|
HIGH on the European Union's agenda is research into the public's
fear of harmful causes of radiation from mobile phones, phone masts and
everyday consumer items found in the home. Radiation from overhead power
lines has been under investigation for more than 20 years. In our homes,
radiation is pumped out by microwaves, toasters, hair dryers, electric
shavers and PCs. Industrial heating systems, electricity transformer
substations, and radio and TV transmitters also emit radiation - we are
subject to "electrosmog" every day of our lives.
In the past five years, mobile phones have become useful for
business and as a fashion accessory, especially amongst the young. Current
penetration in the EU is 60% of the population - that's 250 million
phones! The mobile phone emits radiation as low as 0.6W (a microwave emits
300-1200W). At short distances, signals from radio and TV stations are a
lot more powerful than the signal from mobile phone antennas. Depending on
the power, frequency, geometry of the exposed system and type of
biological tissue, the health effects of such non-ionising radiation range
from growth stimulation to cell death and DNA damage. Luckily, in our
everyday lives, exposure typically remains well below what is recommended
by the International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection (ICNIRP)
and all mobile phones respect these limits. Significant research on the
effects of electromagnetic fields (EMF) on biological systems has focused
on the development of cancer. However, the World Health Organisation,
British Medical Association and the European Parliament indicate that
exposure to radio frequency (RF) fields under current environmental
conditions is unlikely to induce or promote cancer.
What about the ill-effects on hearing, memory, cognitive processes
and mental health? How does this affect young children who are still
developing their nervous systems and who will have longer life time
exposure than adults? There is some evidence to suggest that extensive use
of mobile phones and consequent radiation heat can affect the hair cells
or the fluid in the inner ear in 5% of users causing headache and
transient confusion.
The potential health effects of electromagnetic fields are very
high on the European Union's political agenda judging, by the numerous
Parliamentary questions to the Commissioners and the reports being
discussed in committees. The EU, under the Fifth Framework programme for
R&D (1998-2002), has funded €12 million for research on the
potential health effects of mobile phones and details can be found on the
website: <http://dbs.cordis.lu/search/en/simple/EN_PROJ_simple.html>.
|
