WHO reassures mobile phone users on health risk of ‘Radiation’

Exposure to mobile phone radiation does not cause cancer or pose any health risks, an official of the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said.

This conclusion was reportedly reached following evidence from scientific research into the effects of mobile phone radiation.

Speaking at the First Digital African Week conference in Abuja, Edwin Edeh, WHO Public Health and Environment Specialist, also said 29 per cent of Nigeria’s disease burden is linked to environmental factors.

He, however, said that radiation from handsets, radio frequencies from mobile phones ”are non-ionising and harmless in spite of their capacity to generate heat”.

He said after an in-depth review of relevant scientific literature, ”the WHO arrived at the conclusion that current evidence does not confirm the existence of any health consequences from exposure to low-level electromagnetic fields”.

He also said, “There are instances where the public have attributed a diffused collection of symptoms such as headache, anxiety, suicide, depression, nausea, fatigue, and loss of sexual urge to low-level exposure to electromagnetic fields.

“To date, scientific evidence does not support a link between these symptoms and exposure to radio frequencies from mobile phones and other telecommunication equipment.

“Despite many studies, the critical effect of high-frequency exposure to human health is simply heating of the exposed body tissue. No large increases in risk have been found for any cancer in a child or adult,” he said.

The expert, however, said all necessary precautionary and compliance measures should be adhered with, in line with industry standards and regulations for mobile phones and base stations.

Meanwhile, Ephraim Nwokonneya, Director, Research and Development, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), said there is an urgent need for continuous enlightenment and education of the public

He said “the main conclusion from the WHO reviews and most studies is that EMF exposures below the limits recommended in the International Commission for Non-Ionizing Radiation and Protection (ICNIRP) guidelines do not appear to have any known consequences on health.

“The non-ionising radiations from BTS and mobile handsets do not disrupt the molecular structure of biological materials in humans.

“I am happy to report that, all the field measurements being carried out by our engineers on regular basis have shown that, the EMF radiation level produced by our mobile networks are very much below the acceptable limit,” he said