A group calling itself the International Electromagnetic Field Collaborative released an impassioned, 44-page report on Aug. 25 with the intent of drawing attention to studies showing a significant risk of brain tumors from cell phone use and exposing what it calls “design flaws” in the Interphone study protocol.
The 13-country Interphone study is said to be the largest case-control study to investigate the relationship between brain tumors and cell phone use. The EMF Collaborative, which comprises the EM Radiation Research Trust, the EMR Policy Institute, ElectromagneticHealth.org and The Peoples Initiative Foundation, describes the Interphone study as funded by the telecom industry and biased in its methods and findings.
Wanting to “raise red flags” to alert government officials and journalists to findings beyond those of Interphone, the group cites data from international sources, including a Swedish study that found an 280 percent increased risk of brain cancer after 10 or more years of digital cell phone use.
The Swedish study reportedly also cites a 420 percent increased risk of brain cancer for users who began using a cell phone as teens or younger, and among adults, it found the risk of brain cancer to increase by 8 percent for every year of cell phone use.
The EMF Collaborative report, “Cellphones and Brain Tumors: 15 Reasons for Concern,” includes concerns that research funded by the telecom industry has also found cell phone use to elevate the risk of brain tumors; that there have been warnings from governments, including those of the United Kingdom, Israel, Finland and Germany, about children’s cell phone use; that cell phone radiation is shown to damage DNA, an established cause of cancer; and the little-discussed fact that many cell phone manuals warn users to keep the phone away from their bodies when it’s not in use.
The Collaborative additionally offers recommendations for public safely, in light of its concerns. “We wholeheartedly echo the European Parliament’s recent call for actions,” the group writes. These actions include reviewing the scientific adequacy of existing cell phone use limits, creating wireless-free areas, such as schools and day care centers, and creating awareness campaigns geared toward children and young people.
John Walls, vice president of public affairs for CTIA, The Wireless Association, a nonprofit representing all aspects of wireless communication, issued a statement saying:
““… The peer-reviewed scientific evidence has overwhelmingly indicated that wireless devices do not pose a public health risk. In addition, there is no known mechanism for microwave energy within the limits established by the FCC to cause any adverse health effects. That is why the leading global heath organizations such as the American Cancer Society, National Cancer Institute, World Health Organization and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration all have concurred that wireless devices are not a public health risk.”“
A copy of the Collaborative’s report is available at RadiationResearch.org. Its author, Lloyd Morgan, told PC World: “Cell phones can be used appropriately and have a certain usefulness, but I fear we will see a tsunami of brain tumors, although it is too early to see that now since the tumors have a 30-year latency. I pray I’m wrong, but brace yourself.”