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Cell phone cancer
risk
Cell phone manufacturers
have acknowledged for the first time that their products pose a health
risk to users, according to a story in London's Independent. Lawyers
claim that the admission will pave the way for civil suits against
manufacturers, for conditions ranging from tumors, damage to the immune
system, and memory loss.
The newspaper bases its
story on patents filed by leading cell phone manufacturers -- including
Ericsson and Alcatel -- which are developing new equipment that's
designed to minimize the health risks associated with using mobile
phones and emf effect.
"These companies deny
there is any health risk, yet they are -- all the time -- applying for
patents to reduce the cell phone radiation level of [microwave] emissions," and biologist Roger Coghill told the newspaper.
Hitachi, for instance, is
developing an antenna that is designed to prevent "the health of the
user from being injured," the report said. Other patents refer to the
"safe distances" between the user and "radiating systems." Scientists
have found that up to 70 percent of mobile emissions could be absorbed
by the head to create "hot spots" in the brain.
A spokesman for Alcatel
countered that the patent applications are a response to current and
future health guidelines. "We could have chosen better wording on these
patents," he said. "We take them out so we are ready to bring products
to the market to comply with standards should they change. But as far
as we are concerned, there is no scientific research which proves any
damage could be done."
Britain's biggest
personal injury law firm, Thompsons, is pursuing that country's first
claims against cell phone manufacturers, the Independent said.
"The mere fact these
companies are producing modifications with a reduced risk must mean
there was an increased risk with the product they were marketing at the
time," an attorney at the firm told the Independent.
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CELL PHONE RISKS AND HAZARDS REPORTS
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