There are more than two BILLION mobile phone users worldwide. Whether or not they are safe, is still the subject of much debate. Last week, an international symposium was held in Johannesburg, focusing on the effects of radiation from cell phones.
This Tuesday, Special Assignment speaks to South Africans who believe their health has been seriously affected by cellular technology. Johannesburg pastor Ronald Robinson died from a brain tumour last year. His mobile phone, says his widow Ann, was like an extension of his arm. “He was on the phone a lot. He spoke to people all day long, even when overseas, travelling.”
She doesn’t believe that the excessive use of his mobile phone was the sole cause of the tumour that killed him, but she certainly believes it was a contributing factor. And so did he. “He never used his cell phone again after he got the tumour; he just never used it again.”
With only ten years of research to go on, scientists at last week’s symposium say although there are warning signs, it’s too early to tell yet whether cell phones cause tumours and genetic damage. “There is a study that should come out in the next year looking at the relationship between mobile phone use and head and neck cancers,” says the World Health Organization’s Dr Emilie van Deventer. “We will see what happens after this…”
Recently, scientists in Sweden concluded that people who’ve used their cell phones for a decade are twice as likely to be diagnosed with a tumour on a nerve connecting the ear to the brain.
Here at home, members of the Electro Magnetic Action group are particularly concerned about the way service providers target children. EMAG’s Karl Muller says it’s time cell masts were removed from school grounds. “We have seen in the last ten years an epidemic across South African schools of attention deficit disorder…ADD is very strongly associated with cell phone and microwave radiation.”
It’s acknowledged that young skulls are thinner and the growing brain may be more susceptible to radiation. “We have tried to promote further research into children”, says Dr van Deventer, “because this is one question that comes to the mind of many…is there an effect on a young person?”
But worldwide, manufacturers seem relentless in their pursuit of profit. Teddy bear phones, for four year olds, are the latest craze in the United States.
CELL SHOCK is produced by Jessica Pitchford , with camerawork by Roy Freeman and Dudley Saunders. |
