Publishing Consultant - WHO

1 IiPublishing Consultant : Tam Lye Suan, Millennia CommsCover Design: Rainbow River DesignText Illustrations: YH ChengTypesetting: Papyrus Communications Sdn. 2003 Ng Kwan HoongThis edition September 2003, published for MalaysianCommunications and Multimedia CommissionAll rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by anymeans, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording orotherwise, without the prior permission of the text copyrightowner and Negara Malaysia Cataloguing-in-Publication DataNg, Kwan-HoongRadiation, mobile phones, base stations and your health/NgKwan-HoongISBN 983-40889-0-91. Cellular telephones Health aspects 2. Health Care I. 983-40889-0-9 Printed by Gains Print Sdn. Myths About mobile Phones and Base Stations xiFrequently Asked Questions Why is there a great concern on the healtheffects of a mobile phone system?1 What is radiation?1 How does radiation behave?

2 3 Is natural radiation dangerous?3 What is electromagnetic field (EMF)?4 What is radiofrequency (RF)?5 What is a mobile phone ? Does it emitlarge quantities of RF radiation?6 Besides the RF radiation from a mobilephone system, are there any otherRF sources that I am exposed to?6 What are mobile phone base stations andhow do they work?7 Are there health risks associated withliving or working near a base station?8 How safe are the base stations?8 Is there a scientific basis for these RFradiation safety standards?9 Does Malaysia have safety standards andguidelines for mobile phone base stations?9iv Do mobile phone base station antennasmeet the safety standards?9 What can the consumers do to influencethe siting of base stations?10 What are the international organizationsdoing regarding the health effects ofRF radiation?10 What are the findings of recent reviewsfrom some of these internationalorganizations?11 What is the present position of theMalaysian government agencies?13 What are the effects of RF radiation?

3 13 How safe is the mobile phone system?Can it cause cancer and other illnesses?14 What is Specific Absorption Rate (SAR)?How can I use it?14 Where can I obtain SAR value for mymobile phone ?15 What steps can I take to reduce myexposure to RF radiation from mymobile phone ?15 What is the advice for children usingmobile phones?16 So why is anyone still worried?16 Where can I get more information?18 Additional Information / Links19vThe author wishes to acknowledge the indispensableassistance of the project team and a host of many othersfor their invaluable comments, advice and support withoutwhom, this work would not have been possible. Inparticular, he is grateful to:Y. Bhg. Tan Sri Dr Mohamad Taha bin Arif, Director-General, Malaysian Ministry of Mohd. Yusof Ali, Senior Research Officer and Manager,Non-ionizing Radiation Unit, Malaysian Institute forNuclear Technology Research (MINT).Dr David J. Dowsett, Consultant Medical Physicist, Dublin, Andrew W.

4 Wood, Temporary WHO Consultant ,Associate Professor in Biophysics, School of BiophysicalSciences & Electrical Engineering, Swinburne Universityof Technology, T. E. Van Deventer, Scientist, Radiation & EnvironmentalHealth, Protection of the Human Environment, WorldHealth Organization, Geneva, byY. Bhg. Tan Sri Dr. Mohamad Taha bin ArifDirector-General, Ministry of HealthFirst and foremost, I wish to extend my heartiestcongratulations to Professor Ng Kwan Hoong for hiscommendable efforts in producing this highly informativepublication entitled Radiation, mobile Phones, BaseStations and Your Health. This timely publication doesnot only provide general background information on thehealth effects from mobile phones and base stations butalso helps to alleviate anxiety of the general the technology rapidly advancing, mobile phoneusers and people living within close range of the mobilephone base stations have become increasingly concernedover the potential harmful effects of radiofrequencyradiation produced by these devices to their Ministry of Health has always been striving to play aneffective role as the guardian of public health.

5 In 1996,the Ministry appointed an interagency scientificcommittee to study and produce a report on the healtheffects of electromagnetic fields (EMF). This committeeconcluded that there is no conclusive evidence to indicatethat EMF exposures at levels normally encountered willcause harmful health effects. The above is also the findingsof the world scientific and medical community. Thiscommittee still monitors the current research worldwideand reports to the Ministry of Health , there continues to be a great deal ofmisunderstanding and misinformation on the issue ofsafety and radiation. I am therefore very pleased that thisbook endeavours to promote a better understanding ofwhat is known and not known about radiofrequencyradiation, as well as to separate the myths from the again, I applaud Prof. Ng on his efforts and hiscontinuing contribution towards promoting betterunderstanding of radiation, in particular, its use in themedical SRI DR.

6 MOHAMAD TAHA BIN ARIFixIntroductionThe telecommunications industry is experiencing a robustgrowth on a global scale. By the year 2005, the industrypredicts that there will be as many as billion mobilephone subscribers worldwide. Since the introduction ofmobile phones in the mid-1980s, there has been asignificant increase in the number of mobile phone usersand installations of base stations. As of 2003, statistics fromthe Malaysian Communications and MultimediaCommission (MCMC), show that the mobile penetrationrate is 39 persons per 100 population or phones, sometimes known as cellular phones orhandsets, form an integral part of modern tele-communications and are fast becoming a social some parts of the world, they are the most reliable orthe only phones available. In others, mobile phones arevery popular because they allow people to maintainconstant and continuous communication withouthampering their freedom of does a mobile phone system work?

7 The individualmobile phone operates by communicating with a fixedinstallation known as a base station or a tele-communications structure. Since the mobile phone andits base station is a two-way radio, they produceradiofrequency (RF) radiation as a means ofcommunicating and expose the people near them to wide use of mobile phones has inevitably raised thequestion of whether there are any implications for humanhealth. There have been some reports relating to possibleadverse health effects and these have understandably ledto some concern from the members of the Radiation, mobile Phones, Base Stations and YourHealth, issues regarding human health effects from mobilephones and their base station antennas are addressed anddiscussed in the Frequently Ask Questions (FAQ) some of the issues discussed are international,however, general issues of technical and regulatory aspectsof this FAQ, are specific to perception about radiation and health shapes ouractions concerning it and our actions influence the futureof important services and functions.

8 It is with this in mindthat this book attempts to make radiation from mobilephone system more understandable to the members ofpublic and to try to separate the myths from now, we can conclude that there is no consistent andconvincing scientific evidence of adverse health effectscaused by RF radiation. Meanwhile, further ongoingresearch based on established scientific methods willcontinue to shed light on our understanding of thisimportant health Myths About mobile Phonesand Base Stations MYTH FACT mobile phones cause Despite individual cases, there isbrain cancers - look atno scientific evidence that it isall those people whoanything but mobile phonesand are ill. mobile phones are so mobile phones typically have anpowerful that theyoutput of less than 1 watt that mayliterally cook yourcause heating in the brain of a degree, less thannormal exercise. You are safer using a Phones automatically increasemobile phone in a cartheir input in a car to overcomebecause it shields youthe shielding.

9 A car kit oftenfrom the an external antenna thatwill reduce the power levels. Using them in a car You are 4 times more likely todoes not affect yourcrash because of divided attention,driving it is similar to drunk-driving. It is the base stations At the ground level, the intensitythat are reallyof radiofrequency radiation stations are less than onethousandth of those from mobilephones and are generally muchless than those from the local radioand television stations. The cases of brain There is no evidence of a risecancer are increasingamong young people anyas more people useincrease will be among people inmobile 70s. Using a mobile phone People get headaches withoutgives you mobile phones, too thereis no evidence of a direct link. Nobody is really The World Health Organizationinvestigating theand many government coordinating scientific studiesto investigate these health is there a great concern on the healtheffects of a mobile phone system?

10 Millions of people around the world use mobile phonesas a communication tool everyday. Base stations ortelecommunication towers are continuously beingerected. Because of this, scientists worldwide areconcerned about the potential health risks associatedwith the use of this device. Even small adverse effects onhealth could have major public health , radiofrequency is an abstract subject and is noteasily understood by people. The term radiation oftenconjures fear and scare. A tremendous amount of publicitygenerated in the mass media has also caused great concernamong members of the is radiation?Radiation is a form of energy on the move. Radiation iselectromagnetic in nature, , it consists of waves ofelectric and magnetic energy moving together throughspace at the speed of light. We live in a radiation worldand are exposed to both natural and man-made second of our life, we are exposed to all forms ofradiation such as ultraviolet light from the sun and radiowaves from radio and television broadcasts.