By Dominic Maher, 18 February 1999 00:20
NEWS The Federation of the Electronics Industry (FEI), which represents IT and electronics manufacturers in the UK, has been accused of a BSE-like cover up regarding the safety of mobile phones. Leslie Wilson, director at Microshield - a company which produces safety guards for mobiles - accused the trade association of not knowing if mobile phones are dangerous or not. "There's masses of evidence. We've taken thousands of phone calls from people who have problems with mobile phones. We had one guy who actually had the shape of the phone burned into his side," he claimed. But Tom Wills-Sandford, director at the FEI, disagreed. "There is no proof yet of the danger of mobile phones," he said. Robin Duke-Woolley, senior analyst at Schema, said: "The BSE comparison is over the top given the level of evidence to date." Duke-Woolley claimed there is no actual evidence of damage, but he acknowledged there is an increasing amount of concern. "Richard Branson recently told all staff who use mobiles to use a hands-free device," he said. "I think these will become increasingly popular." Duke-Woolley concluded there is no reason for users to panic. "Any problems are likely to be limited and can be controlled if users adapt practises to limit the risks."
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