The widespread use of mobile phones is a recent phenomenon. Their use has escalated over the past decade and to many they are now an essential part of business, commerce and society. Over the Christmas 1999 period alone approximately 4 million phones were sold in the UK and at present (April 2000) there are about 25 million mobile phones in circulation. This is equivalent to nearly one phone for every two people (see paragraph 2.16) The fact that so many people own mobile phones attests to their perceived importance to the general public. The advent of third generation systems will extend the use of most forms of communications technologies, including fax, e-mail and Internet access. The use of mobile phones and related technologies will continue to increase for the foreseeable future. The extensive use of mobile phones has been accompanied by public debate about possible adverse effects on human health. The concerns relate to the emissions of radio frequency (RF) radiation from the phones (the handsets) and from the base stations that receive and transmit the signals (paragraphs 3.3–3.7). For the general population, the levels of exposure arising from phones held near to the head or other parts of the body are substantially greater than whole-body exposures arising from base stations (paragraphs 4.28–4.36). There are two direct ways by which health could be affected as a result of exposure to RF radiation. These are by thermal (heating) effects caused mainly by holding mobile phones close to the body, and as a result of possible non-thermal effects from both phones and base stations (paragraphs 5.5–5.26). There can also be indirect effects. There is evidence that using a mobile phone whilst driving can increase the risk of accidents. Also some people’s well-being may be adversely affected by the environmental impact of mobile phone base stations sited near their homes, schools or other buildings, as well as by their fear of perceived direct effects (paragraphs 5.264, 6.44 and 6.45). (A)
Samenvatting