IEEE/ANSI,
1991:
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the Institute
of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is the body on whom
the US Federal Communications Commission relies for its expertise.
A panel of scientists and medical experts from IEEE/ANSI has developed
safety standards, recommendations and guidelines for exposure to radio
frequency and microwave energy. Its position is that there is no cause
for concern regarding the environmental levels of radiofrequency EMFs
to which the general population are routinely exposed.
NRPB, 1992:
The National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB), an agency
of the government of the United Kingdom, established an Advisory
Group on Non-ionizing Radiation (AGNIR) that reviewed the published
scientific literature on exposure to EMF and the risk of cancer.
The AGNIR, chaired by the eminent epidemiologist Sir Richard Doll,
concluded that there is no firm quantitative evidence of a carcinogenic
hazard from EMF exposures for the general public and workers in
the electrical, electronic and telecommunications industries (NRPB,
1992).
ICNIRP, 1995:
The International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection
(ICNIRP) is an independent scientific organization established to
investigate the hazards that may be associated with the different
forms of non-ionizing radiation (NIR) and to develop international
guidelines on NIR exposure limits. A scientific summary report by
ICNIRP (1995) stated:
"This
review is provided to supplement the conclusion reached about
RF-field exposure and possible health effects. All learned reviews
have concluded that the RF fields emitted from base stations do
not have any known impact on health. While research is continuing
to determine if there are health effects from very low levels,
it is only possible to make decisions based on our present knowledge.
Regulators are well aware of the fact that physical agents such
as X-rays, asbestos and smoking were once considered safe but
later studies revealed they were not. In the case of RF, studies
have continued for some 40 years and laboratory techniques are
extremely sensitive. While it cannot be dismissed that subtle
effects will be found in the future, it is comforting to know
that a large amount of research has been conducted and international
and national standards have not had to be lowered for more that
15 years. Another point that needs to be remembered is that the
RF emissions from base stations are some 30,000 times lower than
the levels at which the first health effects begin to be established".
ICNIRP
(1996) has also reviewed health issues related to mobile phone
use and base transmitters. Among the conclusions in the report, the
ICNIRP states that results of published epidemiological and laboratory
studies relevant to cancer do not form an adequate basis for limiting
human exposure to the energy associated with the use of wireless phones.
ECE, 1996:
The European Commission set up an Expert Group that reviewed the
scientific literature, examined research needs and recommended a
research agenda. The European Commission Expert Group examined possible
health effects related to the use of radiotelephones and concluded
that a very small database exists for exposure to RF fields, and
there are very few studies relating to the emissions and exposures
specific to personal telecommunications.
Eircell,
1998: An independent team of experts commissioned by Eircell
telecommunications in Ireland concluded in their analysis of the
current literature that there is at present no evidence for any
detrimental effect of the RF from mobile phone base stations on
health. They also stated,
"Unless
studies of mobile telephone users show a significant risk of some
ill effect, there could be little justification for expending enormous
resources investigating the enormously lower radiation intensities
from the base stations."
Statement
from the WHO EMF Project: The Project has produced a paper examining
the possible non-thermal effects of RF (Matthes et al., 1996). At
an international seminar in Munich in 1996 sponsored by WHO, ICNIRP
and others, expert working groups reviewed the RF scientific literature
and concluded that,
"from the current scientific literature, there is no convincing
evidence that exposure to RF shortens the life span of humans,
induces or promotes cancer". They also stated that "although
hazards from exposure to high-level (thermal) RF fields were established,
no known health hazards were associated with exposure to RF sources
emitting fields too low to cause a significant temperature rise
in tissue."
Biological effects from low-level RF exposures were identified as
needing further study (Repacholi, 1998).
Royal Society
of Canada, 1999: An Expert Panel of the Society concluded:
"To date, human health studies have examined the relationship
between exposure to radiofrequency fields and different types of
cancer, reproductive problems, congenital anomalies, epilepsy, headache
and suicide. Overall, these studies do not provide conclusive evidence
of adverse health effects from radiofrequency exposure. However,
given the limitations of the currently published studies in this
area, particularly the difficulty in determining the precise nature
of the exposure to radiofrequency fields that people have actually
received, more research is required on radiofrequency field exposure
and human health."
The Independent
Expert Group on Mobile phones in the UK, 2000: This Group stated
that:
"The
balance of evidence to date suggests that exposures to RF radiation
below NRPB and ICNIRP guidelines do not cause adverse health effects
to the general population."
Health
Council of the Netherlands, 2002: The Health Council concluded:
"….there
is at present no cause for concern" that mobile phones can
adversely affect health.
The
96-page report, like most others from review panels, also said that
further research is indicated.
NRPB Advisory Group on Non-ionising Radiation (AGNIR), 2003:
This was a follow-up review to that by the Independent Expert Group
on Mobile Phones. The AGNIR stated:
"In aggregate the research published since the IEGMP report
does not give cause for concern. The weight of evidence now available
does not suggest that there are adverse effects from exposures to
RF fields below guideline levels, but the published research on
RF exposures and health has limitations, and mobile phones have
only been in widespread use for a relatively short time. The possibility
therefore remains open that there could be health effects from exposure
to RF fields below guideline levels; hence continued research is
needed".
The Swedish Radiation Protection Authority, SSI, 2003: The
SSI has appointed an international independent expert group for
electromagnetic fields and health. The task is to follow and evaluate
scientific developments and to give advice to SSI. The group has
issued its first annual report. Its conclusions were:
"The focus of this report is on epidemiological and experimental
cancer research, blood-brain barrier and heat shock proteins. In
none of these areas have there been breakthrough results that have
warranted firm conclusions in one way or the other. It is worth
noting, however, that intense research is currently ongoing in several
countries and new data will gradually become available. Given the
complexity of the research area it is essential that both positive
and negative results be replicated before accepted. Given the increase
of new technologies, it is essential to follow various possible
health effects from the very beginning, particularly since such
effects may be detected only after a long duration, due to the prolonged
latency period of many chronic diseases. Thus, more research is
needed to address long-term exposure, as well as diseases other
than those included in the ongoing case-control studies".
Nordic competent authorities, 2004: The Danish national Board
of Health, the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority of Finland,
and the Radiation Protection authorities of Iceland, Norway, and
Sweden issued a joint statement about cell phones and health. They
stated:
"The Nordic authorities agree that there is no scientific evidence
for any adverse health effects from mobile telecommunication systems,
neither from the base stations nor from the handsets, below the
basic restrictions and reference values recommended by the International
Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). However,
certain knowledge gaps exist that justifies more research in this
field. There are a number of published reports suggesting that biological
effects may occur at exposure levels below the ICNIRP guidelines.
These studies need to be reproduced and the scientific progress
in these fields of research should be followed carefully. In this
context, however, it is important to note that biological effects
do not necessarily imply health hazard".
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