Mobile use in rural areas found to be riskier

[Alexander Turcic]

Using a digital mobile phone in rural areas may triple the risk of developing malignant or benign brain tumours compared to urban settings, according to a recent study by University Hospital in Orebro. The cause of the increased risk seems to be the higher emissions from the phones in rural areas because the base stations were further apart than they would be in cities and towns. Adding to that, emissions can also be higher in urban areas where reception is poor, and this too can increase the tumour risk.

Not surprisingly phone operators do not agree with the results of the study. BBC News, who is running the story, quotes Mike Dolan, executive director of the Mobile Operators Association saying:

"At best this study is hypothesis generating. "Its findings are not in line with the most recent epidemiological studies from Denmark and Sweden which have not found an association between brain tumours and mobile phone use."