12:07 p.m. Oct. 26, 1998 PST

Cell phone manufacturers have acknowledged for the first time that their products pose a health risk to users, according to a story in London's Independent. Lawyers claim that the admission will pave the way for civil suits against manufacturers, for conditions ranging from tumors, damage to the immune system, and memory loss.

The newspaper bases its story on patents filed by leading cell phone manufacturers -- including Ericsson and Alcatel -- which are developing new equipment that's designed to minimize the health risks associated with using mobile phones.

"These companies deny there is any health risk, yet they are -- all the time -- applying for patents to reduce the level of [microwave] emissions," biologist Roger Coghill told the newspaper.

Hitachi, for instance, is developing an antenna that is designed to prevent "the health of the user from being injured," the report said. Other patents refer to the "safe distances" between the user and "radiating systems." Scientists have found that up to 70 percent of mobile emissions could be absorbed by the head to create "hot spots" in the brain.

A spokesman for Alcatel countered that the patent applications are a response to current and future health guidelines. "We could have chosen better wording on these patents," he said. "We take them out so we are ready to bring products to the market to comply with standards should they change. But as far as we are concerned, there is no scientific research which proves any damage could be done."

Britain's biggest personal injury law firm, Thompsons, is pursuing that country's first claims against cell phone manufacturers, the Independent said.

"The mere fact these companies are producing modifications with a reduced risk must mean there was an increased risk with the product they were marketing at the time," an attorney at the firm told the Independent.