetra system is. It
beggars belief that the system was not tested thoroughly before it
was rolled out.
"Neil was only 38, didn't smoke and was a keen triathlete. The
thing that really hit me was that another officer in the same force
has contracted the same cancer in the same place, just beneath where
he wore his handset."
The Home Office is equipping the 53 forces in England, Scotland and
Wales with the Tetra system - Terrestrial Trunked Radio - at a cost
of £2.9 billion by the end of 2005. About 2,500 of the required
3,500 transmitters have been erected and 65,000 officers are using
the system in 39 forces.
But the system has provoked strong protests, with claims that the
radio signals cause headaches, sickness, disturbed sleep and skin rashes.
About 173 officers in Lancashire complained of health effects they
attributed to using the system in questionnaires compiled by the
Police Federation.
The Home Office last year announced a £5 million health study
including a detailed study of 150 officers and a 15-year monitoring
programme involving 100,000 users.
Sir William Stewart, the former chief scientific adviser to the
Government, said in a report on mobile phone health concerns that
frequencies around 16Hz - close to Tetra's 17.6Hz - should be avoided
because previous research suggested they could cause potentially
harmful changes in cell biology. However, Prof Colin Blakemore, of
Oxford University, has dismissed the health concerns around Tetra.
And a report by the National Radiological Protection Board concluded:
"Although areas of uncertainty remain about the biological
effects of low level RF radiation . . . current evidence suggests
that it is unlikely that the special features of the signals from
Tetra mobile terminals and repeaters pose a hazard to health."
Mr Dring, whose brother served with the Leicestershire force as a
police motorcyclist, is due to meet members of the force and the
police federation next week.
"Neil had no preconditions for this sort of cancer and was
outside the age group associated with it," he said. "For
the whole of his shift his handset was strapped to his chest, where
the tumour was found.
"I have a major concern that the system isn't safe. We have
spoken to other officers and they are aware of it and are terrified
of it."
Stan Sexton, the health and safety adviser for Leicestershire police,
said he was "99 per cent certain" that Pc Dring's death had
nothing to do with Tetra.
He said the other officer who had contracted cancer was of senior
rank and rarely used Tetra.
Steve Edwards, the chairman of Lancashire Police Federation, said:
"There is a lot of concern from officers about the system and we
need to find out one way or the other whether it presents a risk to health."
A spokesman for O2 airwave, which operates Tetra, said: "We
would like to express our sympathy and regret to Pc Dring's family
but we would reinforce that the airwave is there as a public safety measure.
"All the handsets comply with the guidelines and there's no
evidence to suggest there are any health concerns." |
