Overcoming regulatory fear of public perceptions of mobile phone health risks

In the following discussion I will critique the images of the public, the mass media and science that permeate much of the regulatory discourse on RF and risk. These images are sometimes explicitly articulated but on other occasions merely implied. These images can be described as the mythical RF triad. Some examples are provided illustrating why the current approach represents a misleading oversimplification of the social and scientific context relevant to formulating a fair and scientifically accountable RF health policy. a number of suggestions are made for broadening the regulatory imagination and stimulate constructive debate on the RF question. Copyright (2001) Australasian Radiation Protection Society Inc