The Real Story

Not being told the fact about EM radiation?
Read what's really happening.

[View official government stance]

Numbers

Existing mobile phone masts in the UK: 35,000

Masts required for Tetra emergency services communication network: 3,350

Estimated UK mobile phone users: 50 million

Proportion of population owning a mobile: more than 80 per cent

Proportion of under-16s owning a mobile: 90 per cent

Proportion of under-16s using a mobile for more than 45 minutes a day: 10 per cent

What researchers have said

The Stewart report: an inquiry led by Sir William Stewart, a former government Chief Scientific Adviser, found no evidence of harm to human health from mobile phones. It recommended further research and a "precautionary approach to the technology" and advised that children's use of mobiles should be kept as low as possible.

US National Cancer Institute: study found no association between mobile phone use and certain kinds of brain tumour.

Journal of the American Medical Association: four-year study found no link between use and brain cancer, although it recommended further research.

Royal Society of Canada: independent panel of experts found no evidence of health risks from mobile phone use but accepted that small biological changes might be a cause for concern.

Bristol University: research by Alan Preece found evidence of faster physical reactions after mobile phone use, probably caused by warming of brain tissue.

University Neurology Clinic, Freiburg: found evidence of small increases in blood pressure among mobile phone users.

Nottingham University: a team led by David de Pomerai found microscopic nematode worms grew faster when exposed to mobile phone radiation.

Orebro University, Sweden: study found that old-style analogue mobile phones (now phased out) may increase the risk of brain cancer by 26 per cent after up to a decade's use.

Finnish Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority: study found that exposure to mobile phone radiation could weaken the "blood-brain barrier", which keeps harmful chemicals out of brain cells, at least in a laboratory culture. Scientists behind the work said that the same effect might not be seen in people.