Mobile phone safety

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Over 27 million people in the UK have or regularly use a mobile phone. Mobile phones are quickly becoming an essential business tool, a popular means of communication and a safety aid.

Over 30,000 mobile phone base stations are positioned around the UK. These are transmitters that use radio waves to communicate with mobile phone handsets. Radio waves are low energy radio frequency radiation waves that transmit through the antenna on a mobile phone to the base station and back again. Base stations are surrounded by electromagnetic fields, an energy force that is created when electricity is generated.

The use of radio waves and magnetic fields in relation to mobile phones and base stations has become a safety concern for some people and in 1999 the government commissioned a group of independent scientists to explore the possible health implications of mobile phone and base station use. The group, lead by Sir William Stewart, reported back in May 2000, with the following results (1):

There is no general risk to the health of people living near base stations, as radiation exposure is a fraction of current guidelines.
Radio waves can cause a change in brain activity under the current guideline levels, although it is not known why.
A cautionary approach to the use of mobile phones is recommended due to the lack of scientific knowledge about the subject presently available.

Mobile phone safety has also been brought to public attention by the former Government Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (DTLR), in relation to the safety implications of driving while using a mobile phone. It is now against the law to use a handheld mobile phone whilst driving.