[Press release] Phonegate: Inexcusable one-year delay in release of French government phone test data

Citizens demand details of phone tests for children and adults

Press release by Dr. Marc Arazi, Monday 17 July 2017

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After 2017 released data of the French government showed excessive levels of microwave radiation from mobile phones,  Gilles Brégant, Director-General of the French National Frequencies Agency (ANFR) promised to release additional test details.

Last year,  the French National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES) published a report entitled, “Exposure to Radiofrequencies and Child Health,” showing the most phones failed to meet current standards for radiation and pledging to release test methods and results. By not keeping its commitment and releasing these details a year later, ANFR is abrogating its duty to public health and the environment.  While secondary insurers do not cover phone manufacturers for health damages, a new European Directive (Dir 2014/53/UE) protects the uninsurable industry from possible legal actions (article 42).

Because of this agency inaction, French physician Marc Arazi is appealing directly to the Director-General of ANFR as well as to Nicolas Hulot, Minister for the Ecological Transition, and Agnès Buzyn, Minister for Health.  

Dr. Arazi insists, “We have a right to know how the millions of devices now being used by French citizens from infancy to old age release radiation levels that greatly exceed current test limits and how to protect ourselves.”  

 Communication of Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) whole body measurements

In delaying the release of the test details and insisting that children are not endangered, ANFR contradicts the 8 July 2016 report by the National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES) entitled, “Exposure to Radio Frequencies and Child’s Health”.  The 2016 report documented that  measurements were made on children and adults and this information was transmitted by ANFR to ANSES.

In its recommendations to the government, the committee of scientific experts wrote:

“the increase of the “whole body” SAR in the youngest children compared to adults, due to morphological and anatomical differences, could lead to exceeding the basic restrictions (SAR) by 40% under worst case conditions (high environmental exposure equal to the regulatory limit values).”  The committee of experts proposed “to adapt regulatory limit values of exposure in order to take into account the specificities of children regarding their exposure to radiofrequencies.”