Base stations 'safer than phones'

Base stations are 'safer than phones'

A physics professor who advised the government on mobile phone radiation says the public has little to fear from base stations.

Professor Lawrie Challis, from the University of Nottingham, expressed surprise at the strength of public concern about the stations.

He said radiation levels from base stations were so small that a few seconds speaking on a mobile phone was equivalent to standing in the direct beam of a base station for 24 hours.

Exposure from base stations was at least 1,000 times less than from mobile phones, he said.

Professor Challis said: "As a scientist I think it's surprising that someone who uses a mobile phone and gets far more exposure from that should be concerned about base stations."

Main report: Phones appear safe

He thought psychological factors probably affected people's thinking because base stations were so large and visible.

There was also the fear they could affect property prices.

But in reality radiation from base stations was not that different from radiation from TV transmission masts, he said.

Professor Challis was a member of the government's Advisory Group on Non-Ionising Radiation.

It has reported there is no evidence that mobile phones and masts can harm health.

However, the scientists said more research is needed before they can be absolutely certain there is no risk.