The lives and health of residents, workers and school children could be gravely threatened by the installation of a new TETRA radio communication mast on top of the Police Station in Kings Heath High St, Birmingham.

TETRA is anew communications system that is being installed with 3000 masts around the UK. The Government is trying to hurry it through, pressurising local councils to shorten the proper planning period to 8 weeks and not to take account of health risks.

Some experts- coincidentally, those employed by the installation firm or the Government - consider the health risks unproven. But independent experts warn of sever consequences. These include the STEWART REPORT - commissioned and then ignored by the Government - and the TROWER REPORT, commissioned by the Police Federation. Gerald Hyland of Warwick University has predicted a widespread epidemic of "BRAIN TUMOURS WITHIN TEN YEARS".

Other identified health risks are:
Migraines
Nausea/vomiting
hallucinations
Bleeding
Epilepsy
Variety of cancers
Leukaemia

A Government report suggests an exclusion zone of 500 metres from the radio mast in which people should not work or study. But the proposed mast in Kings Heath is well within 500 metres of hundreds of homes, schools, shops, churches, mosques and offices in Kings Heath and Moseley.

TETRA employs extremely low frequency pulsed radio-frequency radiation. Research, dating back to the 1960s, demonstrates the dangers of this. And another communications system - TETRAPOL- is available, and is intrinsically more bio-friendly as it does not pulse at endogenous brain-wave frequencies, unlike TETRA.

So why is the Government plugging ahead with the TETRA system? Well, surprisingly, it's all to do with our old friend profit. A commercial consortium - Quadrant - consisting basically of BT, Motorola and Nokia has been awarded a closed contract under the Government's beloved Private Finance Initiative to specify and develop the service. And when did our health or environments matter when there's money to be made? (Although at least, to look on the bright side, having developed a brain tumour courtesy of the PFI developed communications mast, we can look forward to a nice long wait for treatment at the new PFI developed "super" hospital!)

WHAT YOU CAN DO;

Attend the Public meeting in Birmingham on Tuesday July 22nd;
Baptist Church Hall
Kings Heath High St

Write to Councillor Ken Hardeman at:
 kenhardeman@btinternet.com

Or Councillor Bryan Nott at:
 bryan.nott@virgin.net

STOP TETRA. OUR HEALTH IS NOT FOR SALE.