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Radiation Labels Urged For Mobile Phones
The Nation
July 13, 2002

Thailand should adopt a regulation in use in many other countries requiring manufacturers to label the amount of radiation emitted by their mobile phones out of respect for concerns over consumer health, experts said yesterday.

The regulation is in place in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and several European countries.

The cell phones produced in those countries must carry a label detailing the specific absorption rate of their radiation emissions, said scientist Surasak Parisanyakul at the Medical Science Department.

Hong Kong is set to introduce the regulation by October, he added.

"Although a conclusive study on the links between mobile phone use and health problems like cancer has yet to be completed, it is difficult to say whether radiation emissions present longer-term health risks," he said.

Dr Somkiat Siriratanaphruk, deputy director of the Public Health Department' s Occupational Health Division, said the first report indicating a link between possible health risks and cell phone use had been published in Scandinavia in 1992.

The report said some mobile phone users had complained of side effects after using mobile phones, including headaches, nausea, seizures, confusion, a burning sensation in their ears and exhaustion.

"There are some worries about the possible link between cell phone use and brain tumours," Somkiat said.

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