The plea — and the science underlying it — is published in the
forthcoming edition of Pathophysiology, devoted to peer-reviewed
research about the biological effects of the global explosion of
wireless technologies and devices like cellphones, cordless phones,
wireless Internet and cell towers.
The findings of 15 studies from health researchers in six
different countries, looking at the effects of electromagnetic fields
and radi
o frequency radiation on living cells and on the health of humans,
should jolt government agencies into action as a precautionary measure,
Dr. David Carpenter, director of the Institute for Health & the
Environment at the University at Albany, and one of the co-authors,
said in an interview.
"What stands out is the consistency of the association of exposure
and disease. The evidence, as I see it, is sufficiently strong that
there needs to be public warnings, there needs to be establishments of
exposure guidelines and that the present guidelines — in Canada, the
United States or anyone else — are not protective of human health.
"I see us facing a major problem in the future because of the fact
that young children are on cellphones constantly, and we may be setting
ourselves up for an epidemic of brain cancer, the same thing we did
with cigarette smoking and lung cancer."
According to Columbia University physiology professor Martin
Blank, who edited the special issue, the laboratory studies "point to
significant interactions" of both power frequency and radio frequency
with cellular components, especially DNA.
The epidemiological studies "point to increased risk" of
developing certain cancers associated with long-term exposure to radio
frequency, he said.
Dr. Lennart Hardell is among the scientists who contributed to the
special edition of the journal. T
he oncologist from Sweden's University Hospital found that after one or
more years of cellphone use, there is a 5.2-fold elevated risk of
malignant brain tumour in children who begin using mobile phones before
the age of 20 years; the odds for other ages was 1.4.
"There should be special precaution for children and young persons
about the use of mobile phones," Hardell said in an interview.
In Canada, 71 per cent of youth between the ages of 12 and 19 have
a cellphone, according to new data compiled by Toronto-based Solutions
Research Group. The penetration nears 80 per cent for this age bracket
in Toronto and Vancouver, where cells are seen as an essential social
tool as well as a matter of safety for parents, according to the
research firm specializing in the youth market.
Solutions Research Group estimates that among nine- to
12-year-olds, one in four own cellphones. Also, their research shows 70
per cent of mothers with tweens share the cellphone with their kids
occasionally for calls, texts or games.
Overall, there are 21.5 million Canadian wireless phone
subscribers, representing a national wireless penetration rate of 67
per cent. And half of all phone connections in Canada are now wireless,
according to the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association.
A spokesman from that agency, Marc Choma, said these subscribers, including parents of younger user
s, need to look at all the evidence about the safety of cellphones rather than cherry-picking a few.
"You have to look at the overwhelming amount of research that is
out there. It's been done for decades now, and you have vast amounts of
scientists around the world that have been studying this issue, and you
can't just look at one study or you can't just look at two studies. You
have to look at in the totality of all the work that's out there."
Government agencies responsible for compiling and analyzing this
body of work — including Health Canada and the World Health
Organization — "continue to say that the evidence that is out there
that has been reviewed for years and years and years, that there is no
demonstrated risk for human health," said Choma.
But Toronto Public Health last year recommended parents take
precautions to minimize any potential risks to their children from
cellphone use, acknowledging the "uncertainty in the science on health
risks from cellphone use, particularly where it concerns children."
After the agency released its position last July on cellphone use
and kids, Health Canada issued a statement, reaffirming that the
department "currently sees no scientific reason to consider the use of
cellphones as unsafe. There is no convincing evidence of increased risk
of disease from exposure to radio frequency electromagnetic fields from
cellphones."