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| Ways to reduce exposure to radiation from mobile phones |
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Where possible, consumers should try to use land phone lines instead of mobile phones. |
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Keeping the mobile phone slightly away from the head (e.g. 2 to 3 cm) reduces the exposure to radiation by orders of magnitude. |
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When hands-free ear piece is used, it is advisable to hold it a slight distance away from the head and not to plug it deep into the ear. Ear piece that touches the ear would also conduct radiation directly to the head. |
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| Important: Do not allow young kids to use mobile phone or other wireless devices. |
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| 1. Large scale Swedish research linked mobile phone to increased brain tumour risks |
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| The Swedish National Institute for Working Life had conducted a large scale research on the association of long term use of mobile phone with brain tumours. The researchers compared the mobile phone usage of 2,200 cancer patients (aged between 20 and 80) and an equal number of healthy participants. |
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| Among the cancer patients, 905 had malignant brain tumours and about 10% of the later were also frequent mobile phone users. This means they began early to use mobile phones, defined as before the age of 20, and used them a lot. |
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| The study found that heavy users, who use 2,000 hours or more on the cell phone in a lifetime, had 240% increased risk of tumours on the side of the head. The report was published in the International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health. (Related News Report – April 4, 2006) |
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| 2. A Swedish research found mobile phone doubled the risks of benign tumour on the auditory nerve |
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| The Institute of Environmental Medicine at Karolinska Institute in Stockholm of Sweden had conducted a research on the effect of long term mobile phone usage. The researchers found that ten years or more of mobile phone use almost doubled the risks of developing a benign tumour on the auditory nerve, called acoustic neuroma. And the risk was almost 4 times higher on the side of the head where the cell phone was normally used. |
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| In the research, about 150 acoustic neuroma patients and 600 healthy control patients were studied. The report was released as part of a larger international study known as Interphone, coordinated by the World Health Organization’s Cancer Research Institute. (Related News Report – Oct 14, 2004) |
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| 3. Mobile phone radiation affects the brain functions and slows response rate |
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| In a research conducted by the Brain Science Institute of the Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia, scientists found that a 30-minute mobile phone call resulted in slowed response times on 120 volunteers. This applied to both simple reactions and more complex reactions, such as choosing among more than one alternative. And those people who used mobile phones a lot suffered from more impairment than the less frequent users. |
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| The results may have important implications to how and when mobile phone is safe to be used. For example, distraction by the use of mobile phone when driving and the pertinent slowed response time to emergencies may increase the risks of road accidents. |
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| In the study, a small but discernable change in brain function was observed among those who were exposed to the electromagnetic fields generated by mobile phones. The control group of volunteers were not exposed to mobile phone radiation but thought they were. |
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| The results were published in the journal of Neuropsychologia, April 2006 edition. (Related News Report – April 28, 2006) |
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| 4. Radiation from mobile phones harms body cells and damages DNA in lab conditions |
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| In a 4-year research conducted by the German research group Verum, scientists studied the effect of radiation on human and animal cells in a laboratory. They found that radiation typically generated from mobile phones resulted in significant damage of DNA, including significant increase in breakage of single and double-strand DNA. |
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| Such damage could not always be repaired by the cell. The study showed that there was remaining damage for the future generations of cells. DNA carries the genetic material of an organism and determines the characteristics and proper function of its different cells. Permanent damage of DNA and mutated cells are a possible cause of cancer. |
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| This study was mainly funded by the European Union. (Related News Report – Dec 21, 2004) |
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| 5. Potential linkage of mobile phone radiation to leukaemia (a type of blood cancer) |
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| In an interview by BBC with Roger Coghill, who is a specialist in bioelectromagnetics and runs an independent laboratory in Gwent in the UK, some of the potential health risks of prolonged mobile phone usage were highlighted: (Full Report) |
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"Around 40% of users complain that they suffer from headaches, and many people find that after a day's heavy use of the phone that they have a thumping headache." |
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"After a while users feel extremely tired, and their reaction times start to fall off. " |
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"After 14 months to two years, some users will start to develop leukaemia. " |
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"My laboratory has carried out research which shows that after a seven-and-a-half hour exposure to a mobile phone on stand-by, there was a serious degradation of the white blood cells (the cells that fight disease). A day after exposure, there was a substantial fall in the viability of white blood cells, and after the second day only 13% of white blood cells were viable." |
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| Permanent mutation or damage of the white blood cells may result in leukaemia, one type of blood cancer with high fatality rate. |
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| 6. A threefold increase in eye cancer among mobile phone users |
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| In a research conducted in the UK by the University of Essen of Germany, there was a threefold increase in eye cancer among mobile phone users. The scientists studied the mobile phone usage of 118 people with uveal melanoma, which is a cancer in the cell layers that comprise the iris and the retina base. The results were compared with a healthy control group of 475 people. |
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| The cancer sufferers were found to have a much higher rate of mobile phone use. The exact mechanism of how mobile phone radiation causes eye cancer is not known. Some previous research showed that cells in the uveal layer grow and divide more rapidly when exposed to microwave radiation. It is also known that the watery contents of the eye assist in the absorption of radiation. (Related IMVS Newsletter – Number 42, winter 2001) |
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| 7. Stronger mobile phone signals in rural areas result in 3 times higher risks of brain tumours and 8 times higher risks of brain cancer than in urban areas |
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| The mobile phone users in rural areas are exposed to stronger radiation from the handsets. Such stronger signals are to compensate for the base stations being farther apart than in the city, so that they can also be received clear enough in remote areas. |
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| In a research conducted by the University Hospital of Orebro in Sweden, scientists found that regular mobile phone users in rural areas are 3 times more likely than city dwellers to have brain tumours, either malignant or benign. For malignant brain tumours (cancer), the risks for rural users are 8 times higher. |
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| Between January 1997 and June 2000, researchers studied more than 1,400 Swedes between 20 and 80 years old with either a malignant or benign brain tumour. They found that rural users of mobile digital phones for over 3 years had 3 times higher risks of having a brain tumour than an urban dweller. In addition, rural users for over 5 years had 4 times such risk compared to an urban dweller. |
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| The increased risks were related only to digital mobile phones but not analog ones. The scientists suggested a possible reason was that digital phones use a system called adaptive power control to automatically increase the handset signals when the base stations are farther away. Radiation emissions from digital mobile phones in rural areas may be 10 times higher than in urban districts. But the emissions from analog mobile phones are constant. |
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| The research report was published in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine. (Related News Report – May 17, 2005) |
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| 8. Health hazards of mobile phones are much more severe for children than adults |
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| According to the research done by Dr. Gerald Hyland of the University of Warwick in the UK, mobile phone radiation can penetrate much deeper into the brain of children, and was absorbed more by the children's head than that of an adult. |
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| As the children are growing, their body cells are constantly dividing and replicating. Hence they are more susceptible to genetic damage by the radiation from mobile phones. In addition, the children's immune system is less robust than that of an adult. Therefore they are less capable to cope with the adverse health effects of mobile phones. |
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| In another study conducted by Mr. Michael Klieeisen in the Neuro Diagnostic Research Institute in Spain, it was found that mobile phone radiation altered the natural electrical activity in the brains of teenage children and the brain waves remained abnormal for up to an hour after a 2-minute phone call. (U.K. Sunday Mirror , December 27, 2001) |
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| The alteration in brain waves can result in lack of concentration, memory loss, inability to learn, aggressive behaviour, or other psychiatric problems. Hence it is highly recommended not to allow children to use mobile phones or other wireless devices. |
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| (Related web page on the 2 research studies above) |
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| Additional articles on the harmful effects of mobile phones and electromagnetic radiations. |
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