WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1102/98 by Mihail PAPAYANNAKIS to the Commission. Radar installation at Thessaloniki airport
C 50/10 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 22. 2. 1999 Answer given by Mr Oreja on behalf of the Commission (25 June 1998) The representation of the Commission in Austria supported a series in the Austrian newspaper Der Standard, a high quality daily for opinion leaders, on the issue of the enlargement of the Community. The series consisted of ten full pages plus two interviews of a member of the Commission and an interview of the Head of the representation of the Commission in Austria. The support consisted of a financial contribution of ATS 660 000 (including advertisement tax and VAT). This contribution amounted to 50 % of the total costs of the newspaper for the series. The representation supported the series as a contribution to the debate in Austria on the enlargement of the Community. This policy area is among the most important of the Commissionís communication activities of this year. Der Standard was chosen, because it is one of the ideal platforms to reach opinion leaders in this Member State. The subject of the series was decided together between the newspaper and the representation of the Commission in Austria. The articles were written under the sole responsibility of the newspaper. (1999/C 50/014) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1102/98 by Mihail Papayannakis (GUE/NGL) to the Commission Subject: Radar installation at Thessaloniki airport (8 April 1998) Greece is installing an essential radar system for air traffic control. One of the radars is to be set up in Peraia in the vicinity of Thessaloniki airport. The Peraia authorities and a great many residents have voiced their concern about the hazardous nature of the radar and the extent of the protective zone which will surround it. There is certainly a conspicuous shortage of public information to fuel their concern. Could the Commission assess the impact of installing the radar at Peraia and help to provide better information about it and to carry out safety inspections of those installations? Answer given by Mrs Bjerregaard on behalf of the Commission (4 June 1998) The Commission is not in a position to provide an assessment of the impact of the radar to be installed for the control of air traffic in Thessaloniki. This falls under the responsibility of the Member States which have to ensure that such installation conforms to all applicable legislations related, inter alia, to environmental and electro-magnetic compatibility. As regards health concerns raised by members of the public, the Commission published in 1996 a scientific review dealing with sources of non-ionizing radiation, including, radar, the populationís exposure and resulting health effects (1). The review pointed out that radars rotate through a full 360o arc and therefore produce relatively low mean power densities in any one direction. Any member of the public in the vicinity of a radar will be directly exposed only for the brief instant of time that the radar is pointing at them. Typically, rotation will reduce mean power by a factor of 100. The Commission is aware that a number of Member States seek advice as how to establish public health protection measures against non-ionizing radiation and is working on proposals for Council recommendations in this area. (1) European Commission, Non-ionizing radiation: Sources, exposure and health effects, Office for official publications of the European Communities, 1996, ISBN 92-827-9276-5