After reviewing data from previous studies, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) released a statement Tuesday asserting cellphones are possibly carcinogenic toward humans.
The report was put together in Lyon, France, after a week-long conference with international experts for the IARC, which is the cancer arm of the World Health Organization (WHO). They analyzed previous studies to determine links between radiation and cancer when using mobile devices like cellphones.
Some of the assessments reviewed questioned studies that showed connections between heavy cellphone use and glioma, a type of brain tumor that can be deadly.
Study in Question
Questions have been raised regarding how conclusive this statement is, since there were no new experiments done. Certain previous studies were considered controversial, since it is so difficult to create a controlled setting.
“There are methodological issues associated with all these studies; controls don’t always want to participate, and those who develop gliomas may unconsciously be subject to recall bias about which side of the head they normally use a cellphone, which becomes something to blame for the cancer,” David de Pomerai, an associate professor at the University of Nottingham who has expertise in harmful radiation, told TechNewsWorld.
Other problems with previous studies include receiving inconclusive answers from participants or not being able to fully monitor their cellphone use.
Additionally, many studies are industry-sponsored, which organizations such as the Physicians and Scientists for Responsible Application of Science and Technology (PSRAST) say can provide biased information.
“In most cases, including the Interphone study, the industry-funded studies included or covered only cases who had been using mobile phones for a too short time to get a tumor (it takes at least 10 years to develop a tumor),” Jaan Suurkula, M.D., a specialist in occupational health and advisor of PSRAST in cellphone radiation issues, told TechNewsWorld.
Avoiding Radiation
Since giving up cellphone use completely is unrealistic for many people, experts advise taking precautions if a mobile device user is worried about cancer risks.
Holding the phone as far away from the head can significantly lower the chance of radiation permeating the skull and entering the brain.
Reducing the intensity of radiation waves is simple as well, according to the Physicians and Scientists for Responsible Application of Science and Technology (PSRAST).
They suggest avoiding phone calls if the signal is weak or taking calls in confined areas like elevators, buses, subways or other underground vehicles. According to PSRAST, in these situations the radiation waves either have to work harder to pick up the call and are therefore more intense, or they are reflecting off metal walls and upping the risk of harm.
Cellphone users are also advised to keep their calls brief. The longer the cellphone is in use, the more exposure time waves have to damage.
Another safety measure could be switching to a hands-free device like a Bluetooth headset or a wired ear clip. Popular for their convenience, they can also cut back harmful rays.
“If you’re really worried by this WHO re-categorization, you could always use hands-free or other remote devices that create a significant space between the hand-set and the side of your head,” said de Pomerai.
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Wow guys, cell phones are NON-IONIZING radiation. That means they cannot cause any genetic damage, only heating. Our bodies have an incredible ability to move heat.
Our blood vessels open up to move heat to the surface of our bodies. We sweat, we breathe hard. We can be put into a 220 degree room, HIGHER THAN THE BOILING POINT OF WATER, and survive. OK it isn’t comfortable, but it works.
How hot is a 1 Watt bulb? Heck, how hot is a 40 Watt bulb?
A hand held cellular phone runs at a MAXIMUM of 0.6 Watts, and most of that energy is RF that goes out, not into our heads. Even so, 0.6 Watts is not going to be a heat level that is going to be impossible for our bodies to remove.
These alarmist "studies" are just stupid.
How can we get people to accept science, not this crap?
The Healing Frequency dot com is a SALES web site, not a science web site.
The product they sell that they state you should buy to protect yourself is the "Quantum Shield," … "that uses scalar or quantum energy (like a quantum pendant) can offer you a great deal of protection."
Show me the science!
Cell phone energy MAY cause some heating, but it is not nearly as easy to measure as they state, but the W.H.O. does correctly state it.
The W.H.O. is stating there MIGHT be a POSSIBILITY that the heating may cause problems over long periods of time, as in decades of heavy use. The US EPA says no,
And, while it is somewhat correct that "microwave" ovens heat food by the same method, it isn’t nearly the same thing. First of all cellular phones operate around 860 MHz, which does not have much effect on water molecules. PCS phones, which are now included in all cell phones, operate at 1900 MHz, which also has little effect on water. The phones operate at 0.6 Watts MAXIMUM, and most of the time at much lower power, which is controlled by the cell site (tower). They also operate in free space, so the signal just keeps going,
Microwave ovens, on the other hand, operate at 2400 MHz, keep the energy contained in a metal box until it is absorbed by the food, heating it, AND THEY OPERATE AT AS MUCH AS 1200 OR EVEN MORE WATTS!
That is 2000 times more power, in an enclosed box instead of free space. The metal box increases that absorption by more than a factor of 100. Open the door on your microwave oven, defeat the interlocks and try to heat something up. Your success will be very limited, you will send too much energy at your body, and you will interfere with a whole lot of WiFi data.
I’M NOT SERIOUS ABOUT DEFEATING THE INTERLOCKS.
Microwave ovens don’t operate at microwave frequencies, by the way. They operate at UHF, or Ultra High Frequencies. The definition of microwave is from 3 GHz (3,000 MHz) to 300 GHz.
I always to wait till my cell phone connects before I put it up to my ear. Radiation is a fact of life in today’s WIFI enabled society. The best thing you can do is to just make sure you and your family are not being harmed by it. http://thehealingfrequency.com/cell-phone-radiation-get-emf-protection/ Cell Phone Radiation can be made less harmless by just taking a few simple precautions.
Yeah, its always so useful to use old, uncertain, studies to produce warnings of danger of something. Seriously, if you want to know if there is danger, you need to do **good** studies, not fumble through the data on old ones, which have a lot of problems, not the least of which being that can’t even say if *every* sort of EM radiation is a problem, or just some frequencies, or if what correlation did happen wasn’t chance. Statements like this are not helping to answer the questions, they only, potentially, feed nut cases, or spread fear, in cases where it turns out, when additional studies produce a negative, it was all incorrect. Its unprofessional, and imho, unethical.