- A top cancer expert warned on Thursday that it will
probably
take a decade before scientists know for certain whether today's GSM mobile
phones pose a health risk. Another scientist insisted that more research
is needed into the issue.
-
- The mobile phone industry has consistently tried to
reassure
consumers by insisting there is no evidence that mobile phones pose a
health
risk. But Professor Lennart Hardwell told the Mobile Telephones and Health
conference in London that we are still a long way from knowing for sure
what the true dangers of mobile phone use are. He believes it will take
ten years for studies into the issue to be completed -- by which time GSM
will have been superseded by third-generation (3G) phone networks.
-
- GSM phones transmit using the 900MHz, 1800MHz -- and
in America the 1900MHz -- frequencies. Scientists have proven that radio
waves of these frequencies can generate significant electric fields within
human cells.
-
- 3G networks, which will offer much faster data transfer
rates than 3G, are expected to be operational by 2004. In the UK they will
operate between 1920MHz and 1980MHz, and between 2110MHz and 2170MHz.
Little
research has been carried out yet into health dangers of 3G.
-
- A second scientist, Professor Lawrie Challis, told the
conference that more human volunteers were needed if scientists were to
accurately assess the risks of exposure to mobile phone emissions.
-
- Professor Challis, who took part in the government-backed
Stewart Inquiry into the risks of mobile phone use, said that researchers
still have a lot to learn about the impact of mobile phone emissions on
human brain functions, according to the Electronics Times.
-
- The Stewart Inquiry, which issued its report in May 2000,
recommended a precautionary approach to the issue of mobile phone safety
but did not find conclusive proof that the technology is a health
risk.
-
- Several scientists are concerned that mobile phones pose
a greater health risk than the industry admits. Dr Gerard Hyland wrote
an article for The Lancet last November warning that mobile phone emissions
can affect brain functions, and that young children would be at the
greatest
risk from any ill-effects.
-
- The mobile industry insists that there is no proof that
mobile phones pose any health risk to the consumer.
-
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