WHO Updates Fact sheet on Mobile phones and health

The World Health Organization (WHO) has updated the fact sheet on electromagnetic fields and public health : mobile phones to refer to the recent IARC classification. 

The fact sheet provides a summary on

  • short and long term health effects
  • brain tumors
  • exposure levels
  • exposure limit guidelines

The fact sheet notes that the WHO will conduct a formal risk assessment of all studied health outcomes from radiofrequency fields exposure by 2012. It states:

'A large number of studies have been performed over the last two decades to assess whether mobile phones pose a potential health risk. To date, no adverse health effects have been established as being caused by mobile phone use.'

In regard to the IARC classification it states:

'...IARC has classified radiofrequency electromagnetic fields as possibly carcinogenic to humans (Group 2B), a category used when a causal association is considered credible, but when chance, bias or confounding cannot be ruled out with reasonable confidence.'

Click here for the updated WHO fact sheet