Wednesday, 25 Jul 2007 13:24

Mobile phone masts do not cause health problems that have previously been reported, a new report has concluded.

Some people had claimed they suffered symptoms including anxiety, tension and tiredness from living close to such masts.

But a three-year study monitoring health while the masts were switched on and off found that the typical emissions from phone masts did not cause health problems.

Dr James Rubin of the Mobile Phones Research Unit at Kings College London said the findings should be "reassuring news" for anyone concerned with the possible short term health effects of masts.

Researchers from the University of Essex tested 44 people who had reported sensitivity to mobile phone technology ('sensitive individuals') as well as 114 who had not reported any health effects.

Those taking part were monitored by psychologists, electronic and biomedical engineers and a medical doctor.

When participants knew that the mast signal had been switched on, the sensitive individuals reported lower levels of wellbeing.

But when they did not know whether the signal was on or off, just two people from the sensitive group correctly judged when it was switched on and the number of symptoms reported was not related to whether the mast was on or off.

Commenting on the findings, lead researcher Professor Elaine Fox said: "It is clear that sensitive individuals are suffering real symptoms and often have a poor quality of life.

"It is now important to determine what other factors could be causing these symptoms, so appropriate research studies and treatment strategies can be developed."

The study's results are published today by the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.
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