New Study Latest To Link Cell Phone Use To Cardiac, Brain Cancer
By Jof Enriquez,
Follow me on Twitter @jofenriq
A new animal study linking cancer and devices that emit non-ionizing radiofrequency radiation (RFR) has cast a shadow over the rollout of faster, next-generation 5G mobile network technology in the United States.
The U.S. National Toxicology Program (NTP) published recently partial findings of a study which showed that rodents exposed to RFR in utero and continuing throughout their lifetimes (nine hours a day for two years), had a low but significant incidence of two tumor types: malignant gliomas in the brain and schwannomas in the heart. Study rats were exposed to three different radiation intensities of Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) and Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) modulated RFR: 1.5, three, and six watts per kilogram (W/kg). The FCC limit for public exposure from cellular telephones is a Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) level of 1.6 watts per kilogram (1.6 W/kg).
None of the control rats developed those tumors, but those exposed to increasingly greater doses of RFR had a proportionate growth in their lesions. Male rats demonstrated a higher incidence than females, although the reason is unclear.
The study has sparked fresh concerns about the links of cancer to cell phone use, which has dramatically increased in the last three decades. With planned 5G services requiring installation of more transmitters emitting RFR, some groups are getting anxious about possible adverse health effects.
“There is a big concern with the previous technology and it’s just being made worse with 5G,” said Kevin Mottus, outreach director for the California Brain Tumor Assciation, in an interview with The Los Angeles Times. “These are microwave transmitters and the closer you are to them, the more problems.”
Previous studies on the subject have yielded mixed and inconclusive results, and relevant government agencies, including the Radiofrequency Interagency Work Group, have not reached consensus on the matter.
In 2011, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a component of the World Health Organization (WHO), classified cell phone use as “possibly carcinogenic to humans” based on limited evidence from human studies, limited evidence from studies of radiofrequency energy and cancer in rodents, and inconsistent evidence from mechanistic studies.
The American Cancer Society (ACS) has stated that same evidence "is not strong enough to be considered causal, and needs to be investigated further. The bottom line is the evidence is enough to warrant concern, but it is not conclusive."
However, the organization stated that the new study marked “a paradigm shift in our understanding of radiation and cancer risk,” reports The LA Times.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which does not review the safety of radiation-emitting consumer products, but has authority to take action if cell phones emit dangerous RF levels, maintains the position that "the majority of studies published have failed to show an association between exposure to radiofrequency from a cell phone and health problems." FDA, however, enlisted the help of NTP to conduct further RFR testing on cell phones, as noted in the study.
FDA shares regulatory responsibilities for cell phones with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which sets guidelines on RF exposure and regulates cell phone base stations. In a statement, FCC officials told Scientific American that, “We are aware that the National Toxicology Program is studying this important issue. Scientific evidence always informs FCC rules on this matter. We will continue to follow all recommendations from federal health and safety experts including whether the FCC should modify its current policies and RF exposure limits.”
Wireless trade group CTIA reportedly told The Times that FCC is “developing guidance” on radiation safety for devices and equipment using 5G technology.
While NTP's findings were only partial, with final results slated for publication in two reports for peer review and public comment by the end of 2017, NTP highlighted the importance of this study.
"Given the extremely large number of people who use wireless communication devices, even a very small increase in the incidence of disease resulting from exposure to the RFR generated by those devices could have broad implications for public health," NTP stated in the study paper.
The NIH, which supervises the NTP division under the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), wrote in a statement to Scientific American, “This study in mice and rats is under review by additional experts. It is important to note that previous human, observational data collected in earlier, large-scale population-based studies have found limited evidence of an increased risk for developing cancer from cell phone use.”