Popular mobile phones have high radiation levels

Some of the most popular mobile phones available in the UAE emit the highest levels of radiation, according to the largest European survey yet conducted. The analysis of 28 handsets showed the model with the highest rating, the Ericsson T28, produces almost six times more radiation than the lowest, the Nokia 8850.

Although none of the phones tested broke international safety regulations, they have sparked calls for further investigation into the possible health risks posed by mobile phones. The tests were conducted on the 28 most popular handsets in Europe by Australian company EMC using a method developed by Professor Niels Kuster of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology.

Emissions were measured using specific energy absorption rates (SAR), measured in watts per kilo, which determine the amount of energy absorbed in the user's body. Factors such as the position of the aerial and the power of the headset account for much of the difference. Some of the newest models were also the most powerful with higher emission levels.

Figures released in September showed that the UAE had over 1.2 million mobile phone subscribers, roughly one-in-two of the population, and 30,000 to 40,000 new phones were being sold each month.

Dr Tapan Ray, Medical Director and Chief Executive Officer of Welcare Hospital, said, "In the UAE there has been no real study done to date, but we do know the effect that microwave radiation has on the human body.

"It is known that people shouldn't stand too close to the microwave while heating food, or peer too close.  "Similarly, the microwave radiation from the phone affects the nervous tissue. The hands-free units are thought to be good, but the aerial receives the microwave radiation.

"However, all our knowledge is secondhand based on studies done in the West. So until we get our own results, we should be careful, use mobile phones as little as possible and for short periods. "You have people speaking for long durations, which can have bad side-effects. It is just a tool for communication.

"Also we don't have the long-term side effects, which will take at least a further 10 years to obtain. It's only in the recent two to three years that mobile phones have become so much in vogue, so the effects will take at least a decade to surface. People should try to control their use of mobile phones, especially children."

The most recent review of international research, published last month in Britain's medical journal The Lancet, concluded that mobile phones have been shown to cause brain disturbances such as memory loss.

Dr Gerard Hyland, a physicist from the University of Warwick, wrote, "There is evidence that the low-intensity, pulsed radiation used can exert subtle, non-thermal influences." He said that children could be at greatest risk because their skulls were thinner and their immune system was still developing.

Under new regulations to be published before the end of the year, all mobile phones sold in Britain will come with a health warning. Leaflets warning of the radiation dangers will have to be given to each buyer of a mobile phone.

Rishal Verma, a 34-year-old freelance writer in Dubai, said: "For my work I'm constantly trying to get in touch with people. So I use the mobile phone a lot. Around four months ago, I found that the region around my ear was painful, and I was getting a lot of headaches.

"Someone suggested I go for a hands-free set, which is used a lot here because of the traffic regulations that requires people to have one if they have to talk while driving. "They have definitely helped, and my aches have disappeared." An Ericsson spokesman from Europe, said, "All our phones are carefully designed and rigorously tested to comply with all relevant safety standards."