No basis for mobile-induced health fears, say Nordic officials
Published on Wednesday, 18th December, 2013 at 14:44 under the news category, by Michael Sandelson
Five countries’ authorities conclude mobile, base station, and wireless network exposure poses little or no health risk.
Business man with his mobile
Photo: Markus Gann/Shutterstock
“The overall data published in the scientific literature to date do not show adverse health effects from exposure of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields below the guidelines or limits adopted in the Nordic countries,” said officials in a joint statement, Tuesday.
Their declaration comes following national and international experts having conducted “extensive reviews” of scientific publications available. The purpose was to try to establish any possible link between being exposed to these and the risk of cancer and other chronic diseases, they report.
The Nordic Countries adopted their criteria regarding radiation exposure limits, which include mobile and wireless LAN-related (WLAN/Wi-Fi) communication, following the Council of European Union 1999/519/ECrecommendation. It is based on exposure guidelines published by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP).
In May 2011, the WHO’s (World Health Organisation) International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) decided to classify radiofrequency electromagnetic fields as potentially cancerous to humans. This came after they had examined scientific publications on cancer risks.
“This classification was mainly based on the results of a few epidemiological studies indicating an elevated risk of brain cancer among adult mobile phone users,” explained Nordic Countries authorities.
“Since 2011, a number of epidemiological studies on mobile phone use and risk of brain tumours and other tumours of the head have been published. The overall data on brain tumour and mobile phone use do not show an effect on tumour risk,” they added.
At the same time, officials cite that research data is limited regarding long-term mobile phone usage for a period of longer than 12 years.
It is also “too early to draw firm conclusions when it comes to risk for brain tumours for children and adolescents, but the available literature to date does not show an increased risk,” they said.
Officials also argued there are “methodological limitations” regarding recent studies looking at mobile-related health connections for diseases other than cancer, even though these have revealed “some effects”.
At the same time, they suggest that methodological limitations prevent firm conclusions when it comes to casual associations.
“The number of studies for each outcome is relatively small, and consistency between various studies cannot be addressed,” authorities remarked.
When it came to exposure from base station transmitters and WLANs, it was decided that recent surveys have shown “the level of radio wave exposure in public outdoor areas as well as indoor in schools, offices and dwellings is far below the exposure limits. This is despite the sharp increase in applications using wireless technology.
Denmark’s Health and Medicines Authority, the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority, STUK (the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority, Finland), the Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority, and Iceland’s Radiation Safety Authority issued Tuesday’s joint statement.
17 experts commissioned by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health officials have also concluded mobile and other devices’ signals are not a threat to health.
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