If your child uses a cell phone, take note. A recent news report has
prompted renewed concerns about the safety of cell phone use, especially
by children.
In January, 2005, The National Radiological
Protection Board (NRPB), an independent research organization in the UK,
announced that they are now advising parents not to let children under
the age of eight use cell phones. Evidence of the potentially harmful
effects of cell phone use, the NRPB explained, has become more
persuasive over the past five years.
The NRPB's parental warning
is based on four recent studies, conducted in Europe, indicating that
the potential hazards of cell phone use have been underestimated:
- A ten-year study in Sweden suggests that heavy cell phone users are more prone than non-users to develop non-malignant tumors in the ear and brain
- A Dutch study has suggested impaired cognitive function as a result of cell phone use
- A German study points to a probable increase in cancer around cellular base stations
- A project supported by the EU has shown evidence of cell damage resulting from exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMFs) typical of those of cell phones
- A ten-year study in Sweden suggests that heavy cell phone users are more prone than non-users to develop non-malignant tumors in the ear and brain
- A Dutch study has suggested impaired cognitive function as a result of cell phone use
- A German study points to a probable increase in cancer around cellular base stations
- A project supported by the EU has shown evidence of cell damage resulting from exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMFs) typical of those of cell phones
MALIGNANT AND NON-MALIGNANT TUMORS
While
the tumors linked to cell phone use in the Swedish study were benign,
other scientists suggest that the reality could be worse. They are
concerned that prolonged contact with the radio waves emitted by cell
phones could actually cause malignant tumors.
"Studies show there
has been a 40 per cent across-the-board increase in the number of brain
tumors in the past 20 years," explains Senator Lyn Allison of Australia,
where brain tumor is now the leading cause of death in children under
15. Senator Allison, who spent a year listening to scientists to find
out what the risks are, points out, "That 20 years has coincided with
the use of mobile phone and many other radio frequencies."
In the
U.S., Dr. George Carlo, a leading epidemiologist, was hired by the cell
phone industry in 1993 to prove that cell phones are safe. After 6 years
of revealing research, however, he found compelling evidence that cell
phone use is NOT safe. Following his conscience, Dr. Carlo became a
whistleblower.
"One by one, alarming signs appeared in Dr. Carlo's
research: that cell phones interfere with pacemakers, that developing
skulls of children are penetrated deeply by the energy emitted from a
cell phone, that the blood brain barrier which prevents invasion of the
brain from toxins can be compromised by the cell phone radiation and,
most startling, that radio frequency radiation creates micronuclei in
human blood cells, a type of genetic damage known to be a diagnostic
marker for cancer."
~ from Cell Phones: Invisible Hazards in the Wireless Age by Dr. George Carlo and Martin Schram
~ from Cell Phones: Invisible Hazards in the Wireless Age by Dr. George Carlo and Martin Schram
Dr.
Carlo proved, and shared in his book, that there is a significant risk
of brain tumors for those who use cell phones. In many cases doctors who
perform surgery on brain tumors and lesions can tell on which side of
the head the patient holds his or her cell phone.
Children are
more susceptible to cell damage because the tissues in their brains and
bodies are still growing and their cells are rapidly dividing. Damage to
the genetic material in growing cells can lead to disruption of
cellular function, cell death, the development of tumors, and damage to
the immune and nervous systems.
