Subject: (Kelley) BBC News - Preece cell phone study (fwd)
Date: Fri, 9 Apr 1999 164700 -0500 (CDT)
From: "Roy L. Beavers" <rbeavers@llion.org>
To: emfguru <rbeavers@llion.org>
--------------------------------------------------
.......Egads!!! The U.K. NRPB (National Radiation Protection Board) --
another one of those pro-industry government agencies that have to
see the "bodies in the streets" before they detect a problem.....
.......The Bristol people (including Dr. Allen Preece) seem to have a
balanced view of the issue, however......
Roy Beavers (EMFguru)
rbeavers@llion.org................
...It is better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness...
.................PEOPLE ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN PROFITS...............
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Fri, 09 Apr 1999 09:45:58 -0700
From: Libby Kelley
To: rbeavers@llion.org
Cc: thistle@sover.net
Subject: BBC News - Preece cell phone study
BBC News
Friday, April 9, 1999 Published at 06:54 GMT 07:54 UK
Government action over
mobile phones
There are conflicting reports on the health effects of mobile
phones
The government has appointed independent experts to
assess the health risks of mobile phones after the
publication of the first study to show the devices affect
the brain.
Public health minister Tessa Jowell
said the government had set up a
panel of experts to review all research
on mobile phones.
The panel will be part of the National
Radiological Protection Board, which
provides independent advice on the
risks to health from radiation.
She said: "To date there has been no consistent
evidence suggesting risk to health, but there is
continuing public concern about the possibility."
"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 about the use of mobile phones
and a clear risk assessment from independent experts."
The government move came as the first evidence
emerged that mobile phones affect the functioning of the
human brain.
Quicker reactions
Government-funded research by the Bristol University
and Bristol Royal Infirmary found that mobile phones
speeded up users' reactions by about 4% when they
were faced with questions requiring a yes or no answer.
This could be because they heat the brain - which would
be unlikely to have any long-term effects - or because
they cause changes associated with a threat of disease.
Several previous studies have suggested that mobile
phones may be harmful to human health, but there is not
yet any consistent evidence that this is the case.
Some have suggested that the devices may cause
short-term memory loss.
Exposure to signals
The Bristol study of 36 healthy volunteers found that
there was no proof of any effect on short-term memory or
attention from exposures of up to 30 minutes.
The 36 were exposed to microwaves
typical of analogue phones,
microwaves typical of mobile phones
and no microwaves at all.
However, at no time did they know to
which type of microwave they were being exposed.
When exposed to mobile phone microwave levels, they
were put in a "near worst case" scenario.
Microwave exposure from mobiles varies according to
the strength of the signal received.
In areas of good reception, the microwave dose is light.
The users in the tests were given a strong dose.
The volunteers were put through a series of tests,
including reaction times, spatial memory, immediate
word recall and delayed word recall.
The only major difference recorded was in reaction times
to yes and no questions.
The researchers think there are two possible reasons for
the variation - that the mobile users' brains are
temporarily heated leading to increased blood flow or
that a change occurs in protein synthesis, leading to the
creation of heat shock proteins.
These proteins are usually caused by the body's defence
mechanisms and are a reaction to a threat of disease or
damage from an injury.
Heat shock proteins
Writing in the International Journal of Radiation Biology,
the researchers, led by Dr Alan Preece, say their study
shows that mobiles affect the brain.
"Such changes may be neither
harmful nor permanent, provided any
mechanism is a temperature effect
below the level for heat shock protein
production and no other non-thermal
response," they say.
The researchers want more studies into the long-term
effects of mobile phones on heavy users.
They have begun further research into what causes the
faster reaction times.
They also warn that any impact on the brain of using
mobile phones may be greater on children than adults.
Dr Preece said: "The amount of space between the skull
and brain is smaller in children so they possibly may be
more at risk from using phones."
The Federation of the Electronic Industry (FEI) welcomed
the publication.
It said: "There is nothing in this research which leads
FEI to alter its belief that, based on the weight of
scientific evidence, the use of mobile phones does not
pose a risk to human health."
Archive provided courtesy of WaveGuide, http://www.wave-guide.org
Reprinted with permission of Roy Beavers, http://www.feb.se/EMF-L/EMF-L.html