§ Mr. Paul MarsdenTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effects of exposure to radiation from cordless telephones; and if he will make a statement. [90432]
§ Ms JowellI am advised that cordless telephones operate at much lower powers to mobile telephones although they are very similar in their principles of operation. There is a substantial body of evidence relating to the effects of high intensity exposure to radio waves and there are national and international exposure guidelines based on the avoidance of these effects. The advice of the National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB) is that exposures of the users of modern mobile telephones will comply with these guidelines. It is expected that exposures from cordless telephones will be far lower than those from mobile telephones and the relevant European Standards group has said that measurements are not required at these lower powers.
The NRPB's Advisory Group on Non-Ionising Radiation continues to review research on the health effects of electromagnetic fields and NRPB have been instructed to set up an independent working group to assess the current state of research into the use of mobile phones. The findings would be relevant to exposures from cordless telephones also. The group will be chaired by Sir William Stewart FRS, FRSE. The membership and terms of reference will be announced shortly.