RF Exposure Health Risk Perception—A Field Study on the Egyptian Public

Summary This work addresses one of the crucial problems regarding the confusion between the existence of any actual health hazard as documented and the public perception of this hazard. The wide spread use of Radio Frequency (RF) fields in general and in mobile communication in particular has warranted a careful assessment of the public response especially in developing nations. This study comes in response to the growing penetration rate of about 10% of mobile phones in Egypt, which almost exceeds the current rate of fixed lines. It is based on a survey conducted in 2003 and includes different age groups, different levels of education, sex and standard of living. The proposed work discusses the misconceptions and health concerns of the public as far as the spread of mobile communication is concerned and compare it with similar surveys in different countries and calibrate the results with established scientific facts.