Vodafone addresses health and safety concerns

Some people are concerned about radio frequency (RF) fields from mobile phones and their base stations. Vodafone Malta is committed to ensuring that people are better informed about mobile phone base stations and health.

The energy used by RF signals is the same as that used in television, radio, walkie-talkie and baby monitoring devices and operate at low power. Based on current scientific review there is no evidence of an impact on human health when exposure levels are within ICNIRP guidelines, which are adopted by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Malta Communications Authority (MCA).

Base stations are designed and operated in such a way that emission levels in zones accessible by the public are well below these guidelines, as shown by measurements taken regularly by Vodafone Malta. The MCA carries out frequent audits on most of the sites to measure emission levels and results are published on the MCA Website (www.mca.org.mt).

Vodafone Malta also submits an emission report to MEPA within eight weeks of site installation. The company adheres to the August 2000 report by the Department of Health and takes into consideration the listed precautionary principles. The Wardija base station site was identified after appropriate consideration and it is located about 350 metres away from the nearest school.

Vodafone Malta takes great pride in its commitment to environmental policies, which are designed to minimise the impact of the network. Before starting work on the site in Wardija, the company obtained the necessary planning permits from MEPA and encroachment permits from the Lands Department and has abided with all conditions stipulated in these permits.

Vodafone also went to great lengths to ensure minimal impact on the environment. All material required to build the base station in Wardija was carried manually with wheelbarrows.

For more information on these issues contact Vodafone's customer service on tel: 247 from a Vodafone or tel: 2148 2820.