Parents from Xghajra and the local council are up in arms after neighbours installed a mobile phone antenna on their roof in Triq Awrat.

When the MEPA application permit was displayed on their building, some residents wrote to MEPA stating their objections. However, they have now discovered that in spite of their objection, the antenna was installed because there are new legal notices 115 and 187, which state that no MEPA approval is needed for such installations!!

When the mobile company was contacted, it said that such antennae are not harmful; however the parents have other reports showing that radiation issued within 500m of installations are harmful especially for children, even though the radiation is below the stipulated limit.

Children are more prone to such hazards as they absorb the radiation far more than adults. The radiation kills parts of the cells of the body that fight cancer.

The parents are now collecting signatures and appealing to the authorities, and all other parents who are concerned about their children’s health, to have a look around and check if they are at risk.

“We, as parents, work and do more than our best to ensure the best education, healthiest food, best exercise and standard of living for our children, but we simply cannot accept that someone is just ignoring their health, for Lm1,000 a year!! Our kids are irreplaceable,” the parents said.

The petition has so far attracted more than 100 signatures. Since the authorities were contacted, MEPA has only sent an acknowledgement and the Malta Communications Authority sent a technician to check radiation levels.