Cell Phones Dial Up Fresh Radiation Concern

For years scientists have argued that cell phones could be harmful to our health. But it wasn’t until last year that the first long term study suggested a relationship between prolonged cell phone use and brain cancer. And even that preliminary finding didn’t get people to turn off their cell phones.

Earlier this year, a National Institutes of Health study showed that cell phones caused an increase in brain activity and glucose metabolism.

Now, a new study from International Agency for Research on Cancer involving 31 researchers(PDF) from 14 countries assembled by the World Health Organization says that cell phones are carcinogenic(PDF). Actually it says, “radiofrequency electromagnetic fields are possibly carcinogenic to humans based on an increased risk for glioma, a malignant type of brain cancer, associated with
wireless phone use.”

The organization puts them in the same category (2B) as gasoline fumes and pesticides. Serious but not that serious if you limit your exposure.

Dr. Keith Black, the head of neurosurgery at Cedars-Sinai Hospital, who was not involved in the study says using a cellphone is about as safe as sticking your head in a microwave oven. He says that the radiation cell phones emit makes water in the brain vibrate. That vibration has the potential to heat up or cook the brain over time just like food in a microwave. And that causes cells to form improperly which leads to cancer.

Right now over 5 billion cell phones are in use around the world. But doctors believe that even if cell phones do pose the cancer risk that long term studies are now beginning to see, brain cancer is a very rare disease. And cell phone use doesn’t cause cancer it just may increase the risk.

One thing that the scientists do agree upon is that cell phone use by children should be limited to prevent radiation from seeping into their still forming brains. Since children’s skulls are thinner than adults they can allow in five times as much radiation as an adult brain.

All scientists agree that more research is needed. But since cell phones are so ubiquitous in our lives, it is unlikely that these studies will have a remarkable effect on our cell phone behavior.

For those who are concerned about radiation, limit the amount of time the phone is held to your head. Use a bluetooth or other handsfree device or use the speaker phone function.

University of Washington bioengineering professor Henry Lai told the L.A. Times “I think it’s a very fair conclusion,” Dr. Lai was the first to show cellphone radiation can damage DNA in brain cells. He and his fellow researchers also found memory loss and other learning problems in rats exposed to moderate levels of cellphone radiation.

“At this point, I think the best thing for people to do is limit their exposure to this radiation.” — Henry Lai, University of Washington