(CNN) – Radiation from cell phones can possibly cause cancer, according to the World Health Organization. The agency now lists mobile phone use in the same “carcinogenic hazard” category as lead, engine exhaust and chloroform.
Before its announcement Tuesday, WHO had assured consumers that no adverse health effects had been established. A team of 31 scientists from 14 countries, including the United States, made the decision after reviewing peer-reviewed studies on cell phone safety. The team found enough evidence to categorize personal exposure as “possibly carcinogenic to humans.”
What that means is that right now there haven’t been enough long-term studies conducted to make a clear conclusion if radiation from cell phones are safe, but there is enough data showing a possible connection that consumers should be alerted. “The biggest problem we have is that we know most environmental factors take several decades of exposure before we really see the consequences,” said Dr. Keith Black, chairman of neurology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. “What microwave radiation does in most simplistic terms is similar to what happens to food in microwaves, essentially cooking the brain. So in addition to leading to a development of cancer and tumors, there could be a whole host of other effects like cognitive memory function, since the memory temporal lobes are where we hold our cell phones.”
The voices urging caution to consumers have gotten louder in recent years. Results from the largest international study on cell phones and cancer was released in 2010. It showed participants in the study who used a cell phones for 10 years or more had doubled the rate of brain glioma, a type of tumor. To date, there have been no long-term studies on the effects of cell phone usage among children.
Too late, I think that horse has already left the barn. The industry is too big…maybe too big to fail. Perhaps you can keep these out of the hands of the kiddies, at least temporarily. Of course, you will be most unpopular amongst the wee folk.
>> dcphill said, on May 31st, 2011 at 2:25 pm
>> 40 years of working at radio and microwave transmitter stations with over 1megawatt of radiated energy of various wavelengths with my head unprotected has caused no measurable effect.
Lucky for you! You beat the odds. You’re like those guys who smoke multiple packs of cigarettes everyday for 40 and never get lung cancer.
#18. I worked in broadcasting where an engineer who practically lived on a remote mountaintop transmitter died from cancer at an early age. So maybe that’s just a case of “your experience may vary”.
bobbo,
Your list isn’t just apples and oranges, it also includes bananas and t-bone steaks!
Power lines, for instance, are 60Hz when cell phones are 800 _mega_hertz. It makes a HUGE difference in cancer risk.
And I try to live by science not headlines. Despite the headlines, I don’t worry about power lines. Despite the cell company claims, I worry about their phones.
>> # 10 SimonSez said, on May 31st, 2011 at 12:20 pm
>> either in their pocket or on a belt holster, maybe they should do tests to show any bad effects on reproductive organs and child birth.
I _never_ keep my cell phone in my pocket for that very reason.
I suspect a belt is a safer bet but the best would be in a hand bag. But, I would surely lose my phone if I did that.
Cell phone cause cancer, and rosie o’donnels fork is the reason she’s fat. It’s a bullshit story. from We Hurt Ourselves inc.
Well, well, well…
It turns out that the crazy lady who was scared that electricity was leaking out of the sockets was right after all.
OMG!!! We’re all going to die!!!
Hey, I’m nearly 60 years old.
If it takes another 20 years to kill me, do I give a fuck?
Crossing the street here in Noo Joyzee is a far riskier activity.
#26. You live in New Jersey? RUN!!!!!!!
I’m still not convinced. Amateur radio operators have been holding handie-talkies to their head for decades and most of the hams I know are crotchety men/women who live long, cancer-free lives. HTs usually put out a lot more power than any cell phone. Mind you the frequencies aren’t exactly the same, but unless the effect is very frequency specific (could be possible I suppose), I think the hams have shown it’s a non-issue.
why isnt the part you put next to your ear coated in lead?
And that’s why I’ve been using hands-free whenever I can for a loooooong time.
#14 Are you that stupid? Only a macfan can be so bold.
Was the study sponsored by a Bluetooth headset manufacture?
and have they looked into wi-fi as well?? all those wireless adapters and routers… beaming their rays all over…
And oxygen-dihydride kills thousands every year, filling the lungs of its victims, and we’re all exposed to potentially lethal levels of thermo-nuclear radiation every single day (but not at night ’cause the sun has set and we’re shielded from it by the bulk of the planet as it rotates.)
People drown every day, but I don’t think there’s any movement to outlaw water.
People get burnt every day, but I don’t think there’s any movement to outlaw the sun.
People also get burnt everyday by their own idiocy…
How many minutes does YOUR five year old spend on the cell phone, per month? How many hours every year does your ten year old hold that oh, so wicked transmitter up to his/her head?
If you welded the phone to your child and insisted that it turn on every time your kid uttered any vocalization, the chances of harm coming from those radio waves (the ‘radiation’ in the images) would be slim after a lifetime (call it 80) of use.
I have an idea. Wrap cancer-prone mice up in Nokias that are on 24/7 and see if anything happens. If not, chill.
Match radiation with love.
For those asking about the effects of carrying a mobile in your pocket:
http://foodconsumer.org/newsite/Non-food/Environment/cell_phone_0526110732.html
That’s shocking! Still considering that there sure are much more harmful sources we don’t have a clue about, I guess it’s superfluous worrying about the effect of cellphones too much. Better stop smoking first and stuff like that you know.
Buzz Mega,
Where do you (and the other radiation “experts” here) pull this crap from?
Did you even read the WHO report before making your definitive statements declaring cell phones absolutely safe?
Here is the report: http://tinyurl.com/36pdfoz
The report says the earlier studies were based on an estimated 100 hours of lifetime usage. That’s absurdly low now. So it warrants more study since there are some statistical increase of glioma tumors.
Here is the conclusion:
What next?
Dr Christopher Wild, Director of IARC said: “An increased risk of brain cancer is not established from the data from
Interphone. However, observations at the highest level of cumulative call time and the changing patterns of mobile
phone use since the period studied by Interphone, particularly in young people, mean that further investigation of
mobile phone use and brain cancer risk is merited.”
So, I ask the rest of you. Which is more prudent? Just accept the claims of huge cell phone corporations and their blog apologists or to keep studying cell phone safety?
>> Costja said, on May 31st, 2011 at 11:51 pm
>> I guess it’s superfluous worrying about the effect of cellphones too much. Better stop smoking first and stuff like that you know.
So, abandon all studies on cellphone safety because cigarettes are surely worse? No need to worry — Nokia Corp. says they are perfectly safe!
How did this blog get so pro-corporation and anti-science?
I’m not throwing my cell phone away but I still want the safety to be studied!
If cell phones are a danger, can they be made safer? Maybe it’s just younger brains that are impacted. Or maybe just extreme high usage.
But we’ll never even know if we accept all the anti-science pseudo-expertise here on this blog.
EM Field from iPhones COOKING YOUR BRAIN !!!
Brain Washes Apple FanBoys !!!