More than 90% of people use cell phones. It’s a necessity for many of us and it’s hard to imagine getting through our days without having one. But do we really know how safe they are and how much radiation exposure from our phones is too much?
Well..we are getting closer to looking at the true risks of cell phone use. Federal scientists released some of the findings from an animal study linking cancer and chronic exposure to the type of radiation emitted from cell phones and wireless devices. This study was done on rats and exposed half of them to radio-frequency (RF) radiation levels designed to imitate what people with heavy cell phone use or exposure could experience in a given day. These rodents were exposed to RF for about 9 hours spread throughout the day. Researchers found that as the thousands of rats were exposed to the intensities of RF radiation, more of them developed rare forms of brain and heart cancer that could not be explained in other ways. These tumors grew with greater levels of exposure to radiation. These types of tumors have also been determined in prior epidemiological studies. in contrast, none of the control rats (those not exposed to radiation) developed such tumors.
So… these are rats not humans. How can this be applied to people like you and me? Well, besides the fact that rodents are primarily docile, mild-tempered and easy to handle in the laboratory, these animals are used in medical testing because their genetic, biological and behavioral characteristics closely resemble those of humans. So many symptoms of human conditions can be replicated in mice and rats.
In 2011, The International Agency for Research on Cancer classified RF radiation as a possible human carcinogen. Data from human studies have been inconsistent. Think about it…it would be pretty difficult for cancer patients to try and recall their cell phone use from years ago, and how they held their handsets, the hours per day they used their phones, etc. Prior animal studies were difficult too because nobody maintained a sufficient number of animals for a certain length of time to get results like this new study, which is what makes this study so unique.
So of course more studies will be done. In the meantime, some safety steps include: Use your speaker phone and keep your phone on your desk instead of on your body. And use a wired headset whenever possible.
Read more about the study below…