Mobile phones

ARPANSA has provided a submission to the 2019 parliamentary inquiry into the benefits and challenges of 5G – the fifth generation of the mobile telecommunications network.
The submission provides on information about the safety of radio waves from 5G.

In December 2018, the British Medical Journal Open published a scientific study led by ARPANSA investigating the relationship between brain cancer and mobile phone use.
Since the publication of the original study, the authors have conducted further analysis of additional age groups.

At ARPANSA, we set the safety standard sets limits for exposure to radio frequency (RF) electromagnetic energy (EME) that is emitted by mobile phones and other wireless technologies. These limits are set well below levels at which harm to people may occur. The operating frequencies of the 5G network are included within the limits set by the ARPANSA safety standard.

A study led by ARPANSA, published with the British Medical Journal Open, found no link between the use of mobile phones in Australia and incidence of brain cancers.

An article published in the Daily Mail Australia on 18 June 2018, reports that using a mobile phone can be as damaging on your skin as being out in the sun. It is concerning that the exposure from smartphones has been compared to the same time spent in the sun.

A series of animal studies on mobile phone radiofrequency radiation and health have been conducted over two years by the United States Department of Health and Human Services National Toxicology Program.