The negative health effects of Tetra

Tetra appears to have the same negative health effects as other radio frequency radiations like mobile phones and wi-fi.  Below are a number of accounts from police officers who use Tetra on a daily basis and speak candidly about their experiences.

"I am a serving officer using Sepura Airwave. In January 07 I got an infection in my mouth which then became an ulcer. The ulcer would not clear and a biopsy showed oral cancer. I have undergone an operation and had it removed. The site is adjacent to where the aerial of the radio sits when I am wearing it. None of my consultants or doctors has discounted Airwave as a possible cause of my cancer."PM, Lancs

"[A friend of mine] has had a visit from a police officer, as the house next door had been kicked in. He made her face burn with his TETRA handset, and had to switch it off. A nurse who was visiting at the time witnessed this and spoke to me on the phone to tell me what she had seen. [My friend] has asked for the police report about this. She was a radar operator who took ill while staying at the last house at the runway at Leuchers [Scottish RAF base] and nearly died.When she goes near a TETRA mast her blood pressure goes up to over 220 from a normal reading. She has a medical implant. Just think of the effect on someone with a pacemaker in the same situation."CG, Fife

"I have been using police TETRA radio system for several years. I have suffered burning hot ears (the ear that I have my radio earpiece in) and hotness to that side of my face. I have also suffered headaches and dizziness and fatigue, usually after a long shift using my radio. I am very concerned, but I have to pay the bills. I fear we are heading to an epidemic of health problem related to TETRA."Dominic, Bristol

"I am a Health & Safety rep. for my Police Force and we are apparently seeing a significant rise in the number of our officers suffering from various forms of cancer. I am obviously concerned about this and would like to know what current information you may have on this subject (maybe contact from other officers?)"H&S rep., Sussex

"I am a Police officer of 22 years with Derbyshire Constabulary. We were one of the first forces to be supplied with the new TETRA Airwave communications system. Shortly after the system was implimented (everything changed to Tetra at once, all analogue communications from UHF/VHF), myself and a CONSIDERABLE number of colleagues, suffered, and continue to suffer, adverse affects, namely headaches, depression, and ringing (pulsing) in the ear.Unfortunately, the health risks are no stranger to the average bobby on the street, we are just not encouraged to talk about it. On a closing note, you may be interested to look at Police Officer Attendance records, and sicknesses since Tetra was implemented in various constabularies."ANON Detective Constable, Derbyshire Constabulary

"Unfortunately, the health risks are no stranger to the average bobby on the street, we are just not encouraged to talk about it. On a closing note, you may be interested to look at Police Officer Attendance records, and sicknesses since Tetra was implemented in various constabularies."ANON Detective Constable, Derbyshire Constabulary

"I am a Crime Scene Examiner for Lancashire Police - who as you will know were the first to use Tetra. We are concerned about the health risks since implementation but getting anything done about it is extremely difficult. We believe we are even more vulnerable to the effects as we use our own vehicles and not police vehicles - no hands-free or external aerial. There are [...] of us based in [...] and (all but one) of us are suffering from symptoms ranging from headaches/toothache/neuralgia to high blood pressure, and even a cancerous tumour in the throat. It is the tumour which has finally been the last straw and today we have refused to use them in our vehicles and at scenes (we use metallic fingerprint powders). We are a group of people who love our job and we are not ‘trouble-makers’ - but we are genuine in our belief that these radios are killing us."Anon, Lancashire

Special thanks to tetrawatch.net for the quotes used in this article.