A SERVICE OF

logo

Open as PDF
next previous
Health and Safety
Health and Safety
Health and Safety 147
146 Health and Safety
forms of electromagnetic radiation with relatively low frequencies.
While RF energy does not ionize particles, large amounts can increase body
temperatures and cause tissue damage. Two areas of the body, the eyes and the
testes, are particularly vulnerable to RF heating because there is relatively little
bloodowinthemtocarryawayexcessheat.
Research Results to Date:
Is there a connection between RF and certain health problems?
The results of most studies conducted to date say no. In addition, attempts to
replicateandconrmthefewstudiesthathaveshownaconnectionhavefailed.
Thescienticcommunityatlargethereforebelievesthattheweightofscientic
evidence does not show an association between exposure to Radio Frequency
(RF)fromcellphonesandadversehealthoutcomes.Stillthescientic
community has supported additional research to address gaps in knowledge.
Some of these studies are described below.
Interphone Study
Interphone is a large international study designed to determine whether cell
phones increase the risk of head and neck cancer. A report published in the
International Journal of Epidemiology (June, 2010) compared cell phone usage
for more than 5,000 people with brain tumors (glioma and meningioma) and a
similar number of healthy controls.
Results of this study did NOT show that cell phones caused brain cancer. In this
study, most people had no increased risk of brain cancer from using cell phones.
For people with the heaviest use of cell phones (an average of more than ½ hour
per day, every day, for over 10 years) the study suggested a slight increase in
brain cancer. However, the authors determined that biases and errors prevented
any conclusions being drawn from this data. Additional information about
Interphone can be found at http://com.iarc.fr/en/media-centre/pr/.
Interphone is the largest cell phone study to date, but it did not answer all
questions about cell phone safety. Additional research is being conducted
aroundtheworld,andtheFDAcontinuestomonitordevelopmentsinthiseld.