More bad news on the dangers of using cellphones

By Stuart Corner
Saturday, 15 September 2007 01:56

Technology

A massive study in the UK into the possible health effects of radiation from cellphones has been unable to rule them safe in the long term, and another international study has concluded that what are presently considered to be acceptable exposure levels to radio waves of all frequencies are too high and should be lowered.

The largest UK investigation into possible health problems from mobile technology found no evidence that short-term mobile phone use affected brain function or could cause brain cancer. However professor Lawrie Challis, chairman of the £8.8 million ($21.2m) Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research (MTHR) Programme, was reported saying that studies so far had included few participants who had used mobile phones for 10 years or longer. "We cannot rule out the possibility at this stage that cancer could appear in a few years' time," said. "Most cancers take 10 years to appear."

Despite the inconclusive outcome of the long term effects, Chris Althaus, CEO of the Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association (AMTA) said Mobile phone users would be reassured about their safety as a result of the study.

They are likely to be far less reassured by the conclusions of the BioInitiative Working Group,   an international working group of scientists, researchers and public health policy professionals which has just released its report on electromagnetic fields (EMF) and health. It raises serious concern about the safety of existing public limits that regulate how much EMF is allowable from power lines, cellphones, and many other sources of EMF exposure in daily life.

The group has not itself undertaken any research to compile the report: rather it has reviewed existing research on the subject to arrive at its conclusions with the aim being "to assess scientific evidence on health impacts from electromagnetic radiation below current public exposure limits and evaluate what changes in these limits are warranted now to reduce possible public health risks in the future."