SUNDAY MIRROR
April 11, 1999

GOVERNMENT SETS UP MOBILE PHONE-WATCH

By KATHY MORAN

THE Government is so alarmed by the health hazards of mobile phones that it has set up a panel of experts to launch new research into their safety.

The European Union has also decided to take action – by spending £112million on more research over the next five years.

• The move follows series of investigations by the Sunday Mirror which revealed:
  
• That the use of mobile phones actually heats up areas of the brain.
  
• How microwave emissions from the phones could present a serious health hazard.
  
• How one regular mobile phone user was suing for what he claimed was serious damage to his brain.
  
• How the government’s own studies showed radiation from mobiles could effect the nervous system.
  

A draft of Government-funded research conducted by Dr. Alan Preece in Bristol has shown that radiation from mobile phones DOES affect the brain, mainly the part linked to speech and vision.

But so far there has been no established link to brain tumors – a major fear for Britain’s 15 million mobile phone users.

Now health Minister Tessa Jowell has told the National Radiological Protection Board to form an independent expert working group to assess all current research into mobile phones.

"To date there has been no consistent evidence suggesting risk to health, but there is continuing public concern about the possibility," she said.

"It would be wrong to ignore that concern.

"That is why I believe we need a definitive and rigorous assessment of existing research and clear identification of areas where further research may be needed so that the public can receive clear advice. "This is a highly specialized and fast-moving area of technology. The use of mobile phone is increasingly part of our lives."

The EU research will cost £112million over five years, but the industry could be paying half the costs. A group of major phone companies – including Nokia, Motorola and Ericsson – got together last June to form the Mobile Manufacturers Forum as a corporate voice.

The Forum has now advertised for laboratories prepared to do the research. But Les Wilson, chairman of Microshield which makes an anti-radiation shields for mobiles, said: "The research will have no credibility unless a committee is appointed which is completely independent of manufacturers."

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