- AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Radio
signals for the next generation of mobile phone services can cause headaches
and nausea, according to a study conducted by three Dutch ministries.
-
- The study, the first of its kind, compared the impact
of radiation from base stations used for the current mobile telephone network
with that of base stations for new third generation (3G) networks for fast
data transfer, which will enable services such as video conferencing on
a mobile device.
-
- A base station, which usually covers a "cell"
area of several square kilometers (miles), transmits signals to mobile
phones with an electromagnetic field.
-
- "If the test group was exposed to third generation
base station signals there was a significant impact ... They felt tingling
sensations, got headaches and felt nauseous," a spokeswoman for the
Dutch Economics Ministry said.
-
- There was no negative impact from signals for current
mobile networks.
-
- However, cognitive functions such as memory and response
times were boosted by both 3G signals and the current signals, the study
found. It said people became more alert when they were exposed to both.
-
- Government ministers responsible for Economic Affairs,
Health and Telecommunications said follow-up research was needed to confirm
the findings as well as to look at any longer-term health effects and biological
causes.
-
- They will also discuss the study with the European Commission,
the spokeswoman said.
-
- The double-blind laboratory tests -- meaning no one in
the survey knew if a 3G-like base station was actually transmitting signals
-- exposed test subjects to expected levels of average radiation for 3G
networks when they become commercial.
-
- The GSM Association, a global organization of mobile
telecommunications operators, said it was studying the report and could
not comment.
-
- The study, conducted by the Dutch technological research
institute TNO, was the first to look for an impact of mobile telephones
on well-being. It was also the first study to find a statistically significant
negative impact from 3G base stations.
-
- Previous research on a negative health impact of mobile
phones, mostly second-generation, has been inconclusive.
-
- Existing research gives no scientific evidence that second-generation
phones cause brain tumors, while a long-term study by the International
Agency on Research on Cancer is not expected to yield results before 2004.
-
- Previous research did find an impact on cognitive functions,
which was also found in the Dutch survey. But TNO noted that earlier studies
always measured the impact of cellphones held close to the head, causing
high fields of radiation close to the ear and warming of the brain.
-
- TNO's study used lower a dose of radiation to mimic base
station signals rather than handsets.
-
- Handsets emit stronger radiation when they are used,
while base stations transmit more constant levels of radio signals, exposing
everyone within range.
-
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