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MASTS HAVE MADE ME ILL, SAYS MUSICIAN			United Kingdom
Contamination level: Severe illness! Forced to abandon a home.
Author: Suki Trussler	Created: 23 Mar 2006	Updated: 23 Mar 2006	Viewed: 6122 time(s)
A Westcountry woman claims she lost her hair, developed palpitations and was left with burning skin and headaches from mobile phone mast emissions. Suki Trussler, a musician from Totnes, says her symptoms started four years ago when the family moved into a flat in the town, 800 metres from a mast.
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The mobile phone mast was on a hill overlooking Totnes and close to her then home.	Created: 23 Mar 2006
MASTS HAVE MADE ME ILL, SAYS MUSICIAN A Westcountry woman claims she lost her hair, developed palpitations and was left with burning skin and headaches from mobile phone mast emissions. Suki Trussler, a musician from Totnes, says her symptoms started four years ago when the family moved into a flat in the town, 800 metres from a mast. The mother of two is one of a growing number of people who are convinced that they have been affected by microwaves from masts. Scientists say her case highlights the need for more research into health problems linked to the UK's 40,000 masts. Recent research shows that up to six million people could suffer symptoms - including relatively minor ones such as sleep disturbances, nausea and headaches. Mrs Trussler, 39, said she had no other explanation for her symptoms other than to blame mobile phone mast emissions from a mast close to her home at the time in New Walk. The mobile phone mast was on a hill overlooking Totnes and close to her then home. She lived in her new home for around two years before she noticed any problems, but as soon as the mobile phone mast was made operational she began to become ill. Her condition worsened and she had heart palpitations, "burning" skin, and hair loss. Mrs Trussler said: "My heart beat so much that I thought I was having a heart attack." She refused to go back into the flat and the family, including daughter Phoebe, son Ruben, and husband Nick, camped in a field for three months until they found somewhere else to live on the outskirts of the town. She now lives on the outskirts of the town and says that since the move her symptoms have improved. But she said: "It's still bothering me. It was getting better but I had my photograph taken near a mast for a publication and some of my symptoms have come back. "I don't feel as though the masts are safe. I can feel them and they cause me pain. "It's not always when I'm that close to them either, I can feel them when I'm about 800 metres away. "Getting close to them has caused me to become ill. That is when it really affects me. My hair becomes very dry and I get static charges all over the surface of my skin. "I'm also concerned about the health of my children because of the masts. "I had to take my daughter, Phoebe, away from a school in Totnes because it was close to the mast and it was affecting me on the school run. "I would get a lot of pain and my heart would palpitate quite a bit. "But things have been getting better and I could drive down the motorway without getting acute pain when I approached the masts, which has happened before." Mobile technology expert Dr Gerard Hyland, a retired lecturer in physics from the University of Warwick and a researcher for nearly 20 years in the field of radiation, said Mrs Trussler's case was worrying. He said: "The Government should have done proper research before masts were foisted on the public. "It wouldn't happen to a new food or drug. Just because you can't taste or smell emissions doesn't mean that they are safe." He believes masts can affect people who have an allergy to the emissions known as electro hypersensitivity - a recognised condition in Sweden. Dr Hyland said: "The frequencies interfere with the body's electrical rhythms which regulate their heart, muscles and body chemistry. "This could cause palpitations, rashes and headaches." Researchers also claim to have found clusters around phone masts of leukaemia, Hodgkin's disease and breast cancer. Rod Reed, who runs support group Electrosensitivity UK, said most doctors did not believe sufferers, and diagnosed the symptoms as psychological. A spokesman for pressure group Mast Sanity, which is lobbying for tighter planning laws, said: "We've seen the tobacco and asbestos disasters. We want to be wise before the event." But Dr Michael Clark, who works with the National Radiological Protection Board, which monitors phone technology, disagrees and believes that more evidence is needed. He said: "While we can't deny such claims, they are an unreliable source of evidence." Four years ago the board concluded that there was no "general risk". However, the University of Essex is carrying out research which is funded by the phone industry and the Government. To find out more about allergies visit www.allergymagazine.com jkirk@westernmorningnews.co.uk Western Morning News
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