WASHINGTON-A U.K. government advisory panel said research indicates mobile phones and base stations do not pose health risks to citizens, but cautioned that limitations of studies and the relatively short time of widespread wireless use dictate that more experiments be conducted to determine whether long-term human exposure to radiation-emitting devices could cause cancer or other medical problems.
The review of biological and epidemiology data, conducted by scientists appointed by Britain’s National Radiological Protection Board, is the most comprehensive since the government’s wireless health report in 2000. That report generally gave mobile phones-operated by 50 million people in the United Kingdom and 155 million in the United States-a clean bill of health, but urged particular caution for children.
While the latest findings closely follow those in the 2000 report, the British government refused to declare mobile phones safe for all time.
“The Advisory Group concludes that there is still a possibility that there could be health effects from exposure to radio-frequency transmissions below guideline levels, and continued research is needed,” NRPB stated.
The report comes as a handful of health-related lawsuits against the U.S. mobile-phone industry remain pending. The wireless industry had key victories the past two years in health litigation and has yet to lose a legal challenge on any cancer-related claim.
