Trevor Sargent
Question:66 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Public Enterprise if she will require mobile phone sets to carry health warnings stressing the need for minimal use and non-use for persons under a certain age. [13421/01]
Written Answers - Mobile Telephony.
In 1998 the International Committee on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection – ICNIRP – published guidelines concerning exposure to Radio Frequency, RF, radiation.
In recent years various studies have been undertaken into the safety of mobile phones. One of the more recent and comprehensive reports was that of May 2000 in the United Kingdom, by the Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones, IEGMP. This report is often referred to as the Stewart Report. This report acknowledges public concern about safety of mobile phones and base stations and indicates that following discussions with the mobile manufacturers forum the group understood that all mobile phones marketed in the United Kingdom complied with the ICNIRP guidelines. I have no reason to believe that the position is any different in Ireland. This report indicates that purchasers of mobile phones should have the information to allow them to make informed choices about personal exposure resulting from their use.
Exposure is assessed by a parameter called specific absorption rate, SAR. It is important that there is an agreed and accepted way for measuring this parameter. The report notes that an international standard testing protocol for the assessment of SAR values should be available soon. It recommends that this international standard should be adopted once it has been demonstrated to be scientifically sound.
I support the need for a scientifically sound international standard testing protocol for the assessment of exposure from mobile phones and once the position on an agreed standard becomes clearer I will ask my officials to examine how best the information should be made available to consumers.