Mobile phones health forum holds in August

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) stakeholders would next month be hosted to a one-day forum on ‘Mobile phone, Base Stations and Health Concerns’ by ITWorld Int’l Magazine in collaboration with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and other stakeholders in the industry.

Chief executive officer of ITWorld Int’l, Mr. Enyi Moses said the public forum has been scheduled to hold on August 11, 2009 in Lagos to deliberate on the health concerns arising from mobile phones and base stations.  

The forum with the theme “Mobile phone, Base Stations and Health Concerns” he said, is taking place as part of his organisation’s contribution to engender public discourse on issues of public interest to Nigerians on the use of mobile phones and base stations.

It is therefore expected that the forum will adequately provide information to participants on growing fears that base stations and mobile phones pose risk to health.

“The increased use of mobile phones in Nigeria and around the world has raised public interest in possible health issues (if any) associated with exposure to electromagnetic energy. People are concerned about the health and safety effects arising from possible harmful emissions from mobile phone handsets and base stations,” he said.

Mr. Moses also said that the fears have been elevated to such a level that those who live close to base stations express unnecessary concerns and are beginning to converge to pressure government to order that base stations be cited away from city centres and residential areas.

“It is the need to provide adequate answers to these growing fears that concerned stakeholders are converging to give the true and scientific reports on the effect of base stations and mobile handsets to humans,” said.

Essentially, the purpose of the forum is to ensure that Nigerian public is correctly educated to allay their fears or otherwise on these allegations about base stations and mobile phones.

The forum, he further said, will thrive to make the issues of radiation from mobile phone systems and base stations more understandable and provide definite answers to questions and issues such as “What is radiation? Are there any health risks if you live or work near a base station? Can I get brain cancer or any other related illness from using mobile phones?”

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