Cellphone Radiation Facts

Studies, Facts and Evidence

What is the radiation produced by a cell phone?

Like televisions, alarm systems, computers, and all other electrical devices, Cell phones (also called cellular phones) are radio devices that use Radiofrequency (Rf) energy emit electromagnetic radiation. They operate at low power (less than 1 watt) by transmitting and receiving electromagnetic radiation in the radiofrequency (RF) end of the spectrum. Radiation which is called "ionizing" can be absorbed by tissue and break molecules apart, such as gamma rays and x-rays, are known to cause cancer in humans.  The concern is that the cell phone and it's antenna (the source of the radiation) are held close against the head)

Power

Newer phones are digital.  The older analog phones are expected to be phased out by 2006.  The major difference is that analog phones use much more power than digital.  Analog use about 1.3 Watts, while a digital cellular phone is designed to operate at a maximum power level of 0.6 watts. By comparison, a household microwave oven uses between 600 and 1,100 watts.

Frequency

In the United States, cellular phones operate in a frequency ranging from about 850 to 1900 megahertz (MHz). In that range, the radiation produced is in the form of non-ionizing radiofrequency (RF) energy. This harmful RF energy is different than the ionizing radiation like that from a medical x-ray, which can present a health risk at certain doses.

Ionizing gamma rays and x-rays can cause cancer in humans when their energy is absorbed by the tissue and chemical bonds are broken, damaging DNA. harmful RF energy, on the other hand, produces heating of tissue. Although there is a small amount of experimental evidence that suggests harmful RF energy can impact DNA in rats, this data has been contradicted by several other animal studies and is not well substantiated. Even if true, the doses administered in these animal studies were much larger than the exposure in human beings and may have no relevance to cell phone use at all. So although the harmful RF energy emitted by cell phones is in the electromagnetic spectrum, and other forms of electromagnetic radiation can cause cancer in humans, harmful RF energy is very different and has not been shown to cause cancer in humans.

At high enough levels, RF energy, too, can be harmful, because of its ability to heat living tissue to the point of causing biological damage. Rapid cell division occurs, damage to blood brain barrier tissues that are highly sensitive and other adverse effects can be caused by the RF exposure.. In a microwave oven, it's harmful RF energy that cooks the food, but the heat generated by cell phones is small in comparison.

Take an egg and cook it in a microwave oven with a power output of 1200 Watts, the egg will cook within a minute and a half. Take the same microwave frequency from another oven with a max power output of 400 Watts and the egg will take over three minutes to cook. Mobile phones power output is subject to a IEEE maximum output of 0.06 watts, within a save range. However, you phone will power from 0.01 to 0.06 depending on the signal strength. If you have poor coverage and the phone is transmitting at the maximum output, you are cooking your brain faster as does the more powerful microwave oven will cook an egg faster.

A cellular phone's main source of harmful RF energy is its antenna, so the closer the antenna is to a phone user's head, the greater the person's expected exposure to harmful RF energy.

Because harmful RF energy from a cell phone falls off quickly as distance increases between a person and the radiation source (actually, by the distance squared), the safety of cellular phones with an antenna mounted away from the user, like on the outside of a car, has been presumed to be safe. The distance and the effect of the car acting as a Gaussian cage would virtually eliminate the radiation inside the car. Also not presently in doubt is the safety of those so-called cordless phones that have a base unit attached to a home's telephone wiring and operate at much lower power levels than cell phones.

Many experts say that no matter how near the cell phone's antenna--even if it's right up against the skull--the six-tenths of a watt (typically) of power emitted couldn't possibly affect human health. 

Scientific Studies to Date

Some cellular phone users have been diagnosed with brain cancer in humans, and many others who have not used cellular phones have gotten the disease, too. Each year in the United States, brain cancer in humans occurs at a rate of about six new cases per 100,000 people. Among the 100 million Americans who own cellular phones, then, about 6,000 cases of brain cancer in humans would be expected among them in a year, even if they had not used cellular phones.

Scientific studies have focused on the question of whether the statistical risk of getting brain cancer in humans is increased in those who use cellular phones compared to non-users, leaving to the courts the judgment of whether Chris Newman or other individuals would have gotten the disease had they not used a cell phone.

Two types of studies are generally used to investigate suspected cancer in humans causes: epidemiological studies, which look at the incidence of a disease in certain groups of people, and animal studies.

Epidemiological studies are sometimes difficult to carry out in a way that can determine whether a cause-and-effect relationship exists between a single variable in a person's life (in this case, cell phone use) and the person's disease (brain cancer in humans). Some factors that complicate research into the asserted link between cell phones and brain cancer in humans: Brain cancer in humans can take years or even decades to develop, making possible long-term effects of cellular phone use difficult to study; cellular phone technology is ever-evolving; and so many lifestyle factors--even down to the precise position in which a person holds the phone, as well as his or her own anatomy--can affect the extent of radiation exposure.

Studies in animals are easier to control, but entail complications of their own. For example, how should results obtained in rats and mice be interpreted in terms of human health risks? And how can scientists account for the fact that these studies sometimes expose animals to RF almost continuously--up to 22 hours a day--and to whole-body radiation, unlike people's head-only exposure?

While studies generally have shown no link between cell phones and brain cancer in humans, there is some conflicting scientific evidence that may be worth additional study, according to FDA. The FDA says on their website that they are closely following ongoing research into whether there might be any association between cell phones and cancer in humans.

A long-term study begun in 1994 by the government's National cancer in humans Institute is already under way to examine possible risk factors for brain cancer in humans. It compares past usage of cellular phones (as well as other environmental, lifestyle, and genetic factors) by 800 people with brain tumors compared with 800 others who don't have tumors.

The study, the first part of which is expected to be published early next year, will provide a "snapshot" of what the risks from cell phones could be, says Peter Inskip, Sc.D., one of the study's principal investigators. But this research, he cautions, has its own limitations. For one thing, the study was started in 1994 and it considers radiation exposures from cell phones that occurred between the mid-1980s and 1998. That time frame in large part predates the explosion in the popularity of cell phones, as well as the introduction of digital phones that work on a fraction of the energy compared with older analog varieties.

Recently, FDA announced that it will collaborate with the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA) on additional laboratory and human studies of cellular phone safety. A "Cooperative Research and Development Agreement" signed in June provides for research to be conducted by third parties, with industry funding and FDA oversight to help ensure the studies' quality.

Specifically, FDA will identify the scientific questions that merit attention, propose research to address those questions, review study proposals from those interested in doing the research, make recommendations on the selection of researchers, and oversee the development of study design. Once research is begun, FDA will review the progress of ongoing studies, review the results of completed studies, and issue a report to the CTIA.

Beyond this planned research, according to the industry association, there are hundreds of scientific studies completed or in progress around the world to investigate RF's possible health effects, with half of them specifically addressing the frequencies used by wireless phones. FDA is a leading participant in the World Health Organization's International EMF (electric and magnetic fields) project to coordinate research and the harmonization of international radiation standards.

The paper, published in the June 2001 issue of the science journal, "Differentiation", says that repeated exposure to cellular phone radiation acts as a repetitive stress, leading to continuous manufacture of heat shock proteins within cells.

Their theory is that these proteins, which are sensitive to heat, are always present in cells at a low level, but are manufactured in larger amounts when the cell is stressed by heat or other environmental factors. These proteins repair other proteins that are adversely affected by the conditions, and are part of the cell's normal reaction to stress. However, if they are produced too often or for too long, they are known to initiate cancer in humans and increase resistance to anti-cancer in humans drugs.

However, this group has reported absolutely evidence nor studies to substantiate this - it is only a theory.

More recently, a Finnish survey of some of the world's most popular cellular phones found the amount of radiation they emit is well below agreed limits and largely in line with data published by manufacturers. The survey conducted by Finland's Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK) covered 16 new models made by top handset makers including Finland's own Nokia, Motorola of the United States and South Korea's Samsung Electronics. At this level, the study found that head tissue does not warm significantly and no other harmful effects have been proved scientifically. STUK said the SAR levels in all the 28 models tested so far ranged from 0.45 to 1.12 watts per kilogram.

"It is important that also in the future the limits set for radiation from cellular phones and base stations are based on current and confirmed scientific proof of the effects of radiation on health," Kari kela, a researcher at STUK, said in a statement.  STUK also said that some of its studies have indicated that microwave radiation from cellular phones may cause small changes in how cells operate, but the findings were insufficient for concluding what effects of this radiation had on health.  STUK will start testing third-generation UMTS-standard cellular phones during 2005, focusing on the most popular models. Other phones in the current study were made by Sony Ericsson and Siemens.

Finally, as the non-ionizing radiation does have a small heating effect, it is postulated that the effect would be greatest on the eyes and testes, due to the lower amount of blood vessels to help cool these areas.

Perceptions and Concerns

The latest studies may support the generally held position that cell phone radiation is not a substantial hazard, but they will never be able to prove cell phones to be absolutely safe. It is logically impossible to prove a negative, that cell phones can not cause cancer in humans. 

Conclusions

EHSO has seen no credible evidence to date that cell phones cause cancer in humans or brain tumors.  It is illogical to believe that evidence of unusual brain tumors is covered up when there are hundred's of millions of people using cell phones worldwide. There is a TREMENDOUS amount of junk science and thoroughly ignorant (as in untrained, uneducated) people running around naming themselves as experts and publishing their opinions on the internet. This hype and fear-mongering has only one goal: to puff up the egos and wallets of those propagating nonsense.

However, cell phones are still relatively new, and while science does not support that the radiation may not be likely to cause cancer in humans, time may prove differently!  And in any case, it may cause some other type of damage (certainly accidents in cars from being distracted while fumbling with the phone!)

So common sense suggests that we each take some prudent precautions.