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Cell Phone Report Calls for
More Responsible Management to Protect Children and Pregnant
Women
Smart Safe Hollow Air Tube
Cell Phone Radiation Protection
Radiation Protection Products
12 MARCH 2012
The following is a press release dated 1 February 2012 from
Environment and Human Health, Inc. (EHHI), Yale University.
The main author of the report, John Wargo, professor of
Environmental Risk and Policy at Yale University states,
“The scientific evidence is sufficiently robust showing that
cellular devices pose significant health risks to children
and pregnant women.” Here is the full text of the press
release from EHHI, which was sent to me by the Centre for
Safer Wireless in Washington, DC. The full report is
available at EHHI. Click here for the report's
recommendations to the U.S. federal government and
individuals.
Environment and Human Health, Inc. (EHHI) is releasing a new
report calling for tougher standards to regulate cellular
technologies—especially for children and pregnant women.
This report is the first part of a project researching the
health effects of cell phone use. EHHI has reviewed hundreds
of peer-reviewed studies that have examined the potential
health threats associated with cellular device use, along
with the regulatory standards that have been adopted by the
U.S. and other nations. This report provides the context for
the second section of the project: an animal study designed
to investigate the health effects on offspring of cell phone
exposures during pregnancy.
John Wargo, Ph.D., professor of Environmental Risk and
Policy at Yale University and lead author of the report,
said, “The scientific evidence is sufficiently robust
showing that cellular devices pose significant health risks
to children and pregnant women. The weight of the evidence
supports stronger precautionary regulation by the federal
government. The cellular industry should take immediate
steps to reduce emission of electromagnetic radiation (EMR)
from phones and avoid marketing their products to children.”
EHHI President Nancy Alderman explained how pervasive cell
phones are in the United States. “There are nearly 276
million cell phone subscribers in the nation today, up from
97 million subscribers in 2000,” she said. “More than 75
percent of teens own cell phones, and one third of them text
more than 100 messages per day. Children between the ages of
8-18 spend an average of 7.5 hours per day—nearly half their
hours while awake—on smart phones, computers, televisions or
other electronic devices. Exposures to electromagnetic
radiation are increasing most rapidly among the youngest in
our society, as service providers focus their advertising on
children and educational markets.”
Dr. Hugh Taylor, coauthor of the report, summarized his
concerns regarding neurological effects from cell phone
radiation. “The human brain is especially susceptible to
numerous environmental insults that can produce irreversible
damage during critical periods of nervous system development
between conception and full maturity. A number of
peer-reviewed studies reported changes in the nervous
systems of rats, mice and humans following exposure to cell
phone radiation. These include diminished learning,
diminished reaction time, decreased motor function, reduced
memory accuracy, hyperactivity and diminished cognition.”
Taylor explained differences in exposure between children
and adults, “The thinner skulls of young children permit
cell phone radiation to penetrate brain tissues more deeply
than occurs in adults. Devices stored in pants pockets while
in standby mode can expose rapidly developing reproductive
organs to radiofrequency energy. Storage in shirt pockets
will increase exposure to breast tissues. Children’s and
fetuses’ rapidly developing nervous systems, more rapid
rates of cell division, longer potential lifetime exposure,
and longer average use per day all heighten their risks of
adverse health effects.”
Wargo cautioned, “Cell phones have enjoyed exceptional
freedom from government oversight and control to protect
against health and environmental hazards before cell phone
devices are marketed. There are no enforceable standards to
limit human exposure to cell phone radiation. While the U.S.
does not require any regulations to restrict advertising or
warnings against use of cellular devices by pregnant women
or children, many other nations do.”
Cell phones emit non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation that
varies in intensity by model of phone, antenna
configuration, and signal strength. Most users are unaware
that new phones include warnings about the need to hold
devices a safe distance from the body, often five-eighths to
one inch. Since intensity of exposure falls exponentially as
distance between the phone and body increases, users can
limit their exposure dramatically by using speakerphones.
The World Health Organization in 2011 classified
radiofrequency electromagnetic fields as “possibly
carcinogenic to humans,” based on an increased risk for
glioma, a malignant type of brain cancer, associated with
wireless phone use. Yet some types of tumors take a decade
or longer to develop, and if caused by cellular devices,
would only be discovered by epidemiological studies that
often take a decade to resolve. Since the average useful
life of any device is now two years, these findings would be
irrelevant to guide management of current technologies or
patterns of use.
Summarizing a growing literature in the field of psychology,
Wargo explained, “Cellular devices can create feelings of
psychological dependency. Common effects reported in the
literature include distraction, isolation, hyperactivity,
inability to focus on complex and long term tasks, and a
heightened sense of anxiety.”
The most immediate threat to public health is the increasing
rate of highway fatalities and injury associated with use of
cellular devices while driving. The federal government
reports that at any one time, approximately 11 percent of
all drivers are using their cell phones. Cellular device use
while driving poses a serious and avoidable threat to public
health and safety. The National Safety Council attributes 23
percent of all traffic accidents to cell phone use—at least
1.3 million crashes per year. Nearly 1.2 million of these
are associated with phone calls, while 100,000 are
associated with texting. The authors state this loss of life
is fully avoidable.
The recycling of cell phones is also a serious concern to
the authors. In 2012 nearly 220 million cell phones will be
discarded in the U.S., and fewer than 10 percent of these
will be recycled. This waste is especially hazardous when
burned because of the release of dioxins from some plastic
polymers, and diverse metals that do not break down.
Nancy Alderman, president of EHHI, summarized the group’s
recommendations. “The government must take greater
responsibility for testing cellular technologies before they
are marketed to assure their safety, their proper disposal
and to educate the public about safe patterns of use.”
Djibouti, Djibouti
El Paso, Texas
Bosnia, Sarajevo,
Slovakia, Bratislava
Belarus, Minsk,
Traralgon, Victoria
France, Paris,
Czech Rep, Prague,
Birmingham Alabama USA
Melville Victoria Australia
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