Mobile phone use radiation scare

Now there is increasing evidence of definite effects of mobile phone radiation on human health. In June 1998, the Lancet reported that radiation from mobile phones causes an increase of blood pressure. Dr Braune and colleagues in Freiburg, Germany, attached mobile phones to the right side of the heads of ten volunteers. The phones were switched on and off by remote control without the volunteers knowing. Their blood pressure rose each time by between 5-10mm Hg, probably from a constrictive effect on blood vessels. This level of increase would be more than enough to trigger a stroke or heart attack in someone at severe risk. This was the first firm evidence that mobile phone radiation could directly alter cell function in the human body. But what about longer term effects of using mobile phones? Could such radiation exposure trigger cancer?

This work on human subjects follows other studies in animals, suggesting that radiation from mobile phones may cause brain tumours, cancer, anxiety and memory loss. An Australian study found that mice exposed to pulsed digital mobile phone radiation over 18 months had twice the risk of developing cancers. An American study found that learning and short term memory were impaired after 45 minutes exposure to radiation from mobile phones in rats. And other studies of electromagnetic radiation on pregnant mice suggest that high exposure to mobile phone use can affect intra-uterine development. Worms exposed to mobile phone radiation grow larger, produce more eggs and release more stress hormone.

Celphone.gif (12018 bytes)The effects of mobile phone radiation in humans are unknown. In Britain, a 27 year old woman with a brain tumour is taking a mobile phone manufacturer to court who she blames for her tumour. A biologist, Roger Coghill, has also been given permission to bring a case against a provider of mobile phone equipment for failing to warn people of radiation hazards. A wide variety of electrical devices contribute to electrosmog, ranging from computers, to phones, TV sets, radar transmitters and transformers. However, mobile phone radiation is certainly intense, as evidenced by the effects on aircraft navigation systems, or more obviously on a nearby conventional telephone or a music system.

Meanwhile, The European Union is drawing up guidelines for electromagnetic radiation exposure of all types.