MOBILE PHONE RADIATION RESEARCH

MEDIA RELEASE

MOBILE PHONE USER GROUP

WELCOMES RADIATION RESEARCH FUNDING

"We welcome the announcement by Dr. Michael Wooldridge that three groups will receive funding to conduct research into mobile phone health issues.

"All three groups will study the effects of radiation on people who use hand-held phones close to their heads. If there is any risk involved, we ought to know it as soon as possible so that we can make informed decisions about mobile phone usage. In my own case it's probably too late" said Boyd Munro (President of APUMP, the mobile phone user group) "because I've been using a mobile phone constantly since the day they were introduced in February 1987.

"However, I have been careful to minimise my use of digital mobile phones because their high-energy pulsed radiation causes so much interference to things like radios, desk-phones and TV sets. I have never known what effects this pulsed radiation might have on the body. Because of this uncertainty, I use an analogue mobile phone whenever possible. The lower-powered, non-pulsed radiation emitted by analogue phones does not cause as much interference so I feel they may be safer.

"APUMP has written to the three research groups asking that they differentiate between the two types of mobile phone.

"If one type of phone is safer than the other, then we as users ought to know that so we can choose the type of phone we use. Even if the risk is very low, we still need the knowledge to minimise it. After all, there's not much risk involved in playing Russian Roulette with a revolver which has a million chambers - but most of us would still rather not play" said Munro.