New Report Raises Concern Over Cellphone Radiation

Washington, DCAn exhaustive report on cellphone radiation and the links between cellphone use and brain tumors was published August 25 with little fanfare. That said, 'Cellphones and Brain Tumors: 15 Reasons for Concern' contains major insights and revelations with regard to the potential health risks of long-term cellphone use.

Among the findings by the '15 Reasons' report's authors are a statistically significant doubling of brain cancer risk together with findings of genetic damage in human blood when exposed to cellphone radiation.

Studies led by Professor Lennart Hardell in Sweden found that for every 100 hours of cellphone use the risk of brain cancer increases by 5 percent: for every year, the risk increases by 8 percent. After 10 years or more of digital cellphone use there was a 280 percent increased risk of brain cancer.

For digital cellphone users who were teenagers or younger when they first started using the cellphone, researchers in Sweden found a 420 percent increased risk of brain cancer.

Professor Leif Salford, of the Department of Neurosurgery, from Lund University in Sweden has shown cellphone radiation results in leakage of the Blood-Brain Barrier (BBB). The highest BBB leakage occurs at lower exposure levels and decreases for higher exposure levels.

The authors also cite concern over the impact of cellphone radiation on male fertility and the potential for testicular cancer. One study reported an 80 percent increased near-significant risk (93.9 percent confidence) of testicular cancer when the cellphone was kept in the pocket: in the left pocket, the left testicle was affected. In the right pocket, the right testicle was affected.

The study found that the danger of brain tumors from cellphone use is highest in children—the younger the child is when he starts using a cellphone, the higher the risk.

There were other findings: brain tumors were found to appear in geographical correlation with the particular ear a cellphone user prefers. As well, cellphones continue to radiate when not in use, but powered up.

Among the recommendations cited by the authors is the banning of cellphone marketing campaigns directed solely at children and the requirement of warning labels on all wireless devices.

The last word goes to Chris Woollams M.A. Biochemistry (Oxon) and Editor Integrated Cancer and Oncology News (icon magazine) and CEO of CANCERactive. In his endorsement of the study Woollams says in part, "I speak, not just as an editor and scientist that has looked in depth at all the research, but as a father that lost his beloved daughter to a brain tumor."