Biological Effects of Portable Communication Equipment - A Review

Within a few years, the use of mobile - called "cellular" - phones exploded all over the world. More than 600 millions of them were sold in 2004! To ensure proper service, base stations must be installed in increasing numbers and many people strongly object to seeing antennas sprouting up in their close neighbourhood! So far, no one has been able to definitely prove that radiation from cellular phones could be harmful, but there is no proof either that it is harmless. Some aspects must still be clarified, and large research projects were initiated to understand and avoid potential hazards (J.C. Lin, 2001). But the problem must be considered in its proper perspective: the concepts of "electromagnetic pollution" and "electrosmog" were coined rather recently, while man-made electromagnetic radiations have been around for more than a century! And natural radiation is essential for all life on Earth! For many years no one questioned the use of waves for radio and TV broadcasting. Does the use of low-power cellular phones create hazards that were not present before?