Sir William Stewart

November 20, 2006

Sir William Stewart: Evidence of a Cell Phone Risk Stronger Today than in 2000

According to today's London Times, Sir William Stewart believes that the evidence that microwave radiation can have potentially harmful effects has become more persuasive over the past five years. Stewart, who was the the chief science advisor to the U.K government from 1990 to 1995, is the head of the U.K.'s Health Protection Agency —which absorbed the NRPB last year. He chaired the panel which wrote the influential report Mobile Phones and Health in 2000.

November 21, 2005

Canadian Radio on Cell Phone Radiation

Radio (TV) Canada’s news program Decouverte [Discovery] broadcast a two-part news show on EMFs last night.

You can watch both shows on Radio Canada’s Web site. They are in French.

The first part is on cell phones and kids and their risk of developing acoustic neuromas and brain tumors. Also cited is the University of Lund work showing that microwave radiation can lead to leakage through the blood-brain barrier. The second part is on electrosensitivity.

January 14, 2005

IEEE & Telecoms Seek To Loosen Cell Phone SARs

As the aftershocks from the Stewart report continue to reverberate, the telecom industry is brazenly moving forward with its plan for a major relaxation of the US limit for radiation exposures from cell phones. Yesterday and today, some members of the IEEE International Committee on Electromagnetic Safety (ICES) are meeting to hammer out their revision of the IEEE RF safety standard (known as C95.1).

One of the major planned changes is to replace the current SAR limit of 1.6 W/Kg, averaged over 1g of tissue, with a standard of 2.0 W/Kg, averaged over 10g.

January 13, 2005

Sir William Stewart: Precautionary or “Fusspot”?

The British press has given a lot of ink to the Stewart report, featuring numerous interviews with Sir William. In one of the most detailed of these he told Nic Fleming of the Daily Telegraph that he is “more concerned” about possible health risks today than he was five years when he first called for children to be discouraged from using mobile phones.

Sir William said that, “When it comes to suggesting that mobile phones should be available to three- to eight-year-olds, I can’t believe for a moment that can be justified. It seems to me ludicrous.”

January 11, 2005

U.K.'s NRPB Calls for Precaution

In its report, released today, the board of the NRPB reaffirmed its call for a “precautionary approach” to the use of mobile phones. One of the key recommendations is that “particular attention be given to how best to minimize exposure of potentially vulnerable subgroups such as children.” In the NRPB press release, Sir William Stewart, the chair of the board, states that, “The fact is that the widespread use of mobile phones is a relatively recent phenomenon and it is possible that adverse health effects could emerge after years of prolonged use.”

January 8, 2005

Reports from U.K.'s NRPB and U.S. National Academy of Sciences Due

Next week two major reports will be released to the public. On Tuesday January 11, the National Radiological Protection Board, or NRPB, will issue a review of the current state of knowledge on mobile phones and health. The report is already being called “Stewart#2.” Sir William Stewart was the chair of the Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones (IEGMP) that issued Mobile Phones and Health. in May 2000 (see MWN, M/J00, p.1).

July 23, 2004

U.K. Parliament Recommends All Cell Sites Be Reviewed

In a new report, Mobile Phone Masts, the All Party Parliamentary Mobile Group in the U.K. is recommending that every cell phone tower should be required to go through the normal planning process and that any blanket exemptions be revoked. The panel noted that this was one of the recommendations of the Stewart committee in its own report, Mobile Phones and Health, issued in the spring of 2000.

May 25, 2004

Sir William Stewart Reappointed Chair of NRPB

Sir William Stewart has been reappointed the chairman of the U.K. National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB). Sir William, who also heads the Health Protection Agency (HPA), will now lead the board through March 31, 2005. (The government plans to make the NRPB part of the HPA.)

March 31, 2004

U.K. NRPB Favors ICNIRP Limits

The U.K. National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB) is recommending the adoption of the ICNIRP limits for human exposures to EMFs in the 0-300 GHz frequency range. In its Advice, issued on March 31, the NRPB cites its “review of the science, the need to adopt a cautious approach and recognition of the benefits of international harmonization” as the rationale for tightening the U.K. standards, which are among the least restrictive in the world.

The board stresses that it may be necessary to adopt “further precautionary measures” for the exposure of children to power-frequency magnetic fields.

March 10, 2004

Sir William Stewart to Open Leukemia Conference

Sir William Stewart, the chairman of the U.K. Health Protection Agency as well as the chairman of the NRPB, will give the opening address at the International Scientific Conference on Childhood Leukemia. The meeting, to be held in London, September 6-10, will examine all the possible risk factors including genetics, ionizing radiation, EMFs, chemicals and viruses. Those signing up before June 30 will get close to a 20% discount on the registration fee.

January 20, 2004

New Cell Phone Research: No Cause for Concern

A U.K. panel has concluded that health research on RF/MW radiation published over the last three years “does not give cause for concern.” In a report released on January 14, the Advisory Group on Non-Ionizing Radiation (AGNIR) found that, “The weight of evidence now available does not suggest that there are adverse effects from exposures to RF fields below guideline levels.” But the committee also cautioned that the available literature has “limitations” and that “mobile phones have only been in widespread use for a relatively short time.”

A Report on Non-Ionizing Radiation

Sir William Stewart: Microwave News Article Archive (2004 - )