ROME -- A row over Vatican Radio's high electromagnetic radiation levels provoked cracks in the Italian government on Wednesday when Prime Minister Giuliano Amato suspended his environment minister's order to cut its power.
Amato's abrupt suspension of the ordinance that had been signed by Environment Minister Willer Bordon on Tuesday night was the latest twist in a saga that has boiled over into an international incident with the Vatican, a sovereign state.
Bordon had signed an ordinance ordering the start of procedures for the electricity supply to be cut if the station did not get its electromagnetic levels in line with Italian law by next Monday.
Bordon, who has made the case against Vatican Radio a personal crusade, confirmed to reporters that Amato had suspended his ordinance.
He said he was "optimistic" a cabinet meeting on Wednesday night could result in an agreement between him and Amato on the issue that has dominated Italian media for weeks.
Tests have shown that electromagnetic levels in the area near the radio's transmission centre north of Rome were three times over Italian limits.
Residents have said the forest of large antennae have resulted in a high incidence of leukaemia in the area.
The issue has split the center-left cabinet with Bordon and members of the Greens party calling for Vatican Radio to get levels down or get off the air.
Other ministers have balked at the idea, saying Bordon did not have the authority to order a cut off of electricity to the transmitters, located on Vatican territory and therefore part of a sovereign state.
Health Minister Umberto Veronesi poured fuel on the fire by questioning the idea that high electromagnetic levels, known as "electrosmog," increased the chances of contracting cancer.
Vatican Radio has tried to appease Bordon's camp and said it would eliminate some transmissions after Easter in order to reduce radiation levels.
Vatican Radio, which broadcasts the Pope's speeches and events in 40 languages around the world, said it would shut down its medium wave transmissions on the 1530 khz band for seven hours a day beginning on April 16, the day after Easter.
"That decision shows our concrete willingness to act and should calm people's concerns," said Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican Radio's director of programming. He said a joint Vatican-Italian committee had to work together on testing electromagnetic levels and reducing them.
Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said there had been "unjustified alarmism" over the issue and rejected suggestions that the Vatican did not care about the health of residents near the antenna field.
The land where the transmission center is located was countryside when the center was built some 40 years ago, but has since been heavily built up with housing and factories.
