European Commission to Unveil Research Project on Health Effects of Wireless Phones
Financial Times
September 10, 1997
Shillingford, Joia — The European Commission will soon unveil a research project on the potential health risks of wireless phones. The EU’s mobile phone expert Leo Koolen says the research–to cost between 18 million and 24 million European currency units–will start shortly and be financed jointly by the mobile phone industry and the EC’s research directorate, DGX11. The project will conduct a variety of studies, including studies on the potential risk of brain cancer caused by wireless phones, the impact of microwave radiation on existing tumors, the effect of radiation fields on sleep patterns, and people who says they have neurological symptoms because of mobile phone use. The results of some of these studies will be released in two or three years, while others will not be published for as many as five years. So far studies have provided little evidence that mobile phones present a health risk, but for users concerned about brain cancer lawsuits in the United States, there are measures they can take. Users can obtain a hands-free wireless model, purchase a phone shield, or talk on their phone only when outside, since phones increase the strength of their signals when inside buildings.