WASHINGTON-A new report by Canada’s most prestigious scientific body concludes that country’s radio-frequency exposure guidelines provide adequate protection for workers and the general public, but it recommended further research to assess potential health risks in the future to both groups.
The report, conducted by the Royal Society of Canada for the Canadian government, said more data is needed on workers exposed to wireless communications for extended periods. The expert panel, among other things, said the acceptable exposure to RF workers’ eyes should be lowered to that recommended for the general public (1.6 W/kg) as an interim step.
“Since cellular telephones and similar devices have been in use for a relatively short period of time, further observation may be required to fully examine potential health effects due to long-term exposure to RF fields. With the exception of handheld mobile phone devices using low-earth-orbit satellite systems, most of the new generations of communication devices operate with significantly lower output power, but at microwave frequencies inadequately investigated for human health effects. The potential effects of the ELF (extremely low-frequency) modulation of the RF signal also warrant attention,” the report stated.
Scientists who wrote the report said they found no evidence of documented health effects in animals or humans exposed to nonthermal levels of RF radiation.
“We’re happy with the report,” said Roger Poirier, president of the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association. “The science today does not indicate this is a serious health threat [under Heath Canada Safety Code 6].”
The Royal Society of Canada’s findings and recommendations are similar to those of the Food and Drug Administration. FDA, which oversees mobile phone health and safety in the United States, says mobile phones do not pose an immediate health risk, but the agency believes more animal and cell culture RF studies are needed.
The U.S. government has performed little mobile phone-related research to date, and Congress does not appear headed toward making funds available for that purpose any time soon.
Some scientists in the United States and overseas insist mobile phones may well be linked to brain cancer and other health problems. They point to research showing single- and double-DNA breaks in rats zapped with mobile phone-like RF. Other research and peer review of scientific literature is being conducted by the World Trade Organization, the European Union and by individual countries.
