NCC clarifies stance, says mobile phones don’t cause cancer

mobile-phones

The Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, on Tuesday said it never claimed that mobile phones cause cancer.

In a statement released Tuesday, the agency said it never issued any statement or made any presentation to that effect because there is no scientific basis to make such declaration.

The News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, had on Thursday reported that the agency warned Nigerians against the use of sub-standard phones, saying this was responsible for some cancer ailments.

NAN quoted an official of the commission, Kunle Olorundare, as giving the warning at a stakeholders’ workshop organised by the Ibadan Zonal office of NCC at the popular Fayose GSM Market in Ado Ekiti.

Mr. Olorundare allegedly lamented that fake phones had taken over the country’s phone market, adding that they have had negative implications on the health of users.

But the NCC on Tuesday debunked the report.

“To put the records straight, last week the Commission in its tradition of consistent engagement with all its stakeholders irrespective of location, organized a stakeholder forum in Ado Ekiti on type approval processes, with a focus on mobile devices,” the statement said.

“At the event, the Commission’s representative told the participants to ensure that the devices they sell and use are type approved – certified by the NCC in compliance with the regulations and guidelines of the Commission.

“The Commission wishes to restate its commitment not only to the protection of consumer rights but also to consumers’ education that help all stakeholders to take informed decisions.

“Accordingly, the Commission hereby reiterates that many studies have been conducted on the effects of non-ionizing radiation and there is no conclusive evidence that non-ionizing radiation increases the risk of cancer.

The commission advised the general public to visit: www.icnirp.org; www.cancer.co.uk; www.emf-portal.org where studies, writings and other scholarly works related to the matter were published.

NCC, in its statement, also referred to reports by the World Health Organisation, WHO, and the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) dismissing the claim.

“Finally, there is a parameter called Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) which has a threshold below which it is safe to use a phone, and all phones approved by the Commission have SAR below the threshold mark which make those phones safe for use,” it said.

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  • Dan maikoko

    NCC does not have to say it but among uncountable, modern, sources of cancer are mobile phones of all makes and models, genetically modified foods flora and fauna, toothpastes containing fluoride, fried foods and burnt animal fats of all specie, etc. It is established that all sources of radiation from fluorescent light to x-rays and all toxic chemicals from the alum in drinking water to industrial and agricultural chemicals used in pest and weed control such as glysophate all cause cancer depending on exposure. What NCC should tell people is to limit their exposure and detoxify. Shi ke nan.

  • Wilma Miles

    The
    SAR test, adopted in 1996 by the FCC, was criticized by
    the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) in 2012. The test
    does not reflect
    those who currently use cell phones, nor does it correspond to the way
    people
    use them. Today many children are cell phone users — the child’s brain
    absorbs
    twice the radiation as the adult’s brain. Moreover, the artificial head
    does
    not contain any metal (e.g., dental fillings, earrings, or eyeglass
    frames) which
    could increase the radiation absorption beyond what the
    laboratory-generated SAR
    reflects. In 2012, the GAO recommended that the FCC update its
    obsolete testing procedures, but the FCC has yet to take any action as
    of September, 2015.

    For the SAR test, the FCC allows the manufacturer to choose
    the separation distance between the cell phone and the test model as long as
    consumers are informed about the minimum distance tested. Few consumers are
    aware of the manufacturer’s recommended minimum body separation from their cell
    phone because this information is often difficult to find. Thus, most consumers
    are in the dark about precautions they can take to keep their exposure to
    microwave radiation below the legal limit.

    To ensure that the cell phone does not exceed the legal
    limit, consumers should never keep their cell phone in their pockets or next to
    their skin. The cell phone is not tested directly against the body because most
    cell phones would fail the SAR test as the radiation absorption increases dramatically
    when the cell phone is close to the body.The SAR standard was developed to protect users only from
    the acute effects of the heat generated by microwave radiation (i.e., the
    thermal effect). The SAR limit
    does not protect users from non-thermal effects of cell phone radiation.So the Precautionary Principle regarding cell phone use is advised.