VATICAN Radio has agreed to cut down its output in response to fears over the
possible health effects of its powerful radio transmitters鈥攂ut not before
Italy鈥檚 environment minister had threatened to pull the plug on the station.
In a statement last week, Vatican Radio officials said the station would cut
its medium-wave transmissions by half to seven hours a day from 16 April and
work towards reducing the power of its signals. The delay allowed Easter
broadcasts to go ahead as normal.
According to a Vatican Radio spokesman, when the transmitters were built 50
years ago, their site outside Rome was relatively unpopulated. 鈥淭he nearest
living thing was a sheep called Sam 100 yards away,鈥� he says. But today some
100,000 people live in the area, and residents in the nearby town of Santa Maria
di Galeria fear that some local leukaemia cases may be linked to emissions from
the radio station鈥檚 33 antennas.
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Vatican Radio transmits every day to believers across the globe in 60
languages, across a range of frequencies. Because the broadcaster has no
overseas relay stations to boost its signal, it transmits at high power from
Italy.
After the setting of new radiation standards in Italy in 1998, Italian
environment minister Willer Bordon called on Vatican Radio to reduce its power
levels. The maximum field strength allowed in Italy is six volts per metre,
which Vatican Radio exceeds by a wide margin.
The Vatican is a state in its own right. As a result, Vatican Radio was able
to choose to follow European field strength regulations, which allow up to 27
volts per metre.
Angered by constant references in the Italian media to 鈥渆lectrosmog鈥� coming
from his radio station, Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican Radio鈥檚 director of
programmes, said in a statement: 鈥淲e consider it immoral to foment unjust
accusations and cause alarm in the population.鈥�
After several weeks of mud-slinging, Vatican Radio agreed to reduce its field
strengths to Italian levels, as an act of good faith. But officials described
the Italian regulations as 鈥渟trict鈥�, and maintain that no health hazard exists
from their current levels. They also claim that Italy, under its own
constitution, has no authority to dictate field strengths in a foreign state.
Vatican Radio is now re-evaluating its position on relay stations.
Some residents, however, have mounted a legal case against the station. But
because of the station鈥檚 extraterritorial status the only charge they have
managed to persuade the courts to consider is 鈥渢he dangerous showering of
辞产箩别肠迟蝉鈥�.