Telecommunications Antennae and

Support Structures

Guidelines for Planning Authorities

July 1996
Contents

1. Context 2

1.1 Scope 2

1.2 National Policy Issues 2

1.3 Aim 2

2. Technical Information/Descriptions 4

2.1 General 4

2.2 The Cell 4

2.3.1 Antennae 4

2.3.2 Masts – Support Structures 5

2.3.3 Radio Equipment Containers 6

2.3.4 Other

2.4 Summary of Technical Requirements 6

3. Telecommunications and the Development Plan 7

4. Development Control and Telecommunications 8

4.1 Pre-Planning Discussions 8

4.2 Design and Siting 8

4.3 Visual Impact 8

4.4 Access Roads and Poles 9

4.5 Sharing Facilities and Clustering 10

4.6 Health and Safety Aspects 10

4.7 Obsolete Structures 11

4.7 Duration of Permission – Temporary Permission 11

Appendix I 12

Appendix II 19

1
2
CONTEXT Both operators are obliged to provide GSM coverage to 90%
of the population within four years. The Government has
1.1 Scope
emphasised throughout that both GSM operators are treated
These Guidelines deal with those telecommunications in an even-handed fashion, so that the rules of fairness apply
installations which form part of the requirements for licensed, and are seen to apply.
public mobile telephony and which are considered to be
development in accordance with the Planning and National policy requires that all development should conform
Developments Acts. to the concept of environmental sustainability, meeting socio-
economic objectives while conserving the natural resources
They deal with the antennae required for receiving and upon which development ultimately depends. A National
transmitting telephony signals, the support structures for these Sustainable Development Strategy is being prepared to carry
antennae, the associated “buildings” and radio equipment consideration for the environment into all areas of Government
containers, together with other ancillary requirements such as policy. Areas legally designated for environmental
poles and cable for the provision of electric current to the site conservation must be given the required protection when
or base station. The also deal with access roads to base considering planning applications for mobile telephony
stations. infrastructure. Accordingly, fragile landscapes have to be
treated sensitively, scenic views preserved,
Planning authorities have a duty under the Local Government archaeological/geological sites and monuments and buildings
Act, 1991, in the performance of their functions under any of historical and architectural interest protected and sacred
enactment, to have regard to policies and objectives of the areas respected.
Government or any Minister in so far as they may affect or
relate to their functions. Government policy on the availability These considerations demand that the fullest attention is paid

of top quality telecommunications services throughout the to the location of masts by operators and planning authorities.

State should, therefore, be taken into consideration. In addition, in order to avoid an unnecessary proliferation of
masts, owners (i.e. those controlling access to support

Operators of broadcast VHF and fixed radio link installations structures and masts) would be expected to facilitate co-

which support the mobile radio requirements of the emergency location of antennae with other operators. Owners and

services, should, where applicable, take cognisance of the operators will be expected to respond to requests for sharing

Guidelines. in a timely, fair and reasonable manner. Accordingly, where

the existing site operator/owner considers it is technically

1.2National Policy Issues possible and where sharing would not preclude the parties

The Government’s telecommunications policy aims to place from foreseeable future development on the shared facility,

Ireland in the top quartile of OECD economies as regards the planning authorities should encourage co-location of antennae

availability, price and quality of telecommunications services in on existing support structures and masts.

order to promote industrial and commercial development, to

improve personal and household security and to enhance 1.3 Aim

social exchange and mobility. While the provision and updating of a modern mobile
telephony system is part of the national development

Following a competitive application process the Government infrastructure, planning decisions regarding the installation of

has issued a licence to Esat Digifone to provide GSM (global base stations and other equipment are taken at a local level.

systems for mobile) mobile telephone services. Eircell, a The aim of these Guidelines is to provide relevant technical

subsidiary of Telecom Eireann, already provides mobile information in relation to these installations and to offer

telephone services (both analogue and digital) in Ireland. general guidance on planning issues so that the environmental
impact is minimised and a consistent approach is adopted by
the various planning authorities in the preparation of their
development plans and in the operation of development
control. The guidelines are also intended to be of assistance
to operators and to the general public.
2.TECHNICAL INFORMATION/DESCRIPTIONS
2.1General
Public cellular mobile telephone systems are an efficient
method of providing a mobile telephone service. The user’s - the nature of the terrain: mountainous or hilly terrain or
mobile phone is connected by a two way radio channel to the built up urban “clutter” are not favourable to radio
nearest base station. Base stations are installed in a grid transmissions so a greater number of base stations may
pattern enabling an efficient frequency reuse scheme to be be required,
implemented while using the limited frequency spectrum
assigned for the service. The base stations are connected by - numbers of actual or potential users of the system, this will
means of leased lines, radio, optic fibre, coaxial cable, etc. to apply principally in urban areas; in practice, each
an exchange system which allows communications into the installation can only cater for up to forty calls
fixed network or onwards to other mobile phone users. simultaneously and where more are likely to occur
additional base stations have to be installed,
At present there are two systems in operation in Ireland –
analogue and digital. The analogue system is the older of the - radio spectrum can be seen as a natural resource and a
two and is operated exclusively by Eircell Telecom Eireann. licence fee is paid for every frequency required by the
The digital system, known as GSM, is also operated by Eircell mobile operator; hence the same radio frequencies are
Telecom Eireann side by side with its analogue system. A reused within the system, but these cannot be in
second operator, ESAT Digifone will operate exclusively on the immediately adjoining cells. As a consequence, sites are
GSM system and will compete with Telecom Eireann. Both sometimes chosen to restrict signal dispersion and
systems use frequencies around 900 Mhz and optimum concentrate it into a local area thus avoiding overspill and
coverage obtains when there is line of sight. However, under the interference which this would cause.
certain limited conditions, use can also be made of reflected
signal. 2.3.1 Antennae
It has been estimated that, in order to complete their
2.2The Cell respective networks, and to meet the national coverage
The coverage area of one transmitter/receiver base station is requirement of the licence conditions, operators will, between
commonly known as a cell. In reality cells are not uniform and them, require an approximate total of 600 to 700 base stations.
the diameter of a cell can vary from 0.5km to 70km. Sites can Not all of these arrays of antennae will require separate, ad
be at the intersection of three cells or at the centre of a cell. hoc support structures as many of them may well be mounted
on buildings or other tall structures in urban or suburban areas.
In urban environments the cells tend to be very small, and the
radio frequencies are reused more often. The reason for this A number of these base stations are already in existence and a
is that the capacity of the network required in urban areas is further number have been commenced under the terms of
much greater than in rural areas. The antennae associated Article 9 of the Local Government (Planning and Development)
with small cells are generally mounted on low support Regulations, 1994.
structures or on buildings. Larger cells are generally used in
rural areas where coverage rather than capacity is the critical Essential to the base stations are the antennae. Typically for a
requirement. Higher masts are usually required in rural areas. GSM system nine such antennae are required per station.
The base stations or cells are arranged in a grid pattern and a They are arranged in three groups of three, on the sides of an
mobile user in a car will be switched from one cell to another. equilateral triangle, each group giving 120 degree coverage.
(See illustration in Appendix 1). The principal reasons for In order to cater for both GSM and analogue users (Telecom
variation in cell configuration are: Eireann only) a fourth antenna (transmitting) is required on
each array. The antenna type is chosen to provide coverage 40m. They are normally fixed to reinforced concrete raft
of the surrounding area using a directional beam. foundations, will incorporate ladder and anti-climbing devices
and suitable arrangements for bringing cables from antennae
The antennae described above would be typically 2000mm to to an equipment cabinet. The height will be a function of the
1200mm in length x 300mm in width x 170mm in depth. Other terrain, the cell size and coverage requirements and it should
smaller and less elaborate arrangements are possible in urban be noted that there is a trade-off between the height of any
areas or in particular “end of line” locations in rural areas. given mast and the number of masts required for network
(See Appendix 1A) coverage. Both the antennae and the support structures can
be finished in various colours. The most usual support
The outer two antennae on each array are receivers (i.e. structure will be a tripod lattice construction. Such support
passive) and in the case of Telecom Eireann they both may be structures will typically measure up to 4m at the base and the
used for the analogue and digital systems. To facilitate better antennae are mounted on platforms at the top, as described in
reception, they are mounted at a distance of between 4000mm the previous paragraph. It should be noted, however, that (for
and 5000mm horizontally one from the other. The central GSM systems) newer type towers measuring approximately
antenna transmits and in the case of Telecom Eireann there 1.7m at the base are now becoming available. The
may be two central antennae, one for the analogue and one for configuration of the antennae can also be reduced to two on
the digital system. In the case of an antennae support each side of the tower, reducing the total number of antennae
structure shared by Telecom Eireann and Esat Digifone and to six. (See Appendix 1C) One of these antennae acts
fully equipped (3 sectors), there would be a total of twenty one simultaneously as both receiver and transmitter. In some
antennae mounted on the structure, excluding additional instances a single mast may be sufficient but where it is stayed
antennae for point to point radio links. (See Appendix 1B) it will require larger sites to contain staying anchorage points.
(See illustrations at Appendix 1D)
In urban areas (centre city) these antennae can generally be
mounted on buildings or other structures. In rural areas, and in For the point to point radio links connecting the base stations
many suburban situations, because of the low rise nature of to the backbone network, the nature of the link transmission is
most of our suburban buildings and structures a supporting such that any movement of the transmitter/receiver dishes
mast or tower is needed. As technology develops, the number greater than 0.5 degrees could result in loss of signal. The
and size of antennae may change, becoming more efficient design of the antennae support structures must ensure the
and less obtrusive. elimination of such movement. In addition, high capacity point
to point radio links are required for the backbone network with
2.3.2 Masts – Support Structures large microwave drum antennae requiring more robust
As has been pointed out in the previous paragraph, in urban structures, and in general square towers. Initially all of Esat
areas the antennae can be mounted on tall buildings – either Digifone’s backbone network will be constructed using point to
on roof tops or otherwise – in suburban and rural areas the point radio links.
arrays of antennae are mounted on free standing support
structures or masts. In both rural and urban areas a
supporting mast or tower is almost always necessary where
microwave drum antennae are required (see final paragraph
under this heading).

The height of these structures, when the requirements of the

backbone network are taken into account, can range from 12m 2.3.3 Radio Equipment Containers
to 60m though most typically they will be between 20m and
The associated radio equipment is normally housed in a possible trade-off between the height of a given structure and

cabinet, rectangular box container (approximately 85m3 to the number of structures required. Thus, as a general
principle, the higher the support structures the lesser the
100m3). This in turn may be in a building which also includes
number of base stations required in order to provide radio
other items. Improved technology has already considerably
coverage for a given area. However, whatever the height of
reduced the size of radio equipment. The complete site would
the structure may be, the base station will be limited by its
then measure, typically 25m x 25m. (See Appendix 1E)
capacity (the number of calls which can be dealt with
simultaneously). Therefore an adequate number of base
2.3.4 Other
stations must be provided in order to meet capacity
Sites should be surrounded by safety fencing and the
requirements.
masts/towers should be equipped with lockable trap-doors or
other anti-climbing devices. However, in some cases, for
The structural stiffness/rigidity, load bearing capacity and wind
example, where a single steel pole is used, safety fencing may
loading will be a function of engineering criteria. Special
not be required. Electrical power (equivalent to ordinary
attention to rigidity will be required in the case of point to point
domestic power supply) will, depending on the location, be
radio links. Because of the nature of the beam and the strict
delivered to the site on poles. In order to avoid the additional
line of sight requirement from one antenna to the next, very
visual intrusion of poles, ducting in the immediate vicinity of the
minute movement ( > 0.5 of a degree) could result in loss of
base station should be considered. Access to the mast and
signal.
equipment will be through a gate in the perimeter fence and
access to the site itself will be dependent on the site location.
In some instances it may be technically possible for operators
to share facilities or indeed to share with other owners of
2.4 Summary of Technical Requirements
antennae support structures. Sharing will give rise to higher
From the operator’s point of view, each base station site will be
and stronger structures. Where masts are to be shared
chosen because it gives good quality coverage over maximum
arrangements must be put in place for security, access onto
area and because it can be integrated with the other base
the mast, joint inspections and maintenance regimes, prior
stations of the network. The following considerations will have
agreements on financial and leasing arrangements.
to be taken into account.

2.4.1 Topography and population density will dictate to a large

extent the location of the base station. While each base
station has its own locational requirements it must also fit into
the national network. Base stations have been described as
pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. For this reason, there may not
always be great flexibility regarding a given location. Where
substantial local flexibility is required it may mean moving other
sites in the network or providing additional alternative base
stations. However, some flexibility should almost always be
available.

2.4.2 The height and structural rigidity of the supporting

towers (and in some instances the dimensions of the antennae
themselves) will normally be dictated by the requirements of
the radio parameters, the coverage and the projected number
of actual or potential customers. In some instances there is a
3. Telecommunications and the Development Plan

3.1 Each planning authority’s development plan should - general indications as to the authority’s requirements in
include in relation to those telecommunications installations relation to:
which form part of the requirements for public mobile
telephony. Where planning authorities have recently adopted - pre-planning discussions
a new or revised development plan, rather than wait for the
next review, a variation of their existing plan should be - siting and design
considered.
- visual amenity and access roads
3.2 The policy statement should include the following:
- possible sharing of installations
- acceptance of the importance of a high quality
telecommunications service taking into account both - health and safety aspects
National and regional considerations,

- in considering locational requirements, the authority

should take into account certain factors such as
population centres, the number and importance of road
networks traversing the authority’s area, plans for the
development of these networks, including any future by-
passes,

- an authority should also indicate any locations where, for

various reasons, telecommunications installations would
not be favoured or where special conditions would apply.
Such locations might include, for example, lands whose
high amenity value is already recognised in the
development plan or sites beside schools which might
give rise to local concerns,
4. Development Control and Telecommunications
4.1 Pre-Planning Discussions
Planning authorities should encourage and facilitate pre- - longer term plans of the operator in relation to masts
planning discussions with operators. Operators should in turn within the jurisdiction of the authority,
keep authorities informed of their plans and should provide with the general context of the proposed development.
outline visual analysis of proposed sites at pre-planning Consequently the approach of the authority will vary depending
discussions. Topics which might be usefully raised with the on whether the proposed development is in:
operator at these discussions would include the following:

- any prior consultations which the applicant may have

had with the other questions/mast owners, - a rural/agricultural area
- an upland/hilly, mountainous area
- the number of existing masts and the stage of - a smaller settlement/village
development of structures commenced in accordance - an industrial area/industrially zoned land
with Article 9 (1)(b) of the Local Government (Planning - as suburban area
and Development) Regulations 1994. (It should be - a larger town or city
noted that Class 29(h) of the Second Schedule to the
Regulations does not exempt antennae and support Whatever the general visual context, great care will have to be
structures for licensed public mobile telecommunications taken when dealing with fragile or sensitive landscapes, with
networks). other areas designated or scheduled under planning and other
legislation, for example, Special Amenity Areas, Special
4.2 Design and Siting Protection Areas, the proposed Natural Heritage Areas and
The design of the antennae support structure and to a great Special Areas of Conservation and National Parks. Proximity
extent of the antennae and other “dishes” will be dictated by to listed buildings, archaeological sites and other monuments
radio and engineering parameters. There may be only limited should be avoided.
scope in requesting changes in design. However, the
applicant should be asked to explore the possibilities of using In rural areas towers and masts can be placed in forestry
other available designs where these might be an plantations provided of course that the antennae are clear of
improvement. Similarly, location will be substantially obstructions. This will involve clearing of the site but in the
influenced by radio engineering factors. In endeavouring to overall will reduce visual intrusion. Softening of the visual
achieve a balance some of the considerations which follow impact can be achieved through judicious choice of colour
are relevant. scheme and through the planting of shrubs, trees etc as a
screen or backdrop.
4.3 Visual Impact
The visual impact is among the more important Some masts will remain quite noticeable in spite of the best
considerations which have to be taken into account in arriving precautions. The following considerations may need to be
at a decision on a particular application. In most cases the taken into account:
applicant will only have limited flexibility as regards location,
given the constraints arising from radio planning parameters,
etc., already referred to. Visual impact will, by definition, vary
 - Along major roads or tourist routes, or viewed from
traditional walking routes, masts may be visible but In the vicinity of larger towns and in city suburbs operators
yet are not terminating views. In such cases it might should endeavour to locate in industrial estates or in
be decided that the impact is not seriously industrially zoned land. The possibilities offered by some
detrimental commercial or retail areas should be explored whether as
rooftop locations or by way of locating “disguised” masts. It
- Similarly along such routes, views of the mast may should also be noted that substations operated by the ESB
be intermittent and incidental, in that for most of the may be suitable for the location of antennae support
time viewers may not be facing the mast. In these structures. This possibility should also be investigated. In
circumstances, while the mast may be visible or urban and suburban areas the use of tall buildings or other
noticeable, it may not intrude overly on the general existing structures is always preferable to the construction of
view of prospect an independent antennae support structure. In urban areas
the need for increased numbers of cells to cater for customer
- There will be local factors which have to be taken growth will lead more and more to the subdivision of existing
into account in determining the extent to which an cells and, in some instances to the introduction of “microcell”
object is noticeable or intrusive – intermediate technology. Microcells will normally have their antennae
objects (buildings or trees), topography, the scale of located below roof level and will serve a very specific building
the object in the wider landscape, the multiplicity of (shopping centre, tunnel etc.) or be used to boost a weak
other objects in the wider panorama, the position of signal. Microcells are not an alternative to normal cells.
the object with respect to the skyline, weather and
lighting conditions, etc. Only as a last resort and if the alternatives suggested in the
previous paragraph are either unavailable or unsuitable should
In upland/mountainous areas hilltops will be favoured by free-standing masts be located in a residential area or beside
operators as offering the best location from the point of view of schools. If such a location should become necessary, sites
radio coverage. Masts on hilltops will by definition remain already developed for utilities should be considered and masts
visible. Yet, if an authority were to rule out every hilltop as a and antennae should be designed and adapted for the specific
possible location, the consequence would be that the operator location. The support structure should be kept to the minimum
might not be able to service the area or that a number of height consistent with effective operation and should be
structures might be required to provide the same level of monopole (or poles) rather than a latticed tripod or square
service. In the latter case visual intrusion might be increased structure.
rather than diminished. Where there is an existing mast every
effort should be made to share it provided the shared mast is 4.4 Access Roads and Poles
not itself unduly obtrusive. If this is the case, clustering may An access road may sometimes cause greater visual impact
be more acceptable. However, for transmission reasons, than the actual installation. It may further open up an
clustering on hilltops may not always provide a solution. otherwise undisturbed area to unwanted visitors.
Consequently access roads should be permitted only where
Only as a last resort should free-standing masts be located they are absolutely necessary and great care should be taken
within or in the immediate surrounds of smaller towns or that they will not appear as a scar on a hillside. It should
villages. If such location should become necessary, sites normally be a condition of permission that such roads are
already developed for utilities should be considered and masts grubbed up at the end of the construction period. In
and antennae should be designed and adapted for the specific exceptional circumstances, the planning authority should
location. The support structure should be kept to the minimum consider requiring the use of a helicopter for the construction
height consistent with effective operation. and installation of base stations. Similarly, timber poles should
as far as possible follow the line of ground contours and, furnish evidence that an installation of the type applied for
where underground ducting is possible, it should be complies with the above guidelines. Where the applicant
maximised. proposes to share an existing mast or to enter a clustering
arrangement on an existing site a statement from the
4.5 Sharing Facilities and Clustering owner/landlord of the mast or site that the shared mast or
Sharing of installations (antennae support structures) will cluster will continue to operate under the guidelines applicable
normally reduce the visual impact on the landscape. The to it should be presented to the planning authority.
potential for concluding sharing agreements is greatest in the
case of new structures when foreseeable technical Legislation is to be enacted by the Department of Transport,
requirements can be included at the design stage. All Energy and Communications later this year setting up an
applicants will be encouraged to share and will have to satisfy independent regulator for the telecommunications sector. It is
the authority that they have made a reasonable effort to share. envisaged that, as part of this legislation, the regulator will be
Where the sharing of masts or towers occurs each operator specifically required to arrange for monitoring, on a nationwide
may want separate buildings/cabinets. The matter of sharing basis, of emissions of non-ionising radiation from mobile
is probably best dealt with in pre-planning discussions. telephone base station towers and MMDS masts.

Where it is not possible to share a support structure the Furthermore, as part of the licensing framework being
applicant should, where possible, be encouraged to share a developed by the Minister for Transport, Energy and
site or to site adjacently so that masts and antennae may be Communications in relation to mobile telephony, operators are
clustered. On hill tops clustering may not offer any now being required to comply with the relevant international
improvement from the point of view of visual intrusion but in standards in relation to emissions of non-ionising radiation
urban or suburban areas use of the same structure or building from telecommunications antennae.
by competing operators will almost always improve the
situation. Accordingly, planning authorities should not include monitoring
arrangements as part of planning permission conditions.
Support structures used by emergency or other essential Operators should comply with all requests for information
services are not suitable for sharing with public mobile relating to the technical operation of base stations and should
telephone services. facilitate access to base stations by duly authorised members
of the monitoring body.
4.6 Health and Safety Aspects
A statement on health and safety aspects, agreed by the The safety aspects of the antennae and support structures will,
Departments of Health and Transport, Energy and unless perhaps in the case of ground-mounted single poles,
Communications with the Department of the Environment for stayed or otherwise, involve fencing of the site, anti-climbing
inclusion as an Appendix to the Guidelines is set out in devices and proper ducting and insulation measures for
Appendix II. cables. It is unlikely that entrance and exit from the site will
give rise to traffic hazards as maintenance visits should not be
As part of their planning application operators should be more than quarterly. During the construction period,
required to furnish a statement of compliance with the depending on the location of the site, special precautions may
International Radiation Protection Association (IRPA) have to be taken in relation to traffic.
Guidelines (Health Physics, Vol. 54, No. 1 (Jan) 1988) or the
equivalent European Pre-standard 50166-2 which has been The allocation of radio frequencies and the operational
conditioned by the licensing arrangements with the conditions in the licensing arrangements will normally take
Department of Transport, Energy and Communications and to care of the question of radio interference. All matters relating
to possible radio interference in respect of emergency or other considered. Permissions should take cognisance of the
services are dealt with by the Department of Transport, Energy duration of the licensing arrangements.
and Communications.
Nevertheless, it would appear that, because of rapid changes
In the vicinity of airports, the Irish Aviation Authority (or, if in the technology and design of the radio equipment and
relevant, the Department of Defence) should be given an
opportunity to comment on the application from the point of antennae and because of current indications of possible
view of location, height-obstruction, painting and illumination. changes in the design of support structures, permissions
should normally be granted for five years the period to be
Adequate clearance between structures and overhead power calculated as the time during which the appliances would be
lines, as specified by the electricity undertaker, should be operational. Retention of the base stations at the end of the
provided. It should be noted that there is a statutory obligation five year period would then be conditional on the replacement
to notify the ESB of proposed development within 25 yards of of obsolescent technology with more modern, environment
any ESB distribution/transmission line. friendly designs where these have become available, where
they are commercially viable and where they would allow the
The Department of Defence should be given an opportunity to base station to continue to operate within the standards set out
comment on the application from the point of view of security in the licensing arrangements, or in the original planning
where the site of the proposed mast adjoins land or property permission or within more stringent or other standards if these
owned or administered by that Department. are considered more desirable at the time.

4.7 Obsolete Structures

When the antennae and their support structures are no longer
being used by the original operator and no new user has been
identified they should be demolished, removed and the site re-
instated at the operators’ expense. This should be a condition
of permission and the authority should consider a bonding
arrangement to this effect. An owner or operator of a site may
of course dispose of the site to another suitably licensed
operator. In addition to whatever other notification
requirements would arise from this transfer, the original
owner/operator should be required to inform the planning
authority of such transfer so that the authority may be in a
position to readily enforce any continuing conditions on the
new operator.

4.8 Duration of Permission – Temporary Permissions

Because of the relatively high installation costs of each base
station and because of the integrated nature of the network it
would appear that temporary, relatively short term permissions
of one or two years duration should be avoided. However for - .
special, once-off events, where appropriate, a temporary
permission of two or three months duration may be
APPENDIX 1
Division into cell pattern facilitates reuse of frequencies but never in adjoining cells. In reality cells are not regular in shape and they
vary in size.
APPENDIX 1A
APPENDIX 1B
The visual impact of a shared structure should be carefully considered. In addition to the increased number of antennae the height,
width and bulk of the structure and of the structural members will be increased. Cable trays to cater for at least 21 cables will be
required.
APPENDIX 1C
APPENDIX 1D
APPENDIX 1E
APPENDIX II
HEALTH AND SAFETY ASPECTS
Statement on health and safety aspects, agreed by the The ICNIRP findings support the position taken by the
Department of Health and Transport, Energy and regulatory authorities in Ireland and should provide further
Communications with the Department of the Environment for reassurance to those who have been concerned about the
inclusion as an Appendix to the Guidelines. health implications of base station towers.

The rapid expansion of mobile telephone services in Ireland Taking as its basis the World Health Organisation’s 1993
has required the construction of base station towers in urban review of the health effects of exposure to radio-frequency
and rural areas across the country. These base station towers radiation and all relevant research published since, ICNIRP re-
are an essential feature of all modern telecommunications examined the existing exposure guidelines (i.e. the safe
networks. They facilitate calls between mobile phone users exposure levels) in the frequency range utilised by mobile
and enable users of conventional telephones to place and telephone systems (800 MHz to 2 GHz). Following a review of
receive calls from portable units. the technical nature of non-ionising radiation absorbed by
mobile phone users and by the general public in the vicinity of
Concern has been expressed that the radio signals from these base station towers, ICNIRP assessed recent published
base station towers may be a hazard to health. The basis for scientific literature dealing with biological effects, including
this concern is that the signals from these towers are a form of athermal effects.
non-ionising radiation. It is claimed, that some scientific
studies have shown an association between exposure to non- This latter assessment included athermal studies involving
ionising radiation and illness. The response of authorities in pulsed and amplitude modulated radio-frequency field and
Ireland has been to keep abreast of the best available their impact on a number of biological end-points such as
information, to follow best practice and thus ensure that, in mutations in mouse leukaemia cells, chromosome aberrations
relation to exposure to non-ionising radiation, Irish in human lymphocytes and DNA fragmentation in rodent cells.
telecommunications companies operate within internationally Other work examined included the impact of radio-frequency
recognised safe limits. radiation on tumour promotion, on ion fluxes across cell
membraned in human blood cells, and on gene transcription
Despite the fact that operators must conform to the rates. A number of animal exposure studies and
internationally recognised guidelines set out by IRPA*1 epidemiological studies were also reviewed.
(International Radiation Protection Association) some
observers have expressed disquiet either because, they claim ICNIRP’s conclusion concerning international standards for
the IRPA guidelines developed in 1988 do not take into limiting exposure of the general public to the radio-frequency
account scientific findings since then, or that the guidelines are fields from base stations towers was to endorse the limits
based on thermal effects only. proposed in 1988 by IRPA. ICNIRP stated that there is no
substantive evidence that adverse health effects, including
The most recent position on health and safety aspects can be cancer, can occur in people exposed to levels of non-ionising
found in the ICNIRP*2 (International Commission on Non- radiation at or below IRPA’s 1988 guidelines. At the radio
Ionising Radiation Protection) Statement – Health Issues frequencies used in Ireland for mobile telephone networks (890
Related to the Use of Hand-held Radio Telephones and Base MHz to 960 MHz) the IRPA limit is 4.5 watts per square metre.
Transmitters, Health Physics, Vo. 70, No. 4, April 1996. A In contrast the highest field strengths measured in the vicinity
summary of the principal issues and the main conclusions is of base station towers in Ireland range from 0.00003 watts per
set out below: square metre to 0.0035 watts per square metre, according to
measurements made by Forbairt at a number of locations.
These findings show that the actual exposure levels are about
1000 times lower than the IRPA levels.

The ICNIRP statement is an up to date, objective and expert

contribution to the on-going debate on electromagnetic fields
and their possible health effects. Irish telecommunication
companies will be required by their licence to comply with the
IRPA guidelines and to comply with whatever monitoring
arrangements are put in place by the Department of Transport,
Energy and Communications.

Further information can be obtained from the Department of

Transport, Energy and Communications.

1
* IRPA: In 1988 the International Radiation Protection
Association’s International Non Ionising Radiation
Committee (IRPA/INIRC) published guidelines for limiting
exposures to electromagnetic fields. These guidelines were
developed in co-operation with the Environmental Health
Organisation of the World Health Organisation (WHO) as
part of the WHO Environmental Health Criteria Programme
funded by the United Nations.

2
* ICNIRP: In 1992 IRPA approved a separate character
establishing the International Commission on Non-Ionising
Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) which carries on the work of
the now dissolved INIRC. ICNIRP is an independent
scientific body, has a close relationship with IRPA and has
non governmental organisation status.