SUICIDES 'LINKED TO PHONE MASTS'
Sunday June 22,2008
Lucy Johnston
THE spate of deaths among young people in Britain's suicide capital could
be
linked to radio waves from dozens of mobile phone transmitter masts near
the
victims' homes.
http://www.express.co.uk/printer/view/49330/
Dr Roger Coghill, who sits on a Government advisory committee on mobile
radiation, has discovered that all 22 youngsters who have killed
themselves
in Bridgend, South Wales, over the past 18 months lived far closer than
average to a mast.
He has examined worldwide studies linking proximity of masts to
depression.
Dr Coghill's work is likely to trigger alarm and lead to closer scrutiny
of
the safety of masts, which are frequently sited on public buildings such
as
schools and hospitals.
It is also likely to fuel more campaigns against placing masts close to
public places on health grounds.
Dr Coghill said last night there was strong cir***stantial evidence that
the
masts may have triggered depression in those from Bridgend who took their
lives.
They include Kelly Stephenson, 20, who hanged herself from a shower rail
in
February this year while on holiday in Folkestone, Kent.
Dr Coghill said: "There is a body of research that has over the years
pointed to the fact that exposure to mobile radiation can lead to
depression. There is evidence of higher suicide rates where people live
near
any electrical equipment that gives off radio or electrical waves."
There are now 70 million mobile phone handsets in the UK and around 50,000
masts. Both emit radio signals and electromagnetic fields that can
penetrate
the brain, and for many years campaigners have argued that this could
seriously damage people's health.
The national average for proximity to a mobile phone transmitter varies
depending on the type of mast. The latest masts are far more powerful so
they can transmit more sophisticated data, such as photos and videos for
people to download on internet phones.
Masts are placed on average 800 metres away from each home across the
country. In Bridgend the victims lived on average only 356 metres away.
The national average distance from a new powerful mast is a kilometre
while
in Bridgend it is 540 metres. Three transmitters were within 200 metres,
13
within 400 metres and as many as 22 within 500 metres of victims' homes.
Carwyn Jones, 28, who hanged himself last week, was the third young person
in his street to commit suicide.
Research shows young people's brains are more susceptible to radio wave
energy. Only two weeks ago a re****t identified mobiles as having an effect
on sleep patterns.
Dr Coghill added: "What seems to be happening is that the electrical
energy
is having an effect on the chemistry of the brain, depleting s*****onin
levels. We know that in depression s*****onin levels are low and that a
standard treatment for depression is to give drugs to boost s*****onin
levels. As they begin to work, the patient's depression lifts."
He said urgent research was needed because Britain was now covered with
thousands of masts, many close to homes, schools and offices.
Since January 5, 2007, there have been 22 deaths of young people in the
Bridgend area. Some believe the suicides are linked but so far experts
have
failed to find a common cause.
Thomas Davies, 20, hanged himself in February 2007. Last night his brother
Nathan, 19, welcomed Dr Coghill's research. "As far as this family is
concerned nothing can bring Tom back," he said. "But if there is a link
found and something can be done then it could prevent further suicides."
But Mike Dolan, executive director of the Mobile Operators Association,
dismissed Dr Coghill's research. "This is an insensitive and outrageous
piece of speculation which has no basis in established science," he said.
The Government's Health Protection Agency insisted that fields from mobile
masts - even modern powerful masts - were well within international agreed
safety limits. "There is no evidence that masts do you harm. The levels of
radio waves are very low."
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