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TV and radio antennae are analogue and send out a continuous signal.
Powerful transmitters may use hundreds of thousands of watts and it is well
known that such large amounts of power can burn or even kill. No one is
allowed near these antennae without special training and safety precautions.
Mobile phone masts, on the other hand, use only tens of watts of power and
so generate very little heat. It is assumed that they must be safe.
This, however, overlooks the fact that mobile phones work in a completely
different way to TV and radio. Mobile phones are digital and send their
signal as a series of pulses. It is thought that this pulsing can interfere
with the natural rhythms of body cells and of the nervous system.
An analogy may be made with visible light. The full power of the sun can
burn while the light from lightbulbs is harmless. However a flickering bulb
can cause fits in some epileptics.
Unfortunately, the research into mobile phone radiation is still being
carried out. No one can say who, if anyone, is affected by it or what may
happen to them. Until we know, the only safe thing to do is to use the
precautionary principle and place the masts away from people.
Children have thinner skulls and a developing nervous system, so if there
are any effects from mobile phone radiation, they could be most pronounced
in them. The government has used this argument to recommend that children
limit their use of mobile phones, yet still allows masts to be placed in
schools.
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