Radiation and Health

Find out about radiation monitoring by the council in Eastbourne. Get advice about mobile phones and your health.

The council works with the East Sussex Radiation Monitoring Group to monitor radiation in Eastbourne every month.

 

We take instantaneous radiation readings using portable equipment at three locations:

 

 

Continuous sampling is done at two sites by thermo-luminescent discs which absorb radiation emissions.

 

The results at Eastbourne show only low levels of background radiation, to be expected from naturally occurring sources of radiation.

The current balance of evidence does not show health problems caused by using mobile phones. However the research does show that using mobile phones affects brain activity. There are also significant gaps in our scientific knowledge.

 

Therefore the Department of Health takes a precautionary approach and recommends controlled use, especially by children. If you use a mobile phone, you can choose to minimise your exposure to radio waves by keeping calls short.

 

If there are any unrecognised health risks from mobile phone use, then children and young people might be more vulnerable than adults. The UK Health Protection Agency advises that children should try to use phones for essential calls only.

For advice about radiation emissions and health, including information about mobile phone masts, see the websites of the Health Protection Agency and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

 

You can download advice leaflets on the Department of Health website:

 

 

You can download the Mobile Phone Mast Register for Eastbourne below, or search the Sitefinder online database for Great Britain.