WRITTEN QUESTION P-3452/01

by María Rodríguez Ramos (PSE) to the Commission

(6 December 2001)

Subject: Electromagnetic pollution caused by mobile telephone base stations

On 28 September Spain adopted a royal decree approving the regulation laying down conditions of protection for the public radio domain. This regulation lays down exposure limits

for radio emissions and is based on Council recommendation 1999/519(1) on the limitation of exposure of the general public to electromagnetic fields, which recommends that the Member States introduce a level of protection higher than that set out in the recommendation and does not even introduce penalties for failure to comply with the limited requirements it lays down. The absence of national regulation in Spain prior to the adoption of this provision prompted many local authorities to resort to municipal by-laws in order to regulate the installation of these infrastructures themselves, for want of an adequate legal framework.

In Valladolid (autonomous community of Castilla y Leon), the local authorities have authorised the setting up of 8 telephone base stations with more than 30 masts emitting radio frequency radiation on the roof of a building in the city centre next to a schoolyard, within 100 metres of classrooms.

Five of the nine cases of child cancer recorded in the city during 2001 occurred in children attending schools located close to this building, including three in the school situated within 100 metres of the masts. The proportion of children affected at the Garcia Quintana school is thus 100 times greater than the usual incidence of this type of cancer in Spain (one in 10 000).

In the light of these alarming developments, the socialist group within the local authority has asked for the operation of the mobile telephone base stations to be suspended as a precaution, a move opposed by the local government unit concerned.

Does the Commission know whether any other Member State has such a large and unwarranted group of stations emitting radio frequency radiation within 100 metres of a school?

Does it consider that the national authorities which are authorising and upholding the actions of the Valladolid local authorities are abiding by the precautionary principle as regards the protection of public health?

When will the Commission submit the report of the Scientific Committee on Toxicity on the risks of electromagnetic exposure and the draft report extending the 1999 recommendation to safeguard the public from pollution of this type?

(1) OJ L 199, 30.7.1999, p. 59.

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(28 January 2002)

The Honourable Member refers to Spain's adoption of a royal decree approving measures to protect the public from electromagnetic radiation.

The Commission would remind the Honourable Member that, in accordance with the provisions of Council Recommendation 1999/519/EC of 12 July 1999 on the limitation of exposure of the general public to electromagnetic fields (0 Hz to 300 GHz)(1), it is up to Member States to implement a legislative framework of this kind. Moreover, contrary to what the Honourable Member says, the Council Recommendation of 12 July 1999 does not require Member States to adopt a more stringent regulatory framework; instead, the text of the Recommendation states that: Member States may, in accordance with the Treaty, provide for a higher level of protection than that set out in this recommendation.

The Commission has not been informed of the existence of such concentrations of mobile telephone installations in other Member States. It would remind the Honourable Member that monitoring the local siting of transmission masts for mobile telephone systems is the exclusive responsibility of the Member States' authorities.

It is not for the Commission to say whether it is appropriate or valid for national authorities to introduce stricter precautionary measures.

The Spanish authorities have chosen to introduce the limits given in the Council Recommendation and to impose on the operators of transmission masts an obligation to ensure that jointly they do not exceed the limits contained in the Council Recommendation. This also applies to the case above.

In accordance with the Recommendation, Member States are required to report to the Commission within three years of its adoption on measures taken to protect the public from the effects of non-ionising radiation. These measures will be published by the Commission in an implementation report in 2002.

The limits set in the Recommendation were confirmed by the Commission's Scientific Committee on Toxicology, Ecotoxicology and the Environment in its new opinion on health risks associated with exposure to electromagnetic fields. This was published on 30 November 2001 and is available on the following website: http://europa.eu.int/comm/health/ph/programmes/pollution/ph_fields_index.html. The report states that: the additional information that has become available on carcinogenic and other non-thermal effects of radiofrequency and microwave radiation frequencies in the last years does not justify a revision of exposure limits set by the Commission on the basis of the conclusions of the 1998 opinion of the Scientific Steering Committee.

The Commission is providing some 12,8 million to support research programmes (with a total value of over 32,5 million) on the potential effects of electromagnetic fields (EMF) on human health. This research includes one specific project which covers aspects of possible health effects that might arise from the use of mobile telecommunications systems. This four-year project has not yet reached the halfway point but, as with other EMF-related research projects, coordination arrangements within the Commission have recently been revised to ensure that research results will be disseminated widely as soon as they become available.

In addition, the Honourable Member's attention is drawn to the Directives regulating mobile communication products. These Directives (73/23/EEC(2) and 1999/5/EC(3)) oblige manufacturers to ensure that products are safe. Harmonised standards laid down in these Directives ensure that products which comply with these Directives under normal conditions of use do not expose the public beyond the limits given in the Council Recommendation (see http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/rtte).

(1) OJ L 199, 30.7.1999.

(2) Council Directive 73/23/EEC of 19 February 1973 on the harmonisation of the laws of Member States relating to electrical equipment designed for use within certain voltage limits OJ L 77, 26.3.1973.

(3) Directive 1999/5/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 1999 on radio equipment and telecommunications terminal equipment and the mutual recognition of their conformity OJ L 91, 7.4.1999.