Safety Mobile Phone:Heavy Use of Mobile Phones Increases Cancer Risk, Study Finds

Heavy users of wireless mobile phones face increased risks of developing severe brain tumors, according to the most comprehensive study ever conducted on the possible link between cancer and the long-term use of cellular telephones.

Researchers at the Swedish National Institute for Working Life and the University of Oerebro compared the mobile phone use of 4,400 people—half of them cancer patients, and the other half healthy people who made up the control group—and made some disturbing discoveries. [The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has since questioned the results of this study. For information, see FDA Questions Results of Study Linking Mobile Phones and Cancer.]

Heavy Mobile Phone Use Increases Cancer Risk

According to Kjell Hansson Mild, who led the study, heavy users of mobile phones have a 240 percent increased risk of developing a malignant tumor on the side of the head where they press the phone to their ear.

Published in the International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health, the study defines “heavy use” as 2,000 hours of mobile phone use in the course of a decade, which "corresponds to 10 years' use in the work place for one hour per day."

Of the 2,200 cancer patients in the study, who ranged in age from 20 to 80 years old, 905 had a malignant brain tumor and just under one-tenth of that number were heavy mobile phone users.

"Of these 905 cases, 85 were so-called high users of mobile phones, that is they began early to use mobile and/or wireless telephones and used them a lot," said the authors of the study in a statement issued by the Institute.

In addition, the study concluded that early users, defined as people who started using a mobile phone before age 20, are also at greater risk of developing a malignant brain tumor.

The study also took into account factors such as smoking habits, working history and exposure to other known cancer-causing agents.

Limit Mobile Calls and Use Handsfree Options

Hansson Mild advised that the best ways for consumers to lower their risk of cancer related to mobile phones are to use their wireless phones less frequently and to use handsfree options when they do make or receive mobile calls. He said the research report about the study is not intended to cause public alarm or to raise concerns about widespread risk for the majority of people who use mobile phones.

"It does however give reason to use caution when calling on wireless phones,” he said in an interview with Dow Jones. “Use handsfree and avoid wireless when possible.”

Swedish Study Breaks New Ground

The Swedish study is the first to show a significant link between long-term mobile phone use and cancer. Previous studies found no evidence that radiation from mobile phones is harmful, but those earlier studies looked at mobile phone use among fewer people over a shorter time.

The Swedish study is the largest and most comprehensive to date. Also, people in Sweden have been using mobile phones since 1984, longer than people in many other countries, so getting a large sample of people who have been using cellular telephones for a long time was relatively easy.

Phone Safety:Cell Phone Recycling: How to Recycle Your Old Cell Phone

As cell phones proliferate they are giving computers and monitors some competition for the dubious distinction as the largest contributor to the world’s growing e-waste problem. Indeed, toxin-laden electronics are clogging landfills and polluting air and groundwater supplies from coast to coast.

Cell Phones are Among the Fastest Growing Types of Trash

The average North American gets a new cell phone every 18 to 24 months, making old phones—many that contain hazardous materials like lead, mercury, cadmium, brominated flame retardants and arsenic—the fastest growing type of manufactured garbage in the nation. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Americans discard 125 million phones each year, creating 65,000 tons of waste.

Convenient Recycling Support for Cell Phone Users

Luckily, a new breed of electronics recyclers is stepping in to help. Call2Recycle, a nonprofit organization, offers consumers and retailers in the United States and Canada simple ways to recycle old phones. Consumers can enter their zip code on the group’s website and be directed to a drop box in their area. Most major electronics retailers, from Radio Shack to Office Depot, participate in the program and offer Call2Recycle drop-boxes in their stores. Call2Recycle recovers the phones and sells them back to manufacturers, which either refurbish and resell them or recycle their parts for use in making new products.

Recycling Cell Phones for Charity and to Help Developing Countries

The CollectiveGood organization takes used cell phones, refurbishes them, and then re-sells them to distributors and carriers for use primarily in developing countries, providing affordable communications to poorer citizens while helping to “bridge the digital divide.” They also recycle all non-functioning batteries through a partnership with the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation. When you donate your phone to CollectiveGood you can direct the profits from the sales to a charity of your choice.

Changing Attitudes about Cell Phone Recycling

Another player is ReCellular, which manages the in-store collection programs for Bell Mobility, Sprint PCS, T-Mobile, Best Buy and Verizon. The company also maintains partnerships with Easter Seals, the March of Dimes, Goodwill Industries and other nonprofits that undertake cell phone collection drives as a way of funding their charitable work. According to ReCellular vice-president Mike Newman, the company is trying to change attitudes about used cell phones, to get consumers to “automatically think of recycling cell phones just as they currently do with paper, plastic or glass.

States and Provinces Lead the Way on Mandatory Cell Phone Recycling

Neither the United States nor Canada mandates electronics recycling of any kind at the federal level, but a few states and provinces are getting into the act at their own initiative. California recently passed the first cell phone recycling law in North America. As of July 1, 2006, electronics retailers doing business there must have a cell phone recycling system in place in order to legally sell their products, whether online or in-store. Other U.S. states considering similar legislation include Illinois, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, Vermont and Virginia, while the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and New Brunswick are likely to jump on the mandatory cell phone recycling bandwagon soon.

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Are Cell Phones and Microwave Radiation Really Unhealthy? :Seo Safety

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.

Evidence Raises Concerns About Cell Phones and Microwave Exposure

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.

How Do Cell Phones Affect Your Health?

Various studies researching the health effects of cell phone use have yielded mixed results. Some studies suggested a link between exposure to radiation from cell phones and an increased risk of acoustic neuroma--a 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.

Young Cell Phone Users May See Negative Effects in Middle Age 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.”

How Do Cell Phones Affect the Environment?

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.

GOT AN ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTION? Send it to: EarthTalk, c/o E/The Environmental Magazine, P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881; submit it at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/thisweek/, or e-mail: earthtalk@emagazine.com.