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LONDON -- A British mobile telephone task force has been set up to carry out 14 projects looking into potential links between the use of mobile phones and health risks to humans, the U.K. Department of Health has announced.

Currently, no conclusive scientific evidence finds the use of mobile phones poses any health risks to humans. The U.K. researchers hope to expand study of this topic, say Yvette Cooper, minister for public health, and Douglas Alexander, minister for e-commerce and competitiveness, in a statement from the Department of Trade and Industry.

Human volunteers will be used in some of the studies in the Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research Programme, the Department of Health said. The program is jointly funded by the U.K. government and the mobile phone industry, to the tune of $10.54 million.

"We need to fill the gaps in our scientific knowledge as soon as possible so that we can provide people with the evidence they need to make an informed choice about using their mobile phones," Cooper said in the statement.

An estimated 40 million mobile phones are in use in the U.K., which has a population of 55 million people, said Christine Jude, a spokesperson for the Federation of the Electronics Industry, a group representing the mobile phone industry.

Expanding Research

The study is the result of a warning issued in May 2000 by a U.K. government-appointed commission. It urged a cautious approach of risk management--especially involving children--by the government. The report, titled Mobile Phones and Health, was published by the Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones (IEGMP) and is also referred to as the Stewart Inquiry after its chair, William Stewart.

Stewart also chairs the Programme Management Committee, which will oversee the latest round of studies under the Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research Programme.

The initial Stewart Inquiry report points out that some research suggests radiation from mobile devices can speed the growth of human tissue and even affect human thought processes.

The Stewart Inquiry called for further studies on human health and mobile phone use. It prompted the U.K. government to require all mobile phone handsets sold in the country to come with leaflets warning of potential health risks the technology may pose to children.

In announcing the new studies on Friday, Cooper said the Health Department is reiterating its cautionary advice on the use of mobile phones.

Specified Studies

Among the research planned:

* two studies examining possible effects on blood pressure and hearing in volunteers;

* four studies exploring possible links between the risk of developing brain cancer or leukemia through mobile phone use;

* two studies investigating the effects of mobile phone signals on brain function and the behavior of exposed people;

* one study into the ways in which mobile phones affect the performance of drivers;

* two studies attempting to identify how mobile phone signals could produce biological effects, by looking for evidence of changes in exposed cells; and

* four studies examining the interaction of radio signals with the body in order to characterize how much energy is deposited and where.

The original Stewart report singled out mobile phone use by children, the elderly, and the infirm as cause for increased concern. It said children may be more vulnerable because of their developing nervous system, the greater absorption of energy in the tissues of the head, and a longer lifetime of exposure. At the time, Stewart stressed that he would not allow his own young grandchildren to use mobile phones on a regular basis.

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