Leicester Mercury 19th November 2004

Cancer fear over new police radio

BY JON DI PAOLO

Concerns about the safety of a new police radio system were expressed after several officers in Leicestershire contracted cancer, it has emerged today.

Deputy chief constable David Lindley said "a cluster" of cases had caused anxiety among staff over the Airwave system.

One of the officers was father-of-two Pc Neil Dring, 38, who died in June.

His family claim he had developed the illness in his stomach, next to the place where he wore his handset.

Now, it has emerged more officers have suffered recently from the disease.

Mr Lindley said: "It caused a lot of concern because we had a number of colleagues with cancers within a relatively short time, and people have been saying ' What's going on'?"'

However, he said he did not know exactly how many officers had been affected, and insisted their identities should be kept secret to protect their privacy.

More than 120 officers took the chance to quiz mobile phone expert Professor Lawrie Challis about the possible side-effects of using Airwave at a conference organised by the force's health and safety department on Wednesday.

Professor Challis said that while no-one could give a complete guarantee the technology was totally safe, the evidence suggested it posed no risk to health.

He said: "What I'm confident of is that Airwave is no more dangerous than using a mobile phone." He said that cancer usually appeared about 10 to 12 years after the sufferer had been exposed to the cause meaning it was almost impossible Airwave could have caused the cancers in the Leicestershire force. However Ian Dring, Neil's brother, who attended the workshop, said it had not changed his views.

He said: "They should keep a very careful eye on this technology, and if there is ever any indication it is causing a problem they should pull the plug."

Since it was rolled out three years ago, about 3,000 Airwave handsets have been issued to Leicestershire police.

In the new year, every user will be given a check-up as part of a 15-year Home Office investigation aimed at finding out whether using Airwave has any long-term effects on health. Claire Parker, spokesman for 02 Airwave, said: "There has been considerable research conducted to date which indicates the use of mobile phones doesn't cause harm to health. "