So, asks Amira El-Noshokaty, how bad are mobile phones for you? You hang onto it as if it were your saviour -- and sometimes it is. You never turn it off; those who care about you may be offended. You talk into it for hours, regardless of where you are -- you even tuck to into bed with you; you, and more than a sixth of the world's population -- 18 million in Egypt alone. The rapid development of the mobile phone from the 1980s on, from analog to digital -- the latter allowing Internet and fax facilities, has triggered questions about its effect on human health. The Hormones Department of the National Research Centre has been studying the effects of mobile phones for six years -- it is an ongoing experiment focusing on the accumulation of non-ionised radiation in the body. The same topic has been the talk of newspapers for a few months now, with a range of issues, from a tenant filing a complaint about the cancerous effect of a mobile station on her and her neighbours to letter to the editor explaining that kneeling during Muslim prayer rids the body of excess radiation. But Emad Eskandar, head of the Hormones Department, sounds far less sensational than all that: "contrary to what has been published lately, this study on the long-term effects of mobile phones on human health has not reached its final results. Some observations still need to be tested -- the relation between evident hair loss among young Egyptians and the extensive use of mobile phones, for example..." Eskandar explains that, in general, there are two types of radiation: ionised and non-ionised. When ionised radiation -- one example of which is X-ray -- hits the human body, it leaves positive and negative ions inside a cell; with excessive exposure, this could lead to cell mutation: disease. Non- ionised radiation -- infrared, ultraviolet and, notably, mobile radio frequency (RF) -- leaves neither positive nor negative ions inside cells but rather accelerates the movement of molecules there, leading to a rise in body temperature of one degree Celsius. Both kinds of radiation create what is known as an electromagnetic spectrum. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), electromagnetic fields (EMF) occur in nature, but during the 20th century environmental exposure to man-made sources of EMF rose dramatically due to the demand for electricity and the ever advancing wireless technology. There came into being basic international guidelines. Eskandar says, "the maximum safe exposure to mobile mother cell or base station non-ionised radiation is 0.57 microwatt per sq cm, over an hour's duration." The vertical position of the mother cell, he explains, diverts radiation to the sky -- but a minimum distance of three metres between people working on the mother cell and six metres from the tenants is mandatory. One thing that led to collaboration between the ministries of health, population, environment and telecommunication in 2005, was to establish the first Egyptian protocol to regulate, monitor and implement international standards for existing and new mobile stations -- enforced through National Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (NTRA). Eskandar continues, "according to the National Journal of Radiation Biology, the positive impact of being exposed to non-ionised radiations of ultraviolet, infrared and mobile phones are numerous. For once, after all these years they realised that it does not lead to cancer in lab rats, it increases the division rates of the cell by four times its natural rate and has other positive effects. However, the negative include fatigue, headaches; it can cause tumours on lab rats, affect their DNA and electricity system, hence memory -- the neurotransmitters responsible for coordinating the nervous pulses in the brain. It also increases body temperature, something that influences the immunity system because it decreases the cortisone hormone, melatonin, and the hormones of the thyroid glands. Whatever raises body temperature is dangerous for the body." The effects vary depending on the frequency, intensity, specific absorption rate, maximum absorption level, distance between mother cell and mobile used, and the shape of the wave itself. And there is always water, which comprises around 70 per cent of the human body, limiting the absorption of non-ionised radiation that falls upon it. But the fact remains, as Eskandar puts it, "according to international estimates, if a person's usage exceeds one hour daily, the thyroid gland's function decreases by 21 per cent of its normal rate in nine weeks time -- in addition to the increase in body temperature and the fertility stimulating hormone." Yet despite all estimates, Eskandar insists that one cannot scientifically prove that mobile phones have serious health effects on humans: there are no unified efforts, no long-term exposure studies. He optimistically suggests that since mobiles grew to become part of the country's economy, telecommunication companies could sponsor scientific studies to measure its effect and alter its present and future side effects. On a parallel note, the results of global research are still vague because scientists haven't been able to unify the measurements or provide a global scientific database on the matter. According to Sanchez E's What Effects do Mobile Phones have on People's Health? (2006, Copenhagen, WHO Regional Office for Europe -- Health Evidence Network Report), "the evidence available does not provide a clear pattern to support an association between exposure to RF and microwave radiation from mobile phones and direct effects on health. However the quality of this research and the relatively short-term data do not allow ruling out adverse effects on health completely... therefore, a precautionary approach to the use of this communication technology should be adopted until more scientific evidence on effects on health becomes available." Tips on mobile use: - Turn mobile off while at home or sleeping. - Do not purchase a mobile with an antenna. - Use a hands-free attachment. - Decrease the use of the mobile per day, especially children. - The more the distance between you and the mobile, the better.
