Hørsholm radar testing radiation concerns neighbor Weibel Scientific, Digi Mart USA News (Hørsholm, Denmark): Torben Redder, who lives in Hørsholm, is a neighbor of Weibel Scientific, a company that among other things tests radars for the Danish military. He now fears that he is being exposed daily to harmful radiation from the radar testing center.
“It’s really unpleasant,” he told TV 2 Kosmopol.
Warning signs on one of Weibel’s radars indicate that the public should keep a distance of 984 meters because of radiation hazards. Redder lives only 250 meters from where the radars are tested.
“So what is going on here? In reality, we can stay much closer.
The sign speaks for itself. It is completely absurd,” the concerned neighbor said.
Ministry asked for an explanation
The neighbors’ concerns have led the Hørsholm Municipality to involve the Ministry of Defence. Mayor Morten Slotved (K) sent a letter on Monday to Defence Minister Jeppe Bruus (S), asking several questions about radiation safety for the neighbors.
Deputy Mayor Ann Lindhardt (V) told TV 2 Kosmopol, which has seen the letter, that the municipality must act immediately. “I think it is strange, and we need to investigate whether the Ministry of Defence has conducted any studies on the radiation risk,” she said.
Testing center reported to police
Earlier this year, Hørsholm Municipality reported Weibel Scientific to the police, arguing that the company had carried out activities at the address without the necessary permit. Since then, the Ministry of Defence has allowed Weibel Scientific to expand its testing facilities in Hørsholm.
The decision was made under the Framework Construction Act, which gives the Danish Armed Forces broad powers to carry out construction projects. DR had previously reported on this.
The law overrides the municipality’s decisions.
Is the radiation dangerous?
According to Mikkel Øberg, a civil engineer in medicine and technology specializing in radiation physics, Torben Redder should not fear harmful radiation. “It is a radar pointed upward.
So it is only if one stays directly above it for a long time that it could become dangerous,” he told TV 2 Kosmopol.
The radar emits so-called non-ionizing radiation. According to Øberg, research shows that this type of radiation is generally very low in danger to humans.
The radiation is not strong enough, for example, to damage DNA and thereby cause cancer. “It is only the heat from the radiation that can become dangerous.
If the radar is pointed directly at a gasoline tank, that is dangerous, because it could ignite, and humans cannot tolerate heat inside the body. But this kind of radar usually has safety measures that mean it can only be started if it is pointed into the air,” Øberg explained.
Understanding the concerns
Nevertheless, he fully understands Redder’s concerns. Øberg believes the warning sign on the radar is misleading, because it signals that it is dangerous to be near the radar.
“It is a somewhat silly sign. The warning could have been more precise.
One must ensure that such signs make sense,” he told TV 2 Kosmopol.
Weibel Scientific declined to be interviewed but wrote in an email to TV 2 Kosmopol that the neighbors have nothing to fear. “We work with multiple layers of safety and test our radars under very controlled conditions.
On that basis, we can clearly reject that there is reason for concern about radiation from our tests,” the company said. Weibel Scientific also stated that the radar automatically stops transmitting if it is pointed in a direction where people may be present.
