CRI NEWS

Report Warns Children Not to Use Mobile Phones

2005-1-12 14:43:19 CRIENGLISH.com

British researchers are warning parents not to give mobile phones to children who are eight years or younger.

British researchers are warning parents not to give mobile phones to children who are eight years or younger, to protect them from the potential harm of radiation from the phones.

The chairman of the British National Radiological Protection Board, Sir William Stewart, says there's no conclusive evidence to show using mobile phones is a danger, but a growing amount of research shows that mobile phone use may have health implications.

A report conducted by his organization cites recent studies in Sweden and Germany suggesting a potential health risk including brain tumors.

Many experts have dismissed those studies and other research performed to date as very inconclusive.

Even the report acknowledges that some of the work cited has "limitations," and encouraged a large international study, which has been proposed.

Radiation scientist Roger Coghill says that the potential damage to the brain starts after a 20 minute conversation on a mobile phone.

"If you use a phone normally and I would suggest that normal use for most people is a call of less than a couple of minutes, then I can't see any real hazard from that, but the hazard starts when people hold this very radioactive object to their head for 20 minutes or more. That is when the damage starts to happen."

Others argue that scientific evidence so far does not suggest that mobile technologies operating within international health and safety guidelines cause illness.

While Stewart says it's wise for the parents to adopt a "precautionary approach," particularly with children.

"If they (parents) must give them (children) a mobile phone, to make sure that they use it for only essential calls, secondly that they (children) text messages rather than using audio and thirdly that they choose a phone with a low SAR value."

SAR stands for Specific Absorption Rate, a measurement of the amount of radiation that is absorbed into a head while using a cellular phone.

Britain's Department of Health says its advice is to be cautious about allowing children to use mobile phones.

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