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Some Interesting Cell Phone Facts
What can I use to
protect myself from cell phone cancer and EMF radiation
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Could our health be
negatively affected by all the radio frequencies being bandied about by cell
phones and cell phone towers, wireless pagers and Internet systems, and other
uses of radio frequency and microwave radiation?
Since the middle of the last century technological
advancements in telecommunications and other industries have led to significant
increases in the use of radio frequencies. Equipment employing microwave and
radio waves is today widely used not just in broadcasting and communications,
but also in the health care industry, the food industry, and in a host of other
industries in a wide range of applications.
Health advocates have worried for decades that exposure to frequencies emanating
from these many sources might be harmful. And the ubiquity of such technology
today--especially considering the quantum leap in cell phone usage in recent
years--only makes such concerns that much more pressing.
Various studies researching the health effects of cell phone use have yielded
mixed results. Some earlier studies suggested a link between exposure to
radiation from cell phones and an increased risk of acoustic neuroma--a
cancerous tumor of the nerve connecting the ear to the brain--but more recent
research found no such links. The issue is primarily heat. According to the
Occupational Safety and Health Department of the Communication Workers of
America (CWA), “As high frequency radio frequency radiation…penetrates the body,
the exposed molecules move about and collide with one another causing friction
and, thus, heat…If the radiation is powerful enough, the tissue or skin will be
heated or burned.”
According to CWA, “there is substantial scientific data that establishes
negative health effects associated with microwave radiation.” CWA cites
cataracts as one possible negative health effect from prolonged exposure, as
well as well as nervous system damage and even reproductive problems in both
males and females. This issue was in the news in 1992 over the issue of the
safety of police radar devices, but subsequent studies were inconclusive.
As to cell phones, the results of a study recently published in the academic
journal Environmental Health Perspectives do not bode well for habitual
chatterers. Researchers documented brain damage in laboratory rats exposed to
radio frequencies from cell phones at levels comparable to what people would
experience during normal use. The study’s authors expressed concern that “after
some decades of (often) daily use, a whole generation of [cell phone] users may
suffer negative effects, perhaps as early as middle age.”
The environmental effects of radio frequencies are also largely unclear.
Migrating birds have been known to fly right into cell phone and other
communications towers. Some blame the radiation emanating from such towers for
disorienting the birds and undermining their navigational abilities. Others
chalk such incidents up to poor visibility associated with bad weather and
nothing more. Some farmers have observed that cows grazing near cell towers are
more likely to experience still births, spontaneous abortions, birth deformities
and behavioral problems, not to mention general declines in overall health.
Moving cattle herds away from such towers has reportedly led to immediate health
improvements. |
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