A report recommending radio transmitters be kept away from schools and hospitals has been adopted by the European Commission. The primary reason behind the EC accepting these findings would appear to be another attempt to calm ongoing consumers' worries concerning electromagnetic fields (EMF) and mobile phones--a problem that occurs with high-voltage power lines which is also addressed within the EC recommendations.
However, as with the vast majority of reports into the EMF safety of cellular masts and cell phones, the EC notes that the research behind this latest study is hugely inconclusive and suggests more money should be spent on advising the public how to avoid exposing themselves to a risk that may or may not exist.
Interestingly, the report calls for less money to be spent on research into the impact of EMF, and instead suggests the money be used to fund a wide-ranging awareness campaign to familiarise young Europeans with good mobile phone techniques.
To this end the EC blame the mobile operators (an easy and identifiable target) for aggressively marketing their services, in particular low-cost packages in an attempt to attract teenagers to increase the use of their cell phones.
Expect more from the EU on this topic when it releases its Interphone study--already several years late after being commissioned in 2000--that plans to report on the links between mobile phones and certain types of cancer.
For more on this story:
Public Technology and The Register
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