In view of the WHO’s recent warning that there might be a link between cellphone use and brain cancer, a civic group and legislator yesterday called on government to publicize the warning and to ban children younger than 15 from using cellphones on school grounds.
The WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) on Monday said that exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields, such as using cellphones, might increase the risk for acoustic neuroma and glioma, a malignant type of brain cancer.
Taiwan Electromagnetic Radiation Hazard Protection and Control Association chairperson Chen Jiau-hua (陳椒華) said the Department of Health must inform the public that radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation has been classified as a “Group 2B” substance (probably carcinogenic to humans, but with limited evidence) and provide practical, precautionary measures.
The specific absorption rate (SAR), a measure of the amount of radio frequency energy absorbed by the body while using a cellphone, as well as a warning message should be put on cellphone packing, Chen said, adding that children under the age of 15 should be banned from using cellphones at school to reduce the possibility of harm to their memories and brains.
However, a Department of Health specialist, Su Shin-yuh (蘇新育), said the IARC reported there was only evidence showing that exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation by “heavy users” might cause harmful or carcinogenic effects on human, with heavy use defined as 30 minutes a day over a 10-year period.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Tien Chiu-chin (田秋堇) said many people now would be considered heavy users and the government should set up stricter regulations to protect the public.
The National Communications Commission said all cellphones sold in Taiwan since July last year have been required to be labeled with their SAR number.
Liao Shuang-ching (廖雙慶), a secretary at the Ministry of Education’s Division of Environmental Protection Education, said it would hold a meeting to discuss the idea of banning cellphone use by students at school.
The meeting would be attended by experts, parents, school representatives and doctors, Liao said.
Additional reporting by CNA
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
Taiwanese celebrities Hank Chen (陳漢典) and Lulu Huang (黃路梓茵) announced yesterday that they are planning to marry. Huang announced and posted photos of their engagement to her social media pages yesterday morning, joking that the pair were not just doing marketing for a new show, but “really getting married.” “We’ve decided to spend all of our future happy and hilarious moments together,” she wrote. The announcement, which was later confirmed by the talent agency they share, appeared to come as a surprise even to those around them, with veteran TV host Jacky Wu (吳宗憲) saying he was “totally taken aback” by the news. Huang,
The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) put Taiwan in danger, Ma Ying-jeou Foundation director Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) said yesterday, hours after the de facto US embassy said that Beijing had misinterpreted World War II-era documents to isolate Taiwan. The AIT’s comments harmed the Republic of China’s (ROC) national interests and contradicted a part of the “six assurances” stipulating that the US would not change its official position on Taiwan’s sovereignty, Hsiao said. The “six assurances,” which were given by then-US president Ronald Reagan to Taiwan in 1982, say that Washington would not set a date for ending arm sales to Taiwan, consult
RSS