Jury still out on cell phone safety

Consumers have two choices: use precaution or full steam ahead!

By: Pat Daley

  The jury is still out on the question of health hazards associated with radiofrequency radiation from cellular phones, leaving consumers to decide for themselves the best approach for their own health and their children's.
  You can opt for the precautionary measures recommended last week by Britain's Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones (the Stewart Group), despite finding no concrete link between cell phone use and negative health effects. Or, you can go with the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA) and say, "No evidence? No problem."
  While the Stewart group said the balance of evidence suggests cell phone users face no health risks, the report concludes "it is not possible at present say that exposure to RF radiation, even at levels below national guidelines, is totally without potential adverse health effects." In other words, there is a knowledge gap.
 

A new British study found no health risks - yet - from cell phones but said kids shouldn't use them more than necessary

  The British government is supporting the group's recommendation to proceed with caution, especially where children are concerned. The group found some evidence of "subtle effects" on the brain's function. Because children's nervous systems are still developing and they will have a longer lifetime of exposure, the report recommends "that the widespread use of mobile phones by children for non-essential calls should be discouraged."
  Now is this not a suggestion that should apply to everyone? I don't have anything against cell phones. I've even been thinking about getting one. One thing holding me back is the knowledge that, once in possession of a phone, I will feel like I have to take it everywhere. And because it's there, I'll use it. Most certainly, I'll answer when it rings. Can you ignore your phone?
  To see how widespread that feeling is, you just have to look in the cars on the road. The Stewart report once again underlines that the most immediate and proven risk posed by the use of cell phones is the risk of traffic accidents. It recommends that drivers be discouraged from using cell phones under any circumstances, even with hands-free sets.
 

Talking on the cell and driving may be as dangerous as being just under the legal blood alcohol limit, says one study

  In 1997, a University of Toronto (U of T) study showed that drivers had a 4.3 times higher risk of having an accident within 15 minutes of talking on a cellular phone than they had in periods when they did not use the phone. This study was cited last year by a Royal Society of Canada expert panel in a report for Health Canada on "Potential Health Risks of Radiofrequency Fields from Wireless Telecommunication Devices."
  The Royal Society noted that there was no direct cause for accidents attributable to cell phones, rather that "the increased phone calls and the collision could both be the result of some underlying distraction, or state of stress." It did repeat, however, that the risks uncovered by the U of T study "are comparable to those associated with a level of alcohol in the bloodstream just at the legal limit."
 

The Ontario Safety League (OSL) lumps cell phone use in with other aggressive driving behaviours

  So who's doing anything about it? The Ontario Safety League (OSL) lumps cell phone use in with other aggressive driving behaviours such as changing lanes without signalling or running red lights. President and General Manager Bert Killian says the OSL hasn't gone so far as to ask for laws against phoning and driving because "a lot of people use cell phones responsibly." They do suggest that drivers refrain from calling - pull off to the side or activate your voice mail, instead. Anyone who must phone, Killian says, should use a hands-free set.
  That's the same approach advocated by the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA), which also recommends using a hands-free device, no manual dialing while driving, and no taking notes. There's just one problem. As the Royal Society of Canada report says, the U of T study "did not find any reduction in risk resulting from the use of hands-free phones instead of hand-held units."
  The CWTA, which represents wireless carriers and manufacturers, pretty much rejects the Stewart report's call for precautionary measures, even for the use of cell phones by children.
  "There is no new science here," says CWTA Executive Vice-President Roger Poirier. "The issue of children is certainly a complicated one, but there is no science that says children are more susceptible to any health effects. If parents are concerned, it is up to them to be informed and make decisions like they do for any other consumer product used by their children." He notes that many parents give their children cell phones for reasons of safety and convenience
  As for safe driving, Poirier argues with the U of T report's finding of no difference in risk between hands-free and hand-held phones.
  "Intuitively, that surprised us," he says, adding that a hands-free set should leave a driver with both hands on the wheel and a better range of vision.
  The CWTA's hands-off approach is pretty much justified by the lack of any recommendations in the Royal Society of Canada's report for changes to existing Canadian standards or for any precautionary measures. However, that report - like the one from the Britain's Stewart group - did make several recommendations for additional research on the health effects of RF radiation.
  Poirier is looking forward to the release of two new studies related to driving, cell phone use and behaviour.
  One is being conducted by the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia and should be out in a couple of weeks, he said. Drivers on a test course are being asked questions through a set of headphones which they wear. The goal is to find out if the driver's response is related to the type of question, a point CWTA tries to make in advising people to avoid stressful conversations while driving. In other words, Poirier says, "don't negotiate your divorce on the 401."
  The study for which everyone - the wireless industry, the insurance industry and government - is waiting will probably come out at the end of the year, he said. Researchers at the University of Montreal are conducting a wide-ranging survey - 60,000 people as opposed to 699 in the U of T study - to look at the effects of cell phone use on driving.
  In the meantime, I still like the Stewart report recommendation: use precaution.

Pat Daley is a freelance writer and editor in Athlone in Simcoe County, Ontario.

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