Watchdog scrutiny for phone radiation
The harmful effects of radiation from mobile phones is to be examined by international consumer watchdogs - if scientists can agree on a standard method of testing phones.
The 22 member countries of the consortium International Consumer Research and Testing - of which Hong Kong's Consumer Council is one - will join forces to examine phone emissions for regular reports to be released worldwide. But they must first have a universal standard for emission tests, and have asked an international body of scientists to devise one by the end of the year.
The move comes amid growing concern over the impact of mobile phone radiation on the body. A recent survey by British scientists also found that hands-free mobile phone kits, which many people use to avoid direct radiation, can actually expose the brain to triple the amount of radiation than the phone itself.
'It has become a major project of the Consumer Council to scrutinise mobile phone radiation, as in most consumer associations over the world,' said Brian Cheng Yeuk-nin, the council's chief research officer.
Hong Kong will know by the end of the year if it will have to pay for the tests, to be conducted in a radiation-proof chamber. It would cost $80,000 to $100,000 to test each model, Mr Cheng said.
The global population of mobile phone users is expected to double from 450 million in the coming three years. More than three million people in Hong Kong are mobile phone users and there are more than 30 models of mobile phone in Hong Kong. Some manufacturers suggest in their user guides that people limit the length of calls to reduce possible harmful effects.
