Open Meeting

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Thursday 27 January 2000, Royal Society of Chemistry, London

This was the penultimate open meeting of the Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones (IEGMP). It was attended by the Chairman, Professor Sir William Stewart, along with 11 other members of the Group, a number of Government observers and around 65 members of the public.

The Chairman introduced the panel in order to ascertain each individual area of expertise, and the purpose of these meetings was explained. Two main questions arose from this: are mobile phones safe and do base stations cause health problems. The Chairman stressed the independence of the Group noted that it intends to present its findings to Government in April.

Research

The Group has been receiving evidence. Both peer-reviewed papers and individuals' anecdotal evidence submitted in writing were being considered. The audience asked the panel how far they were able to go in accepting the validity of anecdotal evidence and whether the similarity of symptoms associated with mobile phone use is too much of a coincidence to ignore. The panel responded by saying that anecdotal evidence was important in determining the extent of public fears and provides future hypotheses for testing by research. However, peer-reviewed scientific studies must form the backbone of what is currently understood on the subject.

A comment was made from the audience that it was extremely difficult to assess exposure when comparing studies and a suggestion was made to establish agreed experimental protocols. For example, differences were noted between the possible effects of pulsed digital and analogue signals, and thermal and non-thermal effects, which the panel helped to clarify.

The audience cited world-wide studies, which purported to identify non-thermal effects of microwaves. Non-thermal effects had been widely reported in the USA and Australia, which the panel acknowledged. The panel was asked whether any non-thermal effects had been reported in UK studies. Although the panel was aware of some research, this was yet to be replicated or peer-reviewed. The audience were concerned that inadequate funding was given to UK research bodies to co-ordinate further studies in this subject area.

Planning

It was felt that planning advice given to members of the public was inadequate. An example was given that the time provided for residents to object to an application was insufficient and likely to be spent in finding out how to object. An audience member was in possession of a letter from their local council that stated that planning applications for base stations could not be refused on health grounds alone. Any council that did refuse planning permission would face an appeal from the mobile phone company, which would be costly and likely to be lost. The Chairman requested that a copy of this letter be sent to the Group.

Residents living close to existing or proposed mast sites feared that the public perception of health risks might devalue local property. Planning authorities were unable to provide compensation to homeowners.

Health effects

Children

It was recognised by the Group that pulsed radiation from mobile phones and mobile phone base stations had only been introduced over the last ten years. One of the concerns voiced from the audience was that with the introduction of this technology, children would be exposed to microwaves from an early age and therefore their total exposure would be over a long period of time. This was especially relevant where mobile telephone masts had been sited on school buildings. A further point was that because of their size, children were seen as good conductors of radio signals and could be susceptible to damage from non-ionising radiation because their immune system was not fully developed.

The panel recognised that children may be at increased risk, however that would depend on the risk, if any.

Epidemiology

Many points were raised from the audience with regard to the epidemiology related to exposures from mobile phones and mobile phone transmitters. It was suggested that as the technology is so new, no long-term studies have been carried out to assess prolonged exposure to radio waves. A suggestion was that the panel should consider groups of people who have been exposed to radio waves over the longer term, for example, police officers. The panel acknowledged that police officers have had radio transmitters on their lapels throughout their career and it may be beneficial to review their medical records. The panel also pointed out that police radios operate at differing frequencies to that of mobile phone technology.

A further point made by the audience was that effectively a massive experiment is going on at the moment as millions of people are using mobile phones every day. The panel was asked whether they expected to see any health effects distributed through the population. In reply, the panel pointed out that although there are huge amounts of data, it does not necessarily mean the results would be more solid. The data are largely collected in an uncontrolled way and it would be better to collect smaller amounts of data in a controlled manner.

Long-term occupational exposure

On the subject of long-term effects, one audience member sought to reassure the audience that he had worked in the direct path of transmitter masts throughout his career and had appeared to suffer no ill effects. He claimed that there was no difference between analogue and digital radio waves and that only the power used was relevant. If health effects were to be found they would have manifested themselves before now. He was advised by the Chairman to document his evidence in written format for the panel to look at in more detail.

Regarding the use of mobile phones, the audience was keen to know if the panel would see a difference between one phone call of ten minutes and ten one-minute phone calls in terms of health effects resulting from exposure of the head. The panel answered this question in terms of thermal effects, explaining that the body’s temperature alternates by approximately one degree throughout the day so the extra one tenth of a degree in temperature associated with mobile phone use is no cause for concern. Again the audience pointed out that this assumes thermal effects are the only effect of mobile phone use.

Media coverage

One of the points raised by a media representative in the audience was where to obtain unbiased information. NRPB had been praised for providing information on the scientific facts which the media often felt were difficult to grasp. One difficulty they did have, however, was obtaining relevant background information when researching articles. For example, only a few sources at a time are quoted in articles when many more exist and these are often conflicting reports. One of the criticisms that the panel had received was that the media often portray mobile phone issues in an unbalanced way, leading to a great deal of mis-information. As the general public gets the majority of its information from newspapers it was easy to see how accounts of mobile phone users are often scaremongering. The media also appeared sceptical about the follow-up to the Group's report. The panel reiterated that the report and findings would go to Government, but that the Group had no powers to enforce decisions, only to advise.

Conclusions

The Chairman brought the meeting to a close and said that it had been one of the more lively discussions of the open meetings. He also stressed that he was still receiving written accounts of evidence and encouraged the public to write in. The points that were covered were mainly replication of what had already been said, but the Chairman agreed that this was beneficial to him and the Group in targeting the more significant areas of concern and thanked everyone for coming.

The original announcement of the open meeting is available.

First issued 9 March 2000