Electrical expert witnesses may soon be called to opine on whether cellular phones are safe. According to a new study headed by two Swedes, Professor Lennart Hardell of the University Hospital in Orebro and Professor Kjell Hansson Mild of Umea University, using a mobile phone for more than 10 years increases the risk of getting brain cancer. The scientists based their conclusions on 11 studies that investigated the occurrence of tumors in people who have used phones for more than a decade in the United States, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Japan, Germany, and Britain. They found almost all studies had discovered an increased risk, especially on the side of the head where people listened to their handsets. The study also found that people who have had the phones for a decade or more are twice as likely to get a malignant tumour on the side of the brain where they hold the handset. Belfast Telegraph writes:
The scientists who conducted the research say using a mobile for just an hour every working day during that period is enough to increase the risk – and that the international standard used to protect users from the radiation emitted is “not safe” and “needs to be revised”. They conclude that “caution is needed in the use of mobile phones” and believe children, who are especially vulnerable, should be discouraged from using them at all.