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Reps clamp down on location of telecom masts
Nigeria Created: 31 May 2012
The House of Representatives has approved a bill seeking tougher action on the location of telecommunication masts by phone companies amid health concerns about the electromagnetic radiation produced by the antennas.

The rays have been linked with serious health problems, mainly cancer. The law, seen through a second reading on Tuesday, proposes to clamp down on the indiscriminate location of masts and electric power lines, particularly around residential areas.

Expert have also urged the telecommunication authorities to adopt the sharing of the facilities where possible, to reduce the number of masts built.

Lawmakers renewed that call on the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), and plan to make it mandatory for transmission posts to be shared amongst operators.

The bill is to be reviewed by the House Committee on Communication, and awaits a third reading, a concurrence by the Senate and a presidential assent to be law.

“If you walk the streets of the country today, you will find several operations emitting dangerous electromagnetic substances,” said Kingsley Chinda (Rivers/PDP), the sponsor of the bill. "The bill is not limited to communication masts, it also relates to electricity poles which are located dangerously close to human habitation.”

Also, speaking in support, Peter Akpatason (Edo/ACN) described the bill as "a proactive attempt to protect Nigerians from unhealthy exposure from electromagnetic substances.”
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Source: Daily Times, Iferi Etuk, 31 May 2012

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