| cond camp is companies -- and this means colleagues | | | | have felt themselves unable to pronounce favorably |
| and immediate bosses, not just senior management. | | | | or negatively on the effects of heavy mobile phone |
| Companies need to accord a greater amount of | | | | use -- apart from meting out (unintentionally) amusing |
| respect to employees' right to personal time. Ideally | | | | advice such as the recommendation which appeared |
| they should define a corporate policy on out-of-hours | | | | in a UK newspaper last year: "If you use a mobile |
| calls, and ensure staff sticks to it. Not only will a | | | | phone a lot, you need your head examined." |
| responsible, respectful policy on mobile phone use | | | | In an effort to garner some concrete evidence about |
| keep employees happier and more motivated, it will | | | | the possible effects of widespread long-term mobile |
| ultimately translate into greater efficiencies, since | | | | phone use, the Geneva-based World Health |
| staff that doesn't fear constant interruptions are | | | | Organization (WHO) has initiated the International |
| more likely to make them available to deal with a real | | | | EMF Project, designed to provide a reasonable risk |
| emergency. | | | | assessment of the dangers of frequent exposure to |
| While evidence remains inconclusive, there remain | | | | radio frequency fields. |
| concerns about the frequent use of mobile phones | | | | In what is the largest long-term study ever |
| on human health. The potential impact of the kind of | | | | undertaken, EMF researchers will spend the next few |
| electromagnetic fields generated by cellular phones on | | | | years working with the International Agency for |
| the human brain has received little attention until | | | | Research on Cancer, a WHO specialized agency in |
| relatively recently, and it's probably still much too | | | | Lyon, examining 3,000 head and neck tumor patients. |
| soon to pronounce on the possible adverse effects | | | | The typical mobile phone use of this group will then |
| of long-term exposure. | | | | be contrasted with the cell phone habits of 3,000 |
| The little, and inconclusive, research undertaken so | | | | tumor-free control patients, to determine whether |
| far has nonetheless hinted that excessive exposure | | | | any correlation exists. The results of the study, along |
| to electromagnetic fields (EMF) could cause such | | | | with other investigations into other possible |
| undesirable effects as memory loss, Parkinson's and | | | | non-cancerous side effects of mobile phone use, are |
| Alzheimer's diseases, and even brain tumors. | | | | due to be evaluated in 2003 and 2004. |
| An Australian study published in 1997, for example, | | | | For the moment, many operators and manufacturers |
| suggested that transgenic mice exposed to signals | | | | are playing it safe and recommending that users take |
| similar to those emitted by a cellular phone were up | | | | precautionary action, such as alternating ears every |
| to twice as likely to develop lymphomas. A UK study, | | | | few minutes during a long call, or taking advantage of |
| meanwhile, found that mobile phone use could affect | | | | new, low-radiation antennas and phone chips. |
| the nerve cells responsible for short-term memory, | | | | Separate earphones and microphones are also |
| while a study carried out in the Nordic region linked | | | | increasingly widely used, as a way of keeping the |
| excessive use of mobile phones with headaches and | | | | possible radiation effects further away from the |
| fatigue -- symptoms which generally disappeared as | | | | brain, as well as allowing hands-free operation of the |
| soon as cell phone use was discontinued. | | | | phone. |
| But so far the lack of hard data has meant scientists | | | | |