Several weeks ago I ran a post about the dangers of cell phones, especially in terms of the use of them by children. Ironically, about ten days later, the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute released a study essentially confirming some of the international science I had referenced in my post.

Six days later, Larry King featured the issue on his show, interviewing a panel of experts about some of the findings and recommendations revealed in the University of Pittsburgh study. It seems like finally this issue is reaching the mainstream and that can only be a good thing.

In this post, I’d like to go over the University of Pittsburgh study in detail. You can download the study for yourself by clicking here.

The Case for Precaution in the Use of Cell Phones

The study begins by confirming that the main concern with regards to cell phone use is the presence of Electromagnetic fields:

Electromagnetic fields from cell phones are estimated to penetrate the brain especially in children…[and] [l]iving tissue is vulnerable to electromagnetic fields within the frequency bands used by cell phones…The most recent studies, which include subjects with a history of cell phone usage for a duration of at least 10 years, show a possible association between certain benign tumors (acoustic neuromas) and some brain cancers on the side the device is used.

To me, this statement alone, by an accredited US cancer research center, is enough for me to realize that there are potential dangers involved with cell phone use. Of course the very next paragraph in the study is a disclaimer, lest the science create “undue” panic and/or a financial dent in the multi-billion dollar telecommunications industry [emphasis mine]:

However, human epidemiological studies on cell phones conducted to date cannot be conclusive. Due to their recently increased use, we are not yet able to evaluate their long term impact on health. Even where an association between exposure and cancer is well established and the risk very high — as with tobacco and lung cancer — under similar study conditions (in other words with people who smoked for less than 10 years) it would be difficult, if not impossible, to identify an increased risk of cancer, as the risk appears mostly 15 to 35 years later.

It seems ironic that the researchers are in one breath establishing a connection between cell phone use and brain cancer, but in the next breath dismissing that connection as inconclusive, while using a comparison to the established link between tobacco and lung cancer as the argument to dismiss that connection.

This is where collective common sense should enter the discussion. It wasn’t until 1964 that the US Surgeon General definitively linked cigarette smoking to cancer, although numerous scientific studies, much like the University of Pittsburgh study on cell phones, had been pointing to a connection since the early 20th Century. In 1930, researchers in Germany began establishing links between smoking and cancer. In 1938 a study from John Hopkins University established that smokers do not live as long as non-smokers. In 1944, the American Cancer Society began to issue warnings. A 1952 Reader’s Digest article on the smoking/cancer link urged tobacco companies to start manufacturing low-tar and light cigarettes, and 12 years later the Surgeon General made history when he confirmed the science that had been emerging throughout the century. Just think of how many lives could have been saved if more credence was given to the earliest studies on tobacco, if our government and consumers didn’t wait for “conclusive proof” that cigarette smoking had negative effects on human health? Why aren’t we learning from the past when it comes to the establishing the dangers of cell phones? Why must consumers wait for definitive proof of the dangers of cell phones, yet all the while continue to use these devices without definitive proof of their safety?

Much like the cigarette companies of the 1950’s and 1960’s, today’s telecommunications companies would like nothing more than for consumers to ignore these warnings and instead sit and wait for conclusive evidence of their dangers. These studies are obviously bad for business and its reasonable to assume that the telecom companies’ primary concern is the expansion of their business, not the health and safety of their consumers.

Due to the requirements of my employment, I am on the cell phone much more than I would like to be. Perhaps it is psychosomatic, but I can’t ignore the extreme heat that emanates from my phone and the associated discomfort I experience when I use my phone for extended periods of time. For me and my family, the studies I have read so far are proof enough for me to begin to limit my own use of cell phones and completely restrict my two-year old from using, touching, or playing with our cell phones. Like a moth to the flame, my daughter loves cell phones for some reason, perhaps because she so often sees Mommy and Daddy giving these cool, colorful little devices a whole lot of attention. Plus, the cell phone is so often the connection to people she loves like her grandmothers, or myself when I am travelling on business. But my “innate parenting wisdom” tells me something is not quite right about positioning an electromagnetic-emitting device right next to my little daughter’s developing brain.

Despite the conclusion that seems to want to have it both ways, the University of Pittsburgh research team still published several recommendations to reduce any possible risk, which I will cite below:

1. Do not allow children to use a cell phone except for emergencies. The developing organs of a fetus or child are the most likely to be sensitive to any possible effects of exposure to electromagnetic fields.

2. Try to keep the cell phone away from the body as much as possible. The amplitude of the electromagnetic field is 1/4 the strength at a distance of two inches and 50 times lower at three feet. Whenever possible, use the speaker-phone mode or a wireless Bluetooth headset, which has less than 1/100 th of the electromagnetic emission of a normal cell phone.

3. Avoid using your cell phone in places, like a bus, where you can passively expose others to your phone’s electromagnetic fields.

4. Avoid carrying your cell phone on your body at all times. Do not keep it near your body at night such as under the pillow or on a bedside table, particularly if pregnant.

5. If you must carry your cell phone on you, make sure that the keypad is positioned toward your body and the back is positioned toward the outside so that the transmitted electromagnetic fields move away from your rather than through you.

6. Only use your cell phone to establish contact or for conversations lasting a few minutes as the biological effects are directly related to the duration of exposure. For longer conversations, use a land line with a corded phone, not a cordless phone, which uses electromagnetic emitting technology similar to that of cell phones.

7. Switch sides regularly while communicating on your cell phone to spread out your exposure. Before putting your cell phone to the ear, wait until your correspondent has picked up. This limits the power of the electromagnetic field emitted near your ear and the duration of your exposure.

8. Avoid using your cell phone when the signal is weak or when moving at high speed, such as in a car or train, as this automatically increases power to a maximum as the phone repeatedly attempts to connect to a new relay antenna.

9. When possible, communicate via text messaging rather than making a call, limiting the duration of exposure and the proximity to the body.

10. Choose a device with the lowest SAR possible (SAR = Specific Absorption Rate, which is a measure of the strength of the magnetic field absorbed by the body). SAR ratings of contemporary phones by different manufacturers are available by searching for “sar ratings cell phones” on the internet. [Using this search phrase, I learned that my cell phone, the Motorola Razr, has the lowest SAR of all commercially available phones in the US. Whew!]

In the end, this is a decision that every individual needs to make for themselves and that parents need to make for their children. Although there are many positive benefits allowing our children to use cell phones, especially in terms of providing a lifeline in case of emergencies, it’s important to understand that there was a time that every adult on this planet got by without them.

Sphere: Related Content

This post orginally appeared in www.organicgreendaddy.com.

Recently the French Government released an official warning to their citizens regarding the risks of cell phone use, particularly among children and teenagers. In addition to the warning by the French governerment, two separate Swedish studies suggest that cell phones may be more harmful than we have been led to believe.

One indicates that electromagnetic radiation emitted from cell phones harm red blood cells, while another suggests the radiation from mobile phones could damage the brain and trigger the onset of Alzheimer’s.

Despite these studies, the common refrain from our own government, the World Health Organization, and the cell phone providers is that science has so far yet to prove that long-term exposure to radio-frequency and microwave radiation are positively linked to any adverse health effects. In other words, since we can’t definitely prove they’re harmful, we should just keep using them at our leisure until told otherwise. After all, it’s a multi-billion dollar per year industry and we’d hate to examine the science behind the technology too closely, lest we discover something we may not want to know.

My question is, can anyone definitely prove them to be safe? Of course the answer to this question is a resounding “no,” as only a long-term and exhaustive study could categorically prove the converse of the prevailing wisdom. With these contradictory ideas in either hand, what are parents with a mind for raising their kids as safely as possible to do?

Use our innate wisdom, that’s what.

See, I believe we all possess inherent wisdom about what is right for us, what is safe for us, and what is best for our planet, but we are often taught to disregard our inner wisdom in favor of what society says is best for us. What is often not revealed, however, is that what we call society often has an agenda that is not always congruent with our own best interests.

Take cell phones. Doesn’t common sense dictate that we don’t want things emitting microwave radiation near our brains, our children, or our reproductive organs? Do I really need a warning from France or a study from Sweden to tell me that electromagnetic radiation is possibly harmful? I mean, if a microwave can cook a sandwich, it can cook my brain, right?

But someone might say, “The intensity of a microwave oven far outweighs the intensity of the microwaves in my cell phone! You’re being an alarmist! Paranoid! Hypochondriac, even!” But do I cook a sandwich for 45 minutes at time, five times a day, every day of the year, right next to my head?

The bottom line is, we need to use discretion and common sense when determining what is right for us and our family. Given the current scientific findings about mobile phones, we should use them in moderation until we positively know the health risks. And if we can’t limit the use of cell phones, there are several things we can do right now to mitigate the possible risks:

Keep them away from our bodies, our brains, and our reproductive organs. When driving the car, I used to place my phone between my legs but my wife helped me realize that I should probably place it in the cup holder instead. To keep it away from my brain, I use a hands-free device, and not a Bluetooth (more signals floating through the air). To keep it away from my body, I carry it in a jacket or a bag instead of my pants pocket.

Limit our children’s use of mobile phones. One of the Swedish studies mentioned above looked at the radiation’s effect on young rats’ brains, to get an idea of how these waves might effect the developing brains of children and teenagers specifically. Brain cell damage was the result, and to a greater degree than in mature rats, so it’s likely that mobile phones might be even more dangerous to our children than they are to us. Often parents say that they feel safer knowing their children have cell phones on them, in case they encounter emergencies. Recently in Massachusetts a group of teen age girls were texting while driving and wound up in a fatal accident. More often than not, the phones are used to further children’s social lives instead of provide emergency contact, and as the text messaging example indicates, sometimes giving mobile phones to our children can make them even more susceptible to dangers we may have never foreseen. A possible solution to limit their use would be to put them on prepaid plans, with lower minutes available, or to give them calling cards so they can make emergency phone calls when necessary. When I was a kid, my mom gave me an open invitation to call collect. Can you even do that anymore?

Use our landlines while in the home or office.

Shield thyself. And if we must use a cell phone, purchase a radiation shield to mitigate the effects of the electromagnetic radiation. A simple Google search for cell phone radiation shields yield many low-cost options. They are often simply affixed to the phone with self-adhesive. They can also be purchased in many health food stores.

Ionize! Finally, mobile phones, along with any electronic communications devices and electrical equipment, to include (but not limited to) wireless networks, satellite receivers, computers, televisions, etc., all sweep away negative ions in the atmosphere, particularly while being used indoors. Negative ions are charged molecules that are known to clean the atmosphere of impurities. Negative ions are found in abundance in natural settings, especially in oceans, beaches, waterfalls, quickly running streams, and mountaintops, and create that feeling of invigorating freshness that we often experience while participating in outdoor activities in those settings. One way to counteract the de-ionizing effects of mobile phone use is to utilize a desktop or home ionizer, a salt lamp, or to spend time outdoors, particularly near running water, whenever possible or practical.

The main lesson here is that we must take responsibility for our health and the health of children. Technology is advancing rapidly and often it is difficult to keep up with the product safety issues of the latest innovations.

The Monkey and I don’t intend to alarm anyone unnecessarily or to create panic, but to instead arm people with all of the latest information available so we can make informed choices. And the more parents take this type of responsibility for their well being of their families, the less our children will be exposed to peer pressure to have the latest cell phone as a status symbol.

Photo by: Martin Lundgren

Sphere: Related Content