Study disputes TETRA-mast claims

The two-and-a-half-year study, carried out at the university’s Electromagnetics and Health Laboratory, is the first to report on short-term effects of TETRA-mast emissions on human health and wellbeing.

A total of 48 people that had previously reported sensitivity to mobile technology and another 132 control participants were tested without knowing whether the signal was on or off (double-blind conditions).

The researchers found there were no differences in physiological responses, or the reported severity of symptoms, between the on and off tests in either the sensitive or control groups.

When participants were told when the mast was being switched on and off, the sensitive individuals did report feeling worse and experienced more severe physiological symptoms.

The researchers concluded that these health symptoms were caused by participants knowing they were being exposed to electromagnetic fields and the resulting anxiety they felt, rather than by exposure to the signals themselves.

The TETRA signal is used in Airwave, the new communications system being rolled out across the UK for the police and emergency services.