http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=3D/news/2005/01/12/nmob12.xml
Diagram showing microwave penetration into a child's brain at various ages
due to differences in skull thickness is at :
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/graphics/2005/01/12/nmob12.gif
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/graphics/2005/01/12/nmob12big.gif
Friday 14 January 2005
Don't allow under-9s to use a mobile
By Nic Fleming, Health Correspondent
(Filed: 12/01/2005)
Children under the age of nine should not use mobile phones because of
potential health risks, the Government's leading adviser on radiation said
yesterday.
Sir William Stewart, the chairman of the Health Protection Agency and
the National Radiological Protection Board, said that scientists were
still unable to say whether mobiles were safe and advised parents to
take precautionary measures.
Children are advised only to use a mobile phone for essential calls.
He said that if children aged nine to 14 must own mobiles they should make
only short, essential calls, use text messaging as far as possible and
should have low-emission models.
"When it comes to suggesting that mobile phones should be available to
three- to eight-year-olds, I can't believe for a moment that can be
justified," Sir William said. "It seems to me ludicrous.
"If you have a nine- to 14-year-old and you feel they can benefit in
terms of security, then that is a personal judgment parents have to
make.
He called for a review of the planning process for mobile transmission
masts and said that recent research made him more concerned about
possible health hazards than he was five years ago.
Sir William, who has advised his grandsons, aged six and eight, not to
own mobiles, said: "My advice is that they should not have them
because children's skulls are not fully thickened, their nervous
systems are not fully developed and the radiation penetrates further
into their brains.
"They are also going to use mobile phones for a longer period of their
lives and it takes a long time for effects to come through. We are
recommending a precautionary approach. There is still no hard evidence
tha the health of the public has been adversely affected by the use of
mobile phone technology.
"However, we cannot put our hands on our hearts and say that mobile
phones are safe."
There are about 52 million mobile users in Britain. The proportion of
seven- and eight-year-olds with mobiles has jumped from nine per cent
in 2001 to 14 per cent, a study by Mintel showed last year.
Among nine- and 10-year-olds, a third owned handsets, up from 16 per
cent. For children aged 11 to 12 and 13 to 14, the proportions with
mobiles were 73 and 87 per cent respectively.
Sir William's independent expert group on mobile phones reported in
May 2000 that there were no adverse health effects for the general
public but said that children should not use mobiles except for
essential calls.
The report called for information leaflets on mobile phones and health
to be delivered to every household and that emission levels, known as
SAR values (specific absorption rate) should be displayed on
packaging, as a menu option in the screens, on the phone itself and on
a national website.
Reiterating his demand for more public information, Sir William said:
"The man in the street must be able to get information on radiation
levels readily and easily.
"Take the information on the [industry] websites. It has been said
that to find out SAR values you need to be a computer operator to get
to it, a physicist to understand it and to have a PhD to analysis it
effectively."
Asked whether he was more or less concerned about the possible risks
of health dangers linked to mobiles than five years ago, Sir William
replied: "I am more concerned."
Anders Ahlbom, professor of epidemiology at the Karolinska Institute
in Stockholm, published a study in October suggesting that those who
had used mobile phones for 10 years were almost twice as likely to
develop an acoustic neuroma, a tumour on a nerve connecting the ear to
the brain, compared with shorter-term users.
Other studies have concluded that there are no risks from mobile
technology. The Government and industry are jointly funding a series
of studies as part of the $4 million Mobile Telecommunications and
Health Research programme.
The radiation protection board's report called for an independent
review of planning procedures for mobile phone masts.
Sir William said: "Some local authorities have little expertise and
consultation with communities is variable." He also recommended the
monitoring of exposure from the newer third generation or 3G
transmitters and those for the police's new terrestrial trunked radio
(Tetra) system.
Om Gandhi, professor of electrical and computer engineering at Utah
University, has published research suggesting that children's brains
absorb 50 per cent more radiation from handsets than adults. He said
the absorption rate for an adult was 2.93 W/kg, 3.21 for a 10-year-old
and 4.49 for a five-year-old.
Mike Dolan, of the Mobile Operators' Association, said: "The key point
of the radiation protection board advice is that there is no hard
evidence linking the use of mobile telephony with adverse health
effects."
The Department of Health said: "Our advice is that all children under
the age of 16 should use a precautionary approach."
<<the following links are in the original>>
10 January 2005: Fresh warning over children and mobiles
7 September 2004: Health chief criticises mobile phone risks
Leader: A professional fusspot
Health Protection Agency
National Radiological Protection Board
Mintel
Copyright of Telegraph Group Limited 2005.
Marcus Didius Falco (
