Hi - I wondered if anyone knew anything about the Tetra base station near Horniman School (the big mast).

I've been looking online to find out about whether there were any consultations about it or information about its safety but can't find anything.

We are thinking of moving very near to it and so I'd appreciate it if anyone had any official info that would reassure us or could point us in the right direction of finding out more. I'm surprised they were allowed to position it so near a primary school.

thanks

I think the mast was there way before the school.What are your concernes given we live near three of the highest masts in the UK?

It's use was switched in 2010 to Tetra which is a new technology used by the police for communications. No studies on its long term health effects have been done. I'm not concerned about mobile phone masts but this is very different. I just want to find out whether a consultation took place, what the outcomes were and where I can find reassurance about its effect on people nearby.

Information from the local residents association, which fought a long campaign regarding TETRA can be found at http://www.tewkesburylodge.org.uk/tetra.htm

If you want to read all the scare stories they can be found at http://www.tetrawatch.net/tetra/index.php

Thanks. Having read through it seems that the association agreed to Tetra replacing the previous system because they felt that it was safer.

I'm interested to find out what levels of microwave emissions were agreed. Having looked through the planning applications on Lewisham Council website there have been two further installations of microwave dishes on the mast in 2009 and 2010 which seem to have gone through without objection.

I'm not one to be taken in by scare stories but I do think it's wise to know what emission levels have been agreed because it's such new technology and it should be monitored. Especially near a school.

I'm also interested to know what persuaded people that Tetra was going to be safer than the existing system?

I'm not knocking the Tewkesbury Lodge campaign - I wasn't here and so that would be unfair - I just want to know what the current situation is.

Thanks all

I was involved in the TETRA campaign with the Residents' Association. There are, or were, scare stories about TETRA handsets relating to the frequency of the burst nature of their emissions. When I learned that, in order to operate efficiently, the base stations operate on a steady level of transmitter power filling empty time with garbage and do not exhibit bursts in their emissions, I was convinced that even if there was some (unproven) problem with handsets, it would not apply to base stations.

The TETRA system drastically reduced the power of transmissions compared to the earlier analogue systems. I don't have the figures to hand but I seem to recall that they would be around one hundredth of the previous intensity. Unless you are within a metre or two of the transmitter (which you can't be unless you climb the mast) any transmissions from the site will be totally drowned out by Crystal Palace which has an emitter power of around 1 MegaWatt. Much more likely that this will have an adverse effect on local residents than the TETRA base station - but I've never heard of any concerns.

Parents should probably be much more concerned about their children's use of mobile phones (with aerials millimetres from their immature brains) than from transmitters 50 metres or more distant.

Hurrah, a factual response