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Cell
Phones Cause Kidney Failures
12/28/08 |
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Mobile phones were at
the center of a new health scare last night after claims
they can seriously damage the heart and kidneys.
Earlier reports have already linked their use to brain
tumours, headaches and premature ageing. Now scientists
sat exposure to the phones' low-level radiation causes
red blood cells to leak haemoglobin. The build-up of
haemoglobin, which carries oxygen around the body, can
lead to heart disease and kidney stones.
The findings will heighten alarm over the safety of
mobile phones which are used by more than 13 million
people in Britain. In the latest research, scientists
exposed samples of blood to varying degrees of microwave
radiation for periods between ten to 60 hours.
Even at lower levels than those emitted by mobile
phones, the cells leaked haemoglobin. Professor Edward
Tuddenham, a haemotologist at the Imperial College
Medical School based in Hammersmith Hospital, West
London, said the findings were worrying and he wanted to
see the study followed up. 'The accumulation of
haemoglobin in the body could result in heart disease or
kidney stones,' he warned.
The Department of Health said yesterday that the new
study - carried out at the European Research Institute
for Electronic Components in Bucharest - would be
examined by a Government-appointed committee due to
report on phone safety next year.
However, the Cambridge based consumer group Powerwatch
said with evidence of the risks growing the go vernment
needed to do more.
'We are still very much investigating the biological
consequences of mobile phones. But there certainly seems
to be enough laboratory studies now saying there are
effects, to be very concerned,' said a spokesman.
Last month, scientists at Sweden's Lund University found
that two minutes of exposure to emissions from mobile
phones can disable a safety barrier in the blood causing
proteins and toxins to leak into the brain.
This can increase the chances of developing diseases
such as Alzheimer's, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's.
The Federation of the Electronics Industry yesterday
repeated its claim that there was no conclusive proof
that the phones were a health hazard. A spokesman said
mobiles operated within strict guidelines on radiation
emissions. 'The consensus of scientific opinion is that
there is no consistent evidence that mobile phones
operating within these guidelines have any adverse
health effects,' he said. |
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