Children's 'exposure to mobile phones should be limited'
French safety watchdog recommends limiting exposure to radiofrequencies for children and intensive users
3:52PM BST 15 Oct 2013
Children and heavy users of mobile phones should limit their exposure to the devices, France's safety watchdog advised, despite concluding that there was "no proven effect" on health.
The National Agency for Health, Food and Environmental Safety (Anses) said it would make a recommendation to limit exposure to the devices, with heavy use defined as 40 minutes of conversation a day.
The report was issued by a panel of 16 experts, who looked at more than 300 scientific studies that have been published since 2009, when the recommendations were last assessed.
The panel noted some studies that have suggested a higher long-term risk of brain cancer for heavy users of mobile phones, Anses said.
In a landmark ruling last October, an Italian court ruled that a commerce manager was entitled to compensation from his company because a brain tumour he developed was due to spending up to six hours per day on his mobile phone for 12 years as part of his job.
Anses also listed various possible "biological effects in humans or animals," namely disruption to "sleep, male fertility or cognitive performance," which coincided with mobile phone use.
However, it said: "The agency's experts were unable to establish any causal link between the biological effects described in cell models, animals or humans, and any possible resulting health effects."
It added: "Given this information, and against a background of rapid development of technologies and practices, Anses recommends limiting the population's exposure to radiofrequencies – in particular from mobile phones – especially for children and intensive users, and controlling the overall exposure that results from relay antennas."
France's 4G network has been recently ramped up to reach 40 million potential users while there is a plan to roll out 3G and 4G wireless coverage across Paris' Metro and suburban rail networks by 2015.
Options for consumers include using a hands-off kit or selecting a phone with lower electromagnetic emissions, Anses said. Mobile phones are the biggest single source of everyday exposure to electromagnetic radiation, the agency said.
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