Using a mobile phone for more than 10 years increases the risk of getting brain cancer, according to the most comprehensive study of the risks yet published.

The study — which contradicts official pronouncements that there is no danger of getting the disease — found that people who have had the phones for a decade or more are twice as likely to get a malignant tumour on the side of the brain where they hold the handset.

The scientists who conducted the research say using a mobile for just an hour every working day during that period is enough to increase the risk — and that the international standard used to protect users from the radiation emitted is “not safe” and “needs to be revised.”

They conclude that “caution is needed in the use of mobile phones” and believe children, who are especially vulnerable, should be discouraged from using them at all.

Cancers take at least 10 years — and normally much longer — to develop but, as mobile phones have spread so recently and rapidly, relatively few people have been using them that long.

How mobile phones work

Since the 1920s, scientists have known that radio waves can cause heating of the skin and affect cells in the nervous system. People working with powerful radio waves have complained of impaired memory and ability to reason and the loss of control over both body movements and heart rate.

These observations form the basis of national safety guidelines for working with powerful radio waves. The safe limits for the public are about five times less than those recommended for workers.

Mobile phones work on the lowest power possible. As a result, they don’t emit many radio waves. This is not specifically connected with any health issues, but due to the logistics of cost and efficiency

Although the radio frequency (RF) waves that cell phones use do have some kind of negligible biological impact, and there is no research conclusively proving increased rates of cancer among cell phone users.

Unlike nuclear (gamma) radiation, the frequencies used by cell phones emit ‘non-ionizing’ radiation. This means that the energy is not strong enough to break ionic bonds (i.e., the bonds linking our DNA strands), therefore not causing the detrimental cancers, birth defects and other diseases related to extensive ‘ionizing’ radiation exposure.

Mobile phone networks

Mobile phones networks use the same principle that cartographers have used since Victorian times to colour maps so no adjoining countries are the same colour.

A mobile phone network is made up of interlocking hexagonal areas known as cells, the smaller these cells the clearer the signal. With small cells you are likely to be closer to the base station at the centre of a cell.

This means that both the base station and handset do not need powerful emissions to communicate with each other. This also fulfils another important criteria of a mobile phone: as the handset needs less power the battery will last for longer.

However, these guidelines are based solely on adverse effects caused by the heating of tissues. Although mobile phones do get warm when in use, it is generally accepted that this heating is not powerful enough to cause damage to the user. But radio waves also have another effect, and it is this which is currently causing concern.

In conclusión:

  • Radio waves may affect biological cells but this may not necessarily lead to disease or injury.
  • Children should be especially careful about mobile phones use. Their skulls are still growing, so it is easier for radio waves from a mobile phone to enter their heads. Their cells are also developing and tend to absorb more radiation compared to adults. This is especially important in brain tissue, as the nervous system is very sensitive during development. Children should only use mobiles for short, essential calls
  • Mobile phone manufacturers must publish the amount of radio wave energy that each handset transmits to the human body, called the SAR value
  • There is no evidence of a risk to the health of people living near to base stations, but emissions should be monitored, especially near schools
  • All new base stations should be subject to planning permission
  • Drivers should be dissuaded from using either hand-held or hands-free phones whilst on the move

celular phone

Reducing radiation

  • Computers - Because so little is known about the possible health effects of low-level RF radiation from wireless technologies, EMF expert Cindy Sage advises staying wired. She says the best option is CAT-5 cable, which allows high-speed Internet access. (Satellite receiver dishes for TV and Internet access are fine, by the way, because they only receive signals and therefore do not emit RF radiation. Satellite Internet sends outgoing information through a phone line.)
  • Kitchen - Keep microwave ovens up on a shelf at one end of the kitchen and not on a work surface. And avoid induction cooktops. While energy-efficient, they emit high levels of EMFs.
  • Bedroom - Don’t keep electric or digital alarm clocks or cordless phones on your nightstand. Skip electric blankets and “unplug” your bedroom as much as possible.
  • Phones - Don’t use a cordless phone, which emits RF radiation similar to cellphones, when you can use an old-fashioned corded one. To keep your children off cordless phones and mobiles at home, give them a corded phone for their bedrooms. It’s fine to keep a cordless to use when you’re in the yard or garden, but come in the house to use a corded phone for longer conversations. Avoid DECT [digital enhanced cordless telecommunications] phones, which are often the strongest source of RF radiation at home. Unlike other cordless phones, DECTs are emitting RF radiation all the time, not just while the phone is in use.

Talk safely

  • Limit the length and number of cellphone calls. Use a land line whenever possible.
  • Use an air-tube headset if you can’t avoid long hours on a cellphone, advises Alasdair Philips of Powerwatch, a British group that has been monitoring EMF issues for almost two decades With non-metal earpieces like those of a doctor’s stethoscope, it keeps RF radiation away from your head and ears.
  • Keep your cellphone in a purse or briefcase, rather than clipped to your belt. Even on standby, cellphones emit radiation, usually out of the back of the phone, which can be absorbed by the liver and kidneys.
  • Have the cellphone antenna hook-up installed outside your car.
  • Be skeptical of shielding devices for handsets. They can block the signal and make the phone work harder, potentially emitting more RF radiation.
  • Hang up and drive. Although not linked with radiation issues, talking and driving can be more dangerous than drinking and driving, according to a recent study by researchers at the University of Utah.
  • When buying a new cellphone, choose one with the lowest possible SAR (specific absorption rate) value.

Sources: Independent, Alternet

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