Are Mobile Phones a Health Risk

8/14/2019 Are Mobile Phones a Health Risk

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Are Mobile Phones A Health Risk?1

Mobile phones are low power radio devices that transmit and receive microwave

electromagnetic energy at frequencies between 800 Megahertz (MHz) and 1800 MHz.

Mobile phone emission is referred to as 'radiofrequency electromagnetic energy' or

RFE.

The International commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP)

provide guidelines for exposure to mobile phones and recommends a limit of

0.06W/kg whole body SAR (SAR is a measure of the amount of RFE absorbed per

unit mass) and 2W/kg averaged over any 10g of tissue, for localised SAR.

Recommended limits of exposure to RFE aim to restrict whole and partial body

heating.

Health concerns have been raised regarding mobile phone emissions. These possible

effects fall into two main categories as outlined by the Cancer Council NSW i.e. thosedue to heating of tissue (thermal) and those not due to heating (athermal).

Thermal Effects

The recommended limits for exposure to mobile phone emissions are intended to

avoid significant increases in body temperature. Generally an increase of greater than

one degree centigrade is considered detrimental to health.

In practice according to the Cancer Council NSW, the energy output from mobile

phones results in only a fraction of this amount being deposited in the tissues of thehead, and therefore the rise in temperature would only be a fraction of a degree. This

is similar to the normal daily fluctuations in body temperature and such small changes

in heat load are considered too low to cause harmful effects.

Athermal Effects

Athermal effects of mobile phone emissions include suggestions of subtle effects on

cells that might increase cancer development or influences on electrically excitable

tissue that could alter the function of the brain and other nerve tissue.

According to the Cancer Council NSW, RFE is not able to damage genetic material

(DNA) in cells directly and cannot therefore produce cancerous mutations. There have

been suggestions that it may be able to increase the rate of cancer development,

however, by influencing cancer promotion or progression.

In May 1999, the UK National Radiation Protection Board Advisory Group on Non-

ionising Radiation found that 'there was no human evidence of a risk of cancer

resulting from exposure to radiations that arise from mobile phones'. All new research

data published since that time support this position.

1 This article authored by H U.


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Furthermore, the evidence from biological studies on possible effects on tumour

promotion or progression, including work on animals, is not conclusive. The lack of

evidence does not, however, prove the absence of a risk and more specific research is

needed.

There has also been concern about possible effects of RFE on brain function, for

example headaches, memory loss, and varied reaction times and sleep patterns. While

some studies found that these effects occur, according to the Cancer Council NSW

there is no evidence at present that they are harmful to health.

The following are excerpts of articles that find a causal linkbetween mobile phone

usage and cancer.

The following was reported in the Sydney Morning Herald:

A top Australian neurosurgeon says the world's heavy reliance on mobile phonescould be a greater threat to human health than smoking and even asbestos.

Vini Khurana, who conducted a 15-month "critical review" of the link between mobile

phones and malignant brain tumours, said using mobiles for more than 10 yearscould more than double the risk of brain cancer.

"It is anticipated that this danger has far broader public health ramifications than

asbestos and smoking, and directly concerns all of us, particularly the youngergeneration, includingvery young children," Dr Khurana said in a research paper

published on the website brain-surgery.us.

He said there were currently 3 billion mobile phone users worldwide, a number thatis growing daily, and people started using them as young as three.

He said mobile phone radiation couldheatthe side of the head or potentially

thermoelectrically interact with the brain, while Bluetooth devices and "unshielded"headsets could "convert the user's head into an effective, potentially self-harming

antenna".

Dr Khurana, who is a staff specialist neurosurgeon at the Canberra Hospital and an

associate professor of neurosurgery at the Australian National University, said there

had been increasedreports of brain tumours associated with heavy and prolongedmobile phone use, particularly on the same side as the person's "preferred ear" for

making calls.

Further, Khurana said "most of the worrisome data has been surfacing in the last12-

24 months".


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Dr Khurana, who since 1994 has received 14 awards, said the time between thecommencement of regular mobile phone usage to the diagnosis of a malignant solid

brain tumour might be in the order of10-20 years.

He said the link between mobile phones and brain tumours had not yet been

"definitively proven" because widespread mobile phone usage commenced in the mid-1980s and solid tumours might takeseveral years to form.

"In the years 2008-2012, we will have reached the appropriate length of follow-up

time to begin to definitively observe the impact of this global technology on brain

tumour incidence rates," Dr Khurana said.

But he said there was already enough evidence to warrant industry and governments

taking immediate action to reduce mobile phone users' exposure to electromagnetic

radiation and inform them of potential dangers.

"Worldwide availability and use ofappropriately shielded cell phones and hands-free devices including headsets, increased use of landlines and pagers instead ofcurrent mobile and cell phones, andrestricteduse of cellular and cordless phones

among children and adults alike are likely to limit the effects of this physically

'invisible' danger," Dr Khurana said.

The following is from an article by Larry West:

Researchers at the Swedish National Institute for Working Life and the University of

Oerebro compared the mobile phone use of 4,400 peoplehalf of them cancer

patients, and the other half healthy people who made up the control groupand madesome disturbing discoveries.

Heavy Mobile Phone Use Increases Cancer Risk

According to Kjell Hansson Mild, who led the study, heavy users of mobile phoneshave a 240 percentincreased risk of developing a malignant tumor on the side of the

head where they press the phone to their ear.

Published in the International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health,the study defines heavy use as 2,000 hours of mobile phone use in the course of a

decade, which "corresponds to 10 years' use in the work place for one hour per day."

Of the 2,200 cancer patients in the study, who ranged in age from 20 to 80 years old,905 had a malignant brain tumor and just under one-tenth of that number were heavymobile phone users.

"Of these 905 cases, 85 were so-called high users of mobile phones, that is they

began early to use mobile and/or wireless telephones and used them a lot," said theauthors of the study in a statement issued by the Institute.


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In addition, the study concluded thatearly users, defined as people who started usinga mobile phone before age 20, are also at greater risk of developing a malignant

brain tumor.

The study also took into account factors such as smoking habits, working history and

exposure to other known cancer-causing agents.

Limit Mobile Calls and Use Handsfree Options

Hansson Mild advised that the best ways for consumers to lower their risk of cancer

related to mobile phones are to use their wireless phones less frequently and to usehandsfree options when they do make or receive mobile calls.

Swedish Study Breaks New Ground

The Swedish study is the first to show a significant linkbetween long-term mobilephone use and cancer. Previous studies found no evidence that radiation from mobile

phones is harmful, but those earlier studies looked at mobile phone use among fewerpeople over a shorter time.

The Swedish study is the largestand most comprehensive to date. Also, people inSweden have been using mobile phonessince 1984, longer than people in many other

countries, so getting a large sample of people who have been using cellular

telephones for a long time was relatively easy.

Reference

http://www.smh.com.au/news/technology/mobiles-greater-risk-than-

asbestos/2008/03/31/1206850768836.html

Cancer Council of Australia

http://environment.about.com/od/healthenvironment/a/cancerphones.htm


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Are Mobile Phones a Health Risk