Mobile devices could harm kids
The Cyprus National Committee on Environment and Child Health (ECH) says it wants to err on the side of caution, warning the public that using mobile devices could be potentially harmful to children.
According to World Health Organisation, electromagnetic radiation transmitted from mobile and hand-held devices, such as smartphones, tablets and Wi-Fi gadgets, are considered to be “possibly carcinogenic to humans” based on a WHO decision in 2011.
But Stella Michaelidou, President of the ECH, takes it a step further suggesting that more studies keep pointing to other possible harmful effects and society should respond by taking precautions.
“Documentation of other potential and more serious biological side effects are on the tip of an emerging iceberg,” she said.
Michaelidou cited studies that point to a lower safety threshold than the officially accepted, referring to the acceptable index for transmission of radio frequencies known as the ICNIRP index (International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection).
She said multiple and frequent exposure to this kind of radiation, which falls below the acceptable levels of thermal effects, pose a health risk to a developing embryo.
Michaelidou also said that children who use their mobile phone more frequently face a higher risk at having a weaker memory, attention deficit disorder, and similar issues.
The official also admitted that a big segment of the scientific community does not agree with the elevated risk, which suggests that current safety levels are adequate.
The WHO does not have information of additional side effects than the ones made known officially. However, the orgnisation agrees that “potential harmful effects, when discovered, would be far greater and more serious for an embryo or young child compared to adults”.
Michaelidou insists that precaution is the best method to protect children from any potential health hazards.
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