cell damage - use of cellular phones could be dangerous - Brief Article

Vegetarian Times, Nov, 2000 by Darv Johnson

that cell phone you hold dear to your ear may be beaming more than just a voice into your head. The typical wireless device emits about 800 megahertz of electromagnetic radiation--roughly equivalent to the power generated by 600 cordless household phones. And with more than 90 million cell phone users in the United States alone, determining what all that radiation is doing to users' brains has become a top health priority.

The cell phone industry's position on the safety of these devices is predictable. "The overwhelming majority of scientific evidence shows that there are no adverse effects from cell phones," says Travis Larson, spokesperson for the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA). But a growing body of research shows--without proving beyond reasonable doubt--that the concentrated doses of radio-frequency energy that cell phones emit may be linked with an increased risk of brain cancer.

In the United States, much of what is known about health risks of cell phones comes from the industry-funded Wireless Technology Research (WTR) program, a seven-year, $26 million effort that was completed last year. Of the 40-plus studies conducted under the WTR and reviewed by the Harvard School of Public Health, several produced troubling results:

* Research by Epidemiology Resources, a testing lab in Massachusetts, found that brain cancer mortality was three times higher in users of hand-held cell phones than in users of car phones with the antenna mounted on the trunk.

* An American Health Foundation study linked long-term cell phone use to an increased risk of tumors in the acoustic nerve, which carries sensory impulses to the brain.

* Research conducted by Integrated Laboratory Systems in Research Triangle Park, N.C., found that cell phone radiation impaired the ability of blood cells to repair damaged DNA.

For now, however, the studies have been either too short in duration or too small in size to produce definitive answers. But this doesn't mean there's nothing to worry about, warns Rebecca Steffens Jenrow, of the Health Risk Management Group and the WTR's lead researcher. "These findings could be chance," she says. "Or, they could be early indications of a serious public health problem."

At the very least, Jenrow believes the industry should be doing more to educate consumers about potential risks, since additional research will take three to five years. She also wants the government to take a more active role. The Federal Communications Commission, which is responsible for regulating wireless technology, maintains that setting safety guidelines is outside of its jurisdiction. And the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which regulates all radiation-emitting devices, has limited its involvement to overseeing CTIA's research. The FDA maintains that until a clear health threat has been proven, it can take no regulatory action, a position that has earned the agency criticism from many scientists and public safety advocates.

While scientists and regulators sort things out, concerned cell phone users are looking for ways to protect themselves--short of unthinkable abstinence--since they can't count on the industry for advice. In June, the CTIA announced it would add information about radiation levels to the product packaging by next year. But that move might have more to do with protecting the industry from future lawsuits than protecting consumers' health.

Meanwhile, the number of products claiming to shield users from phone radiation is growing. The Calgon Carbon Corporation, based in Pittsburgh, recently began marketing a carbon cloth, dubbed the WaveZorb, that's designed to absorb radiation emitted by the earpiece. But the device does nothing to protect users from the antenna--the most potent part of cell phones.

The merit of devices like this is unknown, says Jenrow. "Moving the antenna beyond two or three inches away from the head is the only recommendation that can be supported by existing data," she says. But since many cell phones come with fixed antennas, this suggestion may be impractical. Headsets and hands-free devices are a better bet, as they allow for the phones to be used without placing the antenna anywhere near the head.

Parents should also give careful consideration before letting their kids go mobile. In May, a panel of experts in the United Kingdom issued a report recommending that children under 16 should be discouraged from using cell phones. They claim that children are more vulnerable to cell phone transmissions because of their smaller heads and still-developing skulls.

One indisputably dangerous effect of cell phones doesn't have to do with radiation at all. Researchers from the University of Toronto found that drivers talking on hand-held cell phones are four times more likely to get into an accident. In fact, Australia, Germany and Israel, among other countries, have actually banned driving while talking on the phone. In the United States this issue hasn't been addressed on the federal level, but in some small communities like Brooklyn, Ohio, deaths attributed to distracted drivers have spurred lawmakers to ban chatting while driving. Of course, these laws won't protect cell phone users in the long run, but they might give the rest of us drivers a fighting chance.