UK Hands-Free Phones Leak Radiation--Report

LONDON--Reuters is reporting that fresh evidence that hands-free mobile phone kits can significantly boost the brain’s exposure to radiation has been published, challenging UK government research amid consumer health concerns.

The British consumer research magazine Which? said its new findings confirmed claims it first published in April that using hands-free earpieces could more than triple the brain’s exposure to radiation compared to a conventional mobile phone call, according to a Reuters overseas dispatch.

The original report was dismissed in August by the British government, which commissioned research that showed the kits did indeed cut exposure levels.

But Which? said the methodology used in the government research was flawed and that further research using a more realistic model confirmed that hands-free kits could act as an antenna that channels radiation directly into to the ear. The level of emissions depended on the distance between the tip of the phone’s antenna and the earpiece, which varied according to in which position the phone was held. The government tests did not allow for this, Which? said. “As in our earlier tests, it’s clear that consumers can’t rely on hands-free kits to reduce radiation emissions at the brain from mobile phones,” said Which? Editor Helen Parker, according to Reuters.

“Although these kits can reduce radiation, they can also increase it significantly, depending on where you position the phone and kit. Unfortunately, there is no way that consumers can work out the best position to reduce radiation.” The increased emissions were still within British and European safety levels, she said. Scientists agree that electromagnetic radiation from mobile phones warms brain tissue, that some strains of mice have developed cancer in tests in Australia and Finland and that others become disorientated. “But it remains unproven that mobile phones pose a human health risk,” according to Reuters.

For more information, contact www.which.net.