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21 December 2007

Last updated: 21 December 2007, Volume 1, No 51 (PDF file)

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Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research (MTHR) Programme
Recent newsletters on radiation hazards

Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research (MTHR) Programme

In September 2007 the Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research (MTHR) Programme published its first report on the outcome of the research it has supported; staff from the Radiation Protection Division of the Health Protection Agency have been intimately involved in the programme since its inception. During the six years that have elapsed since the programme was set up it has gained international recognition for the quality of the research supported. Given the publication of the MTHR Report 2007 it is timely to look back at the reasons for setting up the programme, examine the way in which it has been managed and consider the challenges ahead as it enters a second phase of research activity.

The beginnings of the MTHR programme can be clearly traced to the publication in May 2000 of Mobile Phones and Health , the report of the Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones (IEGMP), but better known as the ‘Stewart Report' after the Chairman of the committee, Sir William Stewart. This summarised what was then known about the possible health effects of mobile phone technologies and importantly identified those areas where the evidence was insufficient to allow an accurate assessment. Previous review committees had confined themselves to a strict interpretation of the scientific evidence and whilst the Stewart Committee similarly took an evidence-based approach to health aspects it also considered wider issues, with the result that the report had an immediate impact throughout the world and is still widely quoted seven years later.

The overall conclusions of the Stewart Report were reassuring; the available evidence did not suggest that emissions from either mobile phones or their base stations would produce adverse effects on the health of the general population. However, the Stewart Committee considered that there was some evidence of biological effects occurring below the guideline levels in place at the time and felt unable to conclude that exposure was totally without potential adverse health effects. It therefore recommended adopting a precautionary approach to the new technology until more detailed and scientifically robust information on any possible health effects became available. Naturally it also made specific recommendations about how this information could be obtained. In fact four of the thirty specific recommendations in the report relate to future research needs and it was these that led directly to the setting up of the MTHR Programme.

The Stewart Committee had recognised the need to establish the independence of the programme. It had suggested that funding should be provided on an equal basis by both government and industry, but should be managed by a ‘demonstrably independent panel'. This was the model that was followed when the programme was initiated in 2001 with funds of £7.4 million provided by consortia of government departments/agencies and companies active in the mobile communications sector. The 50:50 funding arrangement provided a means of ensuring that neither industry nor government could exert undue pressure on the funding decisions of the programme. To further reinforce the firewall, all funds were paid to the Department of Health, which provided the lead Secretariat and acted as ‘banker' to the programme; representatives of the Department of Trade and Industry, the Medical Research Council and the Office of Science and Technology also joined the secretariat. To overcome resource limitations within the formal secretariat, NRPB was appointed as scientific co-ordinator to the programme following an open tender exercise. Following the merger with NRPB, HPA gained not only the MTHR scientific co-ordination function, but also the contract and financial management functions, which transferred from the Department of Health.

As envisaged under the model, research funds were allocated by an independent Programme Management Committee, which was initially chaired by Sir William Stewart. In addition to the Chairman, the Committee included several other members of the Stewart Committee along with other specialists including two members of HPA staff and four overseas members. There has been some change in membership over the years in order to maintain the broad range of expertise required; Sir William retired in 2002 following his appointment as Chairman of HPA, and was succeeded by Professor Lawrie Challis.

Prior to 2001, research in this area had not been well funded and it was recognised that with a few notable exceptions this had been detrimental to the overall quality of research activity. The Committee determined from the outset that it would provide sufficient resources to allow high quality research to be undertaken and encourage the involvement of high calibre scientists. The selection of projects was scientifically rigorous with only 16 of the 82 proposals submitted in response to the first call actually funded. In almost all cases, initial proposals that met basic criteria were discussed in detail with applicants to ensure that they addressed the research priorities of the programme and were capable of providing statistically robust results. Two subsequent calls were made to fill gaps in the programme so that there were 28 projects in total; funding also increased to £8.5 million. Once projects were underway they were actively monitored and reviewed by the Committee. The rigorous selection and subsequent review process has been, and continues to be, a key element in ensuring the quality of the research undertaken.

The programme provided significant support to its research teams. This included commissioning standard exposure systems to be used by all the volunteer studies, ensuring the availability of free expert advice on experimental dosimetry from the National Physical Laboratory, and organising workshops and annual two-day research seminars to promote the exchange of ideas within the programme. It was recognised that many of the volunteer studies conducted prior to 2001 had suffered from design limitations and so it was decided that all would follow a set of basic principles developed to ensure that these pitfalls were avoided.

The majority of projects related to possible effects of mobile phones (only five related to base stations) and this reflects the need to examine exposure situations most likely to lead to detectable effects - exposure to the head from the use of a mobile phone is thousands of times higher than that from base stations. The research supported has included epidemiology, volunteer studies, investigations of fundamental interaction mechanisms, exposure assessments, studies of risk communication strategies, and investigations of the effects of mobile phone use on driving performance. Completed projects have produced 23 publications in peer-reviewed journals to date, with more expected in the future. None of the research supported by the programme and published so far demonstrates that biological or adverse health effects are produced by radiofrequency exposure from mobile phones or base stations. Reassuringly, no epidemiological association has been found between short-term mobile phone use (less than ten years) and cancers of the brain and nervous system. Volunteer studies provided no evidence that brain function is affected by exposure and no convincing support for the hypothesis that the unpleasant symptoms experienced by sufferers of electrical hypersensitivity (EHS) result from exposure to signals from mobile phones or base stations. The distraction caused by using a mobile phone whilst driving (no matter whether used hand-held or hands-free) is still the only well established adverse health effect.

The Committee has recognised that, while many of the concerns raised by the Stewart Committee have been reduced by the Programme and work done elsewhere, some still remain. Hence it has recently published a call for proposals for a second phase of the Programme (MTHR2). Priorities will include a contribution to an international cohort study to assess whether long-term exposure (greater than ten years) increases the risk of developing cancers of the brain and central nervous system, and also neurodegenerative diseases. In addition, work to assess possible adverse effects on children is also considered a priority.

The MTHR Report 2007 is available to download free from the MTHR web site (www.mthr.org.uk).

Recent newsletters on radiation hazards

Through the Centre for Radiation, Chemical and Environmental Hazards, the Agency publishes a series of well-established newsletters and reports which serve to keep stakeholders updated on a range of matters associated with radiation and chemical hazards that may be accessed via the HPA website. Readers wishing to obtain further information on these publications and the topics covered should make contact through the email address given.

Environmental Radon Newsletter No 53