Tag: Hazard

The Federal Government has expressed worries over the likely health hazards of the use of mobile phones. It has asked experts to examine the issue and fashion inputs that will assist regulators in West Africa to tackle the issue.

Minister of Communications Technology Mrs Omobola Johnson, who spoke in Lagos at the second West African Conference on Electromagnetic Fields (EMF) Exposure and Health, said it was also vital the people’s health is taken care of in the booming telecoms business.

She said:  “Even as we celebrate the gains of this revolution, it is important that we are mindful also of the health of our people, both in the short and in the long term. Mindful of the concerns, which have been expressed both locally and internationally, on whether exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF) poses any health hazards to humans; and determined to ensure that the people of West Africa are well advised as to the facts regarding the issue, the Federal Government of Nigeria decided to take the initiative to bring about this conference, which is a follow up to the first one held in 2012, also here in Lagos, Nigeria.

“As you may be aware, Mobile or cellular phones are now an integral part of our lives. In many countries, over half the population use mobile phones and the market is growing rapidly. Already, here in Nigeria as at September 2014 there are over 135 million active subscribers of both mobile and Fixed Wired/Wireless lines; and this number will increase. The growth has been equally phenomenal in the other countries in West Africa and in many instances mobile phones are the most reliable or the only phones available.

“Given the large number of mobile phone users, it is important therefore to investigate, understand and monitor any potential public health impact. Mobile phones communicate by transmitting radio waves through a network of fixed antennas called base stations. Signals in the mobile telephony bands of the radio spectrum are non-ionizing radiation such as X-rays or gamma rays, can neither break chemical bonds nor cause ionization in the human body.”

According the minister, the big question is whether there are any health effects from the use of mobile phones. She said a large number of studies have been performed over the last two decades to assess whether mobile phones pose a potential health risk, adding that to date, no adverse health effects have been established as being caused by mobile phone use.

“But the agitations and concerns continue to surface time and time again. It is, therefore, for us to get the true situation on this topic, as it is currently, and from some of the most informed experts. The Federal Government is very concerned about the welfare and the health of her people; I believe this is the same of our sister countries in West Africa,” she said, adding that the forum would help the governments to get a position that they can use to either reassure the people that they have nothing to worry about. She however said if the conference finds at the end of the day that there is something to worry about, then, it becomes the duty of the various governments to do that which must be done – “to ensure safety of our people and the environment while using mobile communications.”