FW: British scientists demand cellphone warnings

["Mercado, Don" <don.mercado@lmco.com>]

Hang up while you're still alive....


 FEATURE-British scientists demand cellphone warnings

 January 13, 1998


 LONDON, Reuters [WS] via Individual Inc. : British scientists are
demanding that the  mobile telephone, an indispensable modern tool for
millions, carry a health warning.

 Amid an explosive growth of mobile communications, concerns are
mounting about  cellular telephones' potential links to health problems
ranging from headaches to brain  tumours.

 ``In my opinion, and in the opinion of many scientists, anyone who uses
a mobile  telephone for more than 20 minutes at a time needs to have
their brain tested,'' says  bio-electromagnetics scientist Roger
Coghill.

 Coghill, who runs an independent research laboratory in Wales, plans to
launch private criminal proceedings against a local cellular distributor
in a test case to seek to establish a breach of consumer protection
laws. 

 Scientists say that electromagnetic radiation from cellphones warms
brain tissue, that some strains of mice have developed cancer in tests
in Australia and Finland and that  others become disorientated.

 But despite research around the world, it remains unproven that
cellular telephones, or  cellphones, pose a human health risk.

 ``We can't categorically prove they will not harm you -- but that is
not the same as  saying they will harm you,'' says a spokesman for
Britain's biggest mobile telephone company, Vodafone.

 ``There is no evidence anywhere in the world that suggests there is any
cause for concern.''

 Nevertheless, Coghill is demanding a ``responsible'' attitude from
industry and, as with health warnings on cigarette packets, calls a
warning label on cellphone handsets a ``reasonable, precautionary
step.''

 ``Mobile telephones are arguably the most radiative appliance we have
ever invented apart from the microwave oven and people are putting them
by their heads -- arguably  the most sensitive part of the body,'' he
told a news conference.

 HEALTH HAZARD OR HYSTERIA?

 The electromagnetic energy that fuels a cellphone is microwave
radiation pulsing from  its antenna.

 Human brains can absorb up to 60 percent of that energy, and although
some researchers say levels are far from hazardous, they are near the
top end of international  safety recommendations and further research
has been urged.

 Cellphone users have reported physical symptoms ranging from a lack of
concentration,  headaches, numbing skin and memory loss to brain tumours
which they said might be  linked to prolonged use of mobile telephones.

 One telecommunications engineer in his late 30s, who requested
anonymity, said he  suffered a severe loss of short-term memory.

 Within months of using a digital mobile telephone up to six hours per
day in 1995, he  said he started suffering from twitching eyes and a
numbing on the side of his head. He has since been diagnosed as
suffering from brain damage.

 ``I have been off work for 18 months but it only seems like three or
four weeks,'' he said  slowly. ``Tomorrow I won't remember what happened
today.''

 New Zealand biophysicist Neil Cherry says artificial electromagnetic
radiation (EMR)  can pose a health risk.

 ``There is a growing body of scientific research which shows that very
low, non-thermal  levels of radio frequency and microwave radiation
alters the basic biochemistry of cells  which have a potential to cause
altered brain function, carcinogenesis and impaired immune system
functioning,'' he says.

 WEIGHING THE RISKS

 The approved level of cellphone radiation is laid down by international
bodies. In  Britain, the National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB)
-- an independent, statutory group -- sets standards.

 Recommended radiation limits are measured in ``specific absorption
rates'' -- a measure  of the amount of radiation absorbed averaged over
one gram of tissue.

 The NRPB, which says the vast majority of studies have shown radiation
levels from cellphones are too low to cause humans harm, recommends a
limit of 10 milliwatts per gram. Proposed European guidelines are five
times more stringent.

 Despite industry denials of any risks, public concern has prompted
manufacturers to develop low-radiation phones and protective covers that
shield the user from much of  the radiation.

 PRUDENT AVOIDANCE OR PRUDENT SHIELDING?

 Some companies, such as London-based luxury gift store Asprey, already
try to ensure  mobile telephones used by its employees carry protective
shields that cut down radiation levels.

 Some scientists say car drivers who hang on the phone are among those
at highest risk  -- and not just because they could crash.

 A car acts like a metal cage and kickstarts cellphones' power levels so
they can blast  their signals to the nearest base station.

 Some car manufacturers warn in their instruction manuals against using
hand-held  mobile phones without a separate external aerial fitted to
the vehicle.

 Most are more concerned that the electromagnetic emissions from
cellphones not  designed or fitted to comply specifically with cars
might interfere with the vehicle's  delicate electronics. Others report
they are also working on adding a direct health  warning.

 THE ``LOW-TAR CIGARETTE'' OPTION

 But as cellphones come out of their yuppie ghetto and onto the mass
market, some users are becoming increasingly addicted. Robby Walford, a
34-year-old flooring and carpets specialist, used a mobile telephone up
to four hours per day before being diagnosed as suffering from acoustic
neuroma, a benign brain tumour.

 That was four years ago. But he still uses a cellphone now -- albeit
with a radiation shield.

 ``My business relies on it,'' he said.

 London-based Microshield Industries Plc is among those to have
developed a cellphone shield. It contains a polyester-nickel layer,
slips over the phone and the company says it filters out most emissions.

 But having been threatened with legal action by a cellphone
manufacturer about  allegations in its sales brochure, Microshield says
it is having trouble breaking into the high street and can only sell its
product via mail order and in some chemists.

 Placating the cellphone industry, a spokesman said: ``People won't stop
using mobile telephones. We're offering people, in effect, a low-tar
cigarette.''
REUTERS@

 [Copyright 1998, Reuters]






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