“Pete may well be unaware of the risks involved in a mobile phone mast in his back garden. I did not critisise him, maybe I enlightened him?

Smoking, Drinking, Obesity etc are all personal choices. However people would not have a choice about avoiding the risks if a mast was sited near where they live/work. This is hardly being in denial, simply exercising the right to choose. What are statistics if not an information tool to keep people informed?”

“Yes, very well Luccyy, although interestingly you criticise Pete for wanting a phone mast in his garden.

If people put as much effort into campaigning against things known to increase the hazards of getting cancer as they do about phone masts then maybe we would start to see a reduction in cancer cases, i.e. smoking, stress, depression, lazyness, medication, alcohol, etc. etc. etc.

But I suppose when people like you live in denial then nothing will get done.”

“Matthew. This is a comment facility. The study I mentioned exists so I am not talking out of anywhere, merely stating a fact. You are welcome to disagree but the fact that you do so in a rude unnecessary manner suggests that you are not employed in a professional capacity. Perhaps you just count the statistics, or maybe clean the offices? Leave the thinking to the qualified people, and try to mind your manners.”

“Thank you Luuccy, interestingly there is no discussion part. Also of interest is in the conclusions - "This is necessary because this
study has shown that it is no longer safely possible to
assume that there is no causal link between radio
frequency transmissions and increased cancer rates.", i.e. - not to say it exists, but it might or it might not. I'd say your talking out of your ar*e.

And the SAKK is responsible to the Swiss Government, Swiss Medic and Oncosuisse - so to say "being paid to disagree", further backs up the fact that garbage pours out of your mouth.”

“Well Matthew, you clearly are not up to date with the study encouraged by the German Federal Agency for Radiation Protection by Eger, Hagen, Lucas, Vogel & Voit, which examined whether people living within 400 metres of a mobile phone mast were more at risk of developing cancer than those who lived further away.
Case histories of 1,000 patients between 1994 and 2004 were evaluated for the study.

Newly diagnosed cancers were significantly higher among those who had lived for 10 years within 400 metres of the mast, in operation since 1993, compared with those living further away.

People living within 400 metres of the mast in Naila had three times the risk of developing cancer than those living further away. This seems to be an undeniable clustering of cancer cases.Powerwatch has been calling for a British register for some years. Perhaps it is time the government put its money where its mouth is. You are obviously paid to disagree!”

“Well Luuccy, I think you need to look into things a little more. I work for the Swiss Group for Clinical Cancer Research (SAKK) as a statistician - and so am very up to date with these studies. I would suggest you don't confuse a nuclear power plant with a phone mast.”

“Matthew there are plenty of studies showing cancer clusters around mast sites. Fortunately the planners are not as simplistic as you and will consider everyones opinion not just those of Pete and his friends. His neighbours would be affected too - children are particularly susceptible as their skulls haven't finished forming.”

“"Concrete proof" takes time. There will always be a lag between illness clusters, epidemiological studies and finally action. Look at the delays with regard to asbestos, smoking, DDT, PCBs, power lines etc. The delay is prolonged by the government spending just a few million on research, compared with the tens of billions is takes from the phone companies.

The Hawkins Avenue mast with its highest intensities towards the schools 150m away was a bad idea and rejection is in line with the government's precautionary principles. We don't want Torquay kids part of a future cancer cluster paper.

The UK limits are among the most lax in the world and were recently voted obsolete by the EU. Many countries have limits thousands of times lower or fixed exclusion distances around schools.”

“Yes Lucy, I can accept you are concerned which is fine - but 'medical facts', there is certainly no medical facts. If Pete want's to stick a mast in his garden, then he can stick a mast in his back garden.”

“People shouldn't scare monger when there isn't any concrete proof that phone masts cause any of those problems.”