UK Government – Radio waves: reducing exposure from mobile phones

UK GOV advice: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/radio-waves-reducing-exposure/radio-waves-reducing-exposure-from-mobile-phones

The Radiation Research Trust (RRT) encourages everyone to raise questions with MP’s. You are welcome to cut and paste the RRT questions below. Find your local representative here: https://members.parliament.uk/members/Commons

Questions from the Radiation Research Trust

1) Excessive use of mobile phones by children should be discouraged according to Government advice. So why is the Government encouraging the use of wireless technology in schools?

2) Why is the UK Government still promoting outdated RF (wireless) radiation ICNIRP guidelines and claiming radiation from transmitter masts and wireless laptops are safe when many scientists including the most recent report released from the International Commission on the Biological Effects of Electromagnetic Fields (ICBE-EMF) claim the guidelines are not protective of human health and wildlife? https://icbe-emf.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/ICBE-EMF-paper-12940_2022_900_OnlinePDF_Patched-1.pdf

3) The UK government are not offering any advice or information regarding the risks associated with this technology so how can adults make an informed choice about reducing exposures?

4) The government suggest choosing a phone with a low specific energy absorption rate (SAR) value quoted by the manufacturer. How can the public trust the manufacturer when 9 out of 10 phones tested exceed the (SAR) values according to the PHONEGATE investigation? https://www.phonegatealert.org/en/project/phonegate-french-study-finds-9-of-10-cell-phones-exceed-safe-radiation-limits/

The main government advice is:

‘The international guidelines recommended by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) provide protection for the population as a whole; however, uncertainties in the science suggest some additional level of precaution is warranted, particularly for sources such as mobile phones where simple measures can be taken to reduce exposure.

Measures to reduce exposures from mobile phones have been recommended by the Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones and UKHSA continues to support these recommendations, which were accepted by government.

excessive use of mobile phones by children should be discouraged

adults should be able to make their own choices about reducing their exposure should they so wish, but be able to do this from an informed position

Measures that can be taken to reduce exposure include:

moving the phone away from the body, as when texting, results in very much lower exposures than if a phone is held to the head

using a hands-free kit, keeping calls short, making calls where the network signals are strong

choosing a phone with a low specific energy absorption rate (SAR) value quoted by the manufacturer

Exposures from devices held further away from the body such as wireless-enabled laptop computers, and transmitter masts in the community are very much lower than those from mobile phones and UKHSA considers that community or individual measures to reduce such exposures are unnecessary.