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Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan has instructed the Radiation Division in the ministry to stop issuing permits for the construction of new mobile base stations (antennas) or for changes in existing stations due to lack of cooperation and delays on the part of Israel's mobile operators in installing a monitoring and supervision system on their antennas. Since January 2010, the Ministry of Environmental Protection has unsuccessfully tried to implement continuous monitoring in each of the 30,000 antennas in Israel's mobile base stations to check their compliance with the conditions set in radiation permits. The computerized inspection system, developed by Wave Guard , provides online continuous monitoring of cellular antennas throughout the country on a 24 hour a day, 365 days a year basis. The system's software can calculate radiation levels at any given moment and compare the radiation emitted in practice from every antenna to the conditions set in the permits granted by the Ministry of Environmental Protection. It would thus allow for efficient monitoring, supervision and inspection of the electromagnetic radiation emitted by antennas throughout the country. In light of the difficulties encountered in implementing the plan, Minister Erdan has stated: "I will not allow cellular companies to continue to act with lack of transparency and to hide information from the public on radiation from antennas and on exceedances from approved radiation levels." Minister Erdan further clarified that "the innovative monitoring system, which allows for supervision of antennas, requires the cooperation of the companies. Their refusal to do so only serves to increase the justified concerns of the public that the companies are hiding information on the potential radiation caused by the base stations. I shall do all in my power to make the cellular companies cooperate with us, and allow the necessary oversight to assure that the companies do not exceed the radiation levels approved for them." Due to the inability to properly inspect the base stations and in light of structural changes which were made in many mobile base stations without the requisite permit, Minister Erdan has instructed the National Radiation Supervisor in the Ministry of Environmental Protection, Prof. Stelian Ghelberg, to stop issues permits for new antennas and/or for changes in existing antennas as of July 11, 2010 and to check radiation exceedances by the cellular providers. Extra attention will now be focused on checking the safety of base stations in populated areas.
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