The Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association (AMTA) this week responded to claims about safety and testing procedures on Today Tonight in Adelaide.

The program made a number of claims about mobile phone handset safety and broadcast the views of Canberra neurosurgeon Dr Vini Khurana, who likens mobile phone use to the dangers of “asbestos or smoking”.

Today Tonight used a device advertised on the internet, which claims it can be used to test “paranormal phenomena”, to claim that the temperature of its reporter’s ear increased by 5 deg Celsius after use of his mobile phone and this indicated a dangerous situation.

AMTA Chief Executive Officer, Chris Althaus, said mobile phone users could be confident that their handset model had been designed, built and tested to comply with strict science-based safety standards, which were recognised by national and international health agencies, such as the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP), and the Australian Radiation and Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA).

“Such claims have been made before and subsequent investigations by independent experts have shown that the heat on the sensitive ear and cheek area of the user’s head was generated by the phone’s high-speed electronics and not low-level radio frequency (RF) emitted by the phone,” he said.

Modern mobile phones use significant computing power and, like desktop computers, it is normal that surface heat is generated during their use.

Mr Althaus said: “Even holding your hand against your ear or face it will increase the surface temperature by a few degrees because it prevents the normal heat loss.”

Studies have shown that when a phone is held against the ear, but is not transmitting radio waves, the surface temperature of the ear heats up by 1 to 2.5 deg Celsius. When the radio waves are emitted next to the user’s head the maximum additional temperature increase was less than 0.1 deg Celsius.

Canberra neurosurgeon Dr Vini Khurana repeated his claims on the program that mobile phone use could be more dangerous than “asbestos or smoking”.

Mr Althaus said doctors, especially brain surgeons, commanded great respect from the public as a result of their years of study relating to cure and prevention of illness. The medical model of illness prevention inherently supported precaution and moderation.

“Dr Khurana’s strong personal opinions on mobile phones do not equate with the weight of scientific evidence from experts in the field,” he said.

Comprehensive reviews of more than 2500 research publications, including more than 600 studies specifically on mobile phones and base stations, by governments and health authorities continue, without exception, to find there is no substantiated scientific evidence of health effects.

AMTA takes all aspects of mobile phone safety very seriously and supports ongoing research into this important area.