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Harvard Health Blog
Is your cell phone dangerous to your health?
Have you ever been walking along while looking at your cell phone and nearly run into someone or something? If so, you’re not alone. It happens to me all the time. If I veer into another person’s path, I move aside, apologize, and promise myself I’ll be more careful. And then I return to whatever I was doing on my phone.
Maybe there’s a message in this I’m missing. That’s certainly the suggestion of a new study on head and neck injuries linked to cell phone use.
Which injuries are most likely — and where do they occur?
Using data from 100 hospitals in the US, researchers reviewed injuries to the head and neck related to cell phone use affecting more than 2,500 people over the last 20 years. Analysis of these injuries showed that:
- About 40% of these injuries occurred at home.
- A “direct mechanical injury” (such as being struck by a cell phone or an injury related to an exploding battery) accounted for 47% of cases, while use-related injuries accounted for 53%. However, this varied by age. Direct injury was much more common among those younger than age 13. Injuries directly related to use (such as distraction while texting) were more common among older individuals.
- About 10% of injuries occurred while a person was driving and using a cell phone, about 7% occurred while walking, and only about 1% were reported while the user was texting.
- 94% of those who did get injured required no treatment or were treated in the ED and released. While cuts and bruises accounted for over half of these cases, 18% were more serious, including traumatic brain injury.
- The rate of these injuries has increased dramatically since 2007, when the Apple IPhone was introduced.
If the experience of these hospitals is representative of the nation as a whole, it translates to an estimated 76,000 people suffering head and neck injuries related to cell phone use over the last two decades. Even though this number is large, it’s less than two injuries per 100,000 cell phone users each year.
No study is perfect
This study may be the first to provide details regarding the relationship between cell phone use and head and neck injuries. However, it had some significant limitations. Keep in mind that the study focused on head and neck injuries. People with multiple injuries or more serious injuries (such as a heart attack or an ankle fracture) might not have been included in the count. Individuals who sought care at their doctor’s office or urgent care centers would also be excluded from this study.
In addition, information about the circumstances of an injury can be incomplete. Embarrassment or concerns about legal liability might have discouraged some from disclosing information about cell phone use when their injury occurred. Finally, information about what happened after the emergency room visit was not reported, so this study provides no insight into the long-term impact or cost of these injuries.
Some final thoughts
Cell phones are amazing. They are an instant source of information, communication, and documentation. Health apps can encourage and track healthy behaviors. GPS tracking can help parents keep their kids safe. Phoning for help in an emergency can be lifesaving.
Yet there are clearly downsides to cell phone use: distracted driving leading to automobile accidents may be the most obvious example, but as this new research shows, other injuries can be linked to cell phone use as well. There are also concerns about possible connections between cell phone use and upper back and neck pain , as well as an increased cancer risk (an area of controversy and active research).
Perhaps cell phones should have warning labels about how to use them responsibly. Of course, this would likely just sound like common sense: put the phone away while driving, walking, running, or doing anything that requires your attention to avoid injury.
My guess is that short of legislation banning cell phone use in specific circumstances, or other major changes in our daily lives such as self-driving cars, injuries related to cell phone use will continue to rise. So, if you’re reading this post on your cell phone while walking or otherwise on the move, please put your phone away and watch where you’re going!
Follow me on Twitter @RobShmerling
About the Author
Robert H. Shmerling, MD , Senior Faculty Editor, Harvard Health Publishing; Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing
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Are Cell Phone Dangerous? Essay (Critical Writing)
- To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
- As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
- As a template for you assignment
Introduction
Literature review, reference list.
Cell phones are one of those elements of the modern reality that hardly anyone can handle without. Whenever there is considerable distance between two people who somehow relate to each other, cell phone is the quickest way to keep in touch and pass certain messages. While computer can be switched off and, thus, it will take quite a while for the recipient to read an electronic message, a cell phone is something that is always close at hand, the device that is designed to serve its purpose best and the means to get in touch with anyone at any time in any place in the world where the cellular communications have been established.
Therefore, it cannot be doubted that a cell phone offers a number of benefits to its owner and contributes considerably to the world communication and, hence, such important spheres as economics, politics, and culture.
However, it is worth mentioning that using a cell phone involves dealing with certain issues that have the most deplorable impact on both people’s health, relationships between people, and even on the environment. Thus, according to the recent research, there are certain proof that the use of cell phones enhances the crisis in the world environment, hence, posing considerable threat to people’s health all over the world.
Therefore, it is obvious that the use of cell phones involves a number of issues that have to be tackled with to come to the conclusion concerning the harmfulness of cell phones. Once assessing the impact that cell phones have on the environment, on people, and on people’s activities, one is likely to come to certain deductions concerning the possible ways to decrease the negative impact of cell phones or the way to replace cell phones with a more efficient and less harmful device.
Whenever dealing with the latest innovations, it is necessary to keep in mind that the newest gadgets, no matter how promising or, on the contrary, threatening the prospects of their use might be, it is necessary to admit that the latest technologies have not been time-tested, which means that they have not been checked well enough to become completely suitable to substitute the existing ones, yet definitely possess the elements of the newest technologies to offer new options for the users. One of the most famous and by far the most popular, a cell phone, its advantages and drawbacks are going to be considered in the given paper.
Hence, it is most reasonable to consider both the adepts of cell phone usage and those who tend to think that the use of cell phones is rather threatening and should be prohibited. Once assessing both viewpoints, one is likely to come to the most reasonable conclusion. Therefore, it is required to consider both the positive impact that cell phones have on the fields of people’s activities and the negative ones that are most likely to hazard not only people’s health, but also the state of the environment.
The Viewpoint of the Cellular Network Adepts
Among the first ideas to consider, the one that manifests the use of cell phones as the most logical phenomenon and the key feature of the XXI century is the fact that cellular communications are part and parcel of the world development, and, hence, contribute to the evolution of the humankind together with the development of science and technologies.
Despite the drawbacks and the obvious flaws of the present-day cellular connection, it cannot be denied that the development of cellular communications is a huge step on the way of progress. With the help of cell phones, people have finally reached the goal that they have been striving to for centuries, namely, transmitting the data to the other end of the world within seconds. Moreover, in contrast to the regular phone, the invention of Arthur Bell, cellular phones can be taken wherever the owner goes, which means that the problem concerning the disability to answer the phone call has vanished without a trace.
It is obvious that a cell phone has made the lives of millions of people considerably easier. Therefore, it is necessary to consider some of the most essential advantages of cell phones. Hence, the progress of science and the triumph over space is going to be discussed.
The Pace of Progress
One of the main reasons to consider the cell phone industry progressive and rather promising is the fact that it is constantly developing, offering the users more options and more things to explore. With the variety of additional features, cell phones do remind of the futuristic novels and movies that seize one’s imagination at once, which makes cell phones rather popular devices.
Using the latest technological developments of the XXI century, the cell phone companies, on the one hand, suggest to blaze another path to the progress; meanwhile, on the other hand, the given gadgets lure people into exploring the new options, while the concept of a phone, namely, the device that is supposed to serve as a medium between the sender and the recipient, remains the same. The latter, however, passes unnoticed by most of the users.
However, it is also worth mentioning that in most cases, the idea of new technologies is cultivated artificially by the cell phone users themselves. Therefore, the popularity of cell phones rises without any noticeable changes in the cell phone design or set of functions. As Kavoori & Arceneaux (2006) asserted, “new meanings from new technologies are generally socially and culturally created.
In the early years of cell phone development, for example, many people considered it a cordless traditional phone, thus keeping their mobiles at home, like a replacement or additional fixed phone […]. This fact is easily understandable from a historical perspective about former uses of past new interfaces and communication media” (p. 36). Thus, it must be added that cell phones have still not become quite an integral part of the modern society.
When It Comes in Handy
It is clear that due to the efficiency of cell phones, people do not consider certain drawbacks of these gadgets as something that is likely to hinder the communication and convince people that using cell phones might pose certain complexities. Because of the convenience and comfort that cell phones offer, as well as the quality of the communication offered, people often disregard the obvious faults of the devices, considering that what has already been offered is good enough to demand something greater. As Bedau & Parke (2009) explain, the given viewpoint is rather widespread among the users of cell phones, thus, making it clear that technology is one of the most important priorities in the modern world – or, to be more precise, among the modern population:
And I do not think that reassurances from scientists that cell phones present no risks are the reason for the lack of attention to their dangers. Rather, the technology is so convenient and useful that actually taking the concerns seriously would be too much of an obstacle in our everyday lives. (p. 293)
Hence, it must be admitted that people are attracted by the ease which they can use cell phones with. Moreover, with the improvements of the existing design, the developers of the new cell phone models offer more options with each model that hits the market. Therefore, it is the comfort and the user-friendly interface that spurs the use of cell phones and makes them an integral part of a businessman’s or a secretary’s image.
What the Opponents Say: Save-the-Humankind Mission
Despite the obvious positive characteristics that one can give to such device as a cell phone, it is necessary to admit that there are a number of concerns for the device and the way it affects people and the environment. Among the most widespread ideas on the harmfulness of cell phones, one should stress the concern for the environment, namely, the way the use of cell phones affects the environment and whether the active use of cell phones can be the reason for high rates of the Erath contamination.
Moreover, it is believed that active use of cell phones might oust the live communication, which is rather undesirable, since, no matter how sophisticated and highly developed the mobile communications are, they cannot substitute a live conversation. Hence, it is quite believable that cell phones are likely to harm the way in which people communicate. Therefore, it is desirable to consider the effect that cell phones have on people and the environment closer, marking the consequences of the cell phone use.
The Earth is in Danger
Among the most dreadful threats that cell phones are said to pose to humankind, the one concerning the environmental catastrophe is the most feared. Even though it should be noted that even the mass use of cell phones is unlikely to cause a disaster of Apocalyptic scale, it is necessary to admit that at certain stage of the cell phone industry development, the danger of contaminating the environment was quite tangible and had considerable scientific fundament to base upon. Hence, the issue should be considered from the viewpoint of the modern scientific ideas as well.
It is a well-known fact that used cell phones emit dangerous radioactive particles. Since very few people know how to get rid of the broken cell phones and know what threat the toxic waste which the used cell phones are, the environment, as well as people’s health, is in a hazardous situation. According to what Home Business Journal (2004) says,
Studies show that 500 million used cell phones currently stored away in closets and drawers will eventually end up in landfills, where releases of the many toxic materials they contain create threats to human health and the environment. (“500 million used cell phones,” 24 Mar 2004).
Hence, it is obvious that cell phones do presuppose certain threat to people’s health once the devices are broken and require urgent waste disposal. It is essential to mention, though, that there are few instructions on the way in which people should get rid of their cell phones. Hence, it is the lack of information that matters in the given case and causes problems (Ashton & Laura, 1999).
Communication Issues
Even though it does seem absurd, cell phones contribute to decreasing the quality of communication and depriving people of the skills to communicate efficiently. Indeed, if taking a closer look at what the components of the mobile phone communication are, one will see that an incredibly important element is missing – the ability to see the vis-à-vis and see him/her react to a certain idea or phrase. Therefore, it must be admitted that a cell phone communication presupposes dealing with the lack of non-verbal components, thus, decreasing the quality and the effect of the conversation.
Hence, it can be deduced that cell phones contribute to the deterioration of live communication skills, which is rather sad in personal life and completely unacceptable when it comes to speaking about the job. As Burgess (2004) claims, “The cell phone may be about communication, but only in the most banal or unnecessarily businesslike of fashions, in some estimations” (65).
Cutting the process of conversation to merely delivering certain messages, cell communication can be used as a supplementary element, but not the key means of communication. Otherwise, people are likely to lose their skills, creating “problems with face-to-face communication in public space” (Burgess, 2004, p. 65), Burgess (2004) assures:
In July 2002, the Liverpool City Council forbade its 19,500 employees from sending internal e-mails on Wednesdays, in a move designed to help employees realize the extent to which electronic communication might be worsening more interactive, direct contact and the shifting of responsibility for problem-solving. (p. 65)
In addition, it cannot be denied that cell phones pose a certain threat to people’s health. According to what Ashton & Laura (1999) state, “a plausible hypothesis is that mobile-phone headaches represent nature’s early warning of harmful magnetic field interactions with the brain” (p. 62), yet there is no factual proof to the above-mentioned statement. What has been actually found out was the fact that, when exposed to the radiation doses that are close to those of mobile phones, a human brain cells “react by releasing histamine” (p. 62), as Ashton & Laura explained.
Thus, it cannot be denied that cell communication does presuppose dealing with certain negative aftereffects. Moreover, the use of cell phones poses threat not only to the environment but also to people’s communication skills, which means that the importance of cell communication should be reconsidered.
Addressing the Problem: Where the Truth Is
Being one of the most widespread means of communication for the people who cannot talk to each other directly, mobile phones at the same time are said to pose considerable threat to the well-being of the entire humankind, which calls for thorough research. Because of the double-sidedness of the cell phones effect, it is required that a thorough research should be conducted.
Therefore, it must be admitted that, due to the dual effect of cell phones, the conflict concerning their use is becoming increasingly topical. Being the most frequently used means of communication and at the same time, the object that cannot be properly utilized in a number of countries, as well as the thing that is said to cause such catastrophes as the global warming due to its radioactive emissions, a cell phone is definitely a device that is worth a close consideration. Whether it should or should not be banned from global use is the issue of great significance for both the humankind and the state of the nature and the wildlife, which is why the problem has to be discussed.
Concerning the Conflict: The Pros and Cons of Cell Phones
Since a number of people, claim that cell phones are the pollutants that emit the matter which is supposedly hazardous for people’s health, it is rather reasonable that the use of cell phones should be restricted and even avoided; however, being the key element of the modern communication, a cell phone cannot be ousted from the sphere of the everyday use without crucial consequences, which creates quite a dilemma to solve.
However, it is worth mentioning that the harmfulness of cell phones has not been proved ultimately, which allows to suggest that the negative impact that cell phones have on people and on the environment has been exaggerated. Granted that the negative effect that cell phones have on the environment, the humankind, and the wildlife has not been confirmed, it can be considered that cell phones are less harmful than most people suppose them to be.
Hence, it is strongly recommended that the effect that cell phones have on people and wildlife should be verified. Once the threat is detected, the possible means to solve it can be detected, which gives hope for the quick resolution of the issues. However, it is still necessary to admit that, due to the impact that cell phones have on the modern personal and business life, as well as the world’s economic state of affairs. There can be no doubt that without cell phones, numerous deals would have never been made because of the distance between the parties of the alleged agreement. Therefore, the issue in question, namely, the pros and cons of using cell phones is rather versatile and requires continuous speculations.
Judging by the arguments driven above, one can see distinctly that cell phones offer great advantages for people to gain more comfort in their personal and business communications; however, cell phones possess considerable drawbacks as well, making people lose their skills of an everyday face-to-face communication and contaminating the environment with the radiation-emitting toxic remnants of the mainboard. Hence, it is quite complicated to decide whether cell phones should be considered a threat to the modern world or the means to communicate that cannot be replaced by any existing alternative. Analyzing the positive and the negative impacts and assessing the degree of each, one is likely to come up with adequate comments and solutions.
Despite the idea that cell phones might emit radioactive substances that is likely to damage the ecosystem and cause irreparable harm to the health of the owner, people will still use cell phones simply because they offer the ability to communicate to literally anyone in any corner of the world at any time, no matter whether it is late in the night or early in the morning. Therefore, it is the ease and comfort that people seem to appreciate most in cell connection.
Moreover, cell connections can help people create even stronger and more important links, including the economical, political and financial ties. Indeed, since nowadays most companies tend to place their affiliates in various cities and even countries, it is crucial to be able to talk to a person directly when being actually miles away; offering a simulation of a live conversation, cell phones help to create links between people, which enhances both the personal relationships and the business affairs. Hence, it can be concluded that cell phones do have considerable impact on people’s lives and banning the use of cell phones can hardly be a solution.
In addition to the personal communication, cell phones also contribute to the development of the business relationships. There can be no doubt that with the help of cell phone communication, people from different cities and even from different countries can correlate their business actions, helping their companies to evolve and spreading their affiliates all over the world, which enhances the world market. Thus, it can be considered that cell phones help not only develop the interpersonal communication, but also enhance the growth of the business sphere.
Once being able to convey their ideas instantly disregarding the distance between the affiliates, the heads of various companies will be able to correlate their actions in a more sufficient way. Hence, it can be admitted that cell phones increase the authority and the influence of various entrepreneurships from all over the world, thus, spreading the ideas globalization and enhancing the effect of the latter. Without cell phones, the entire idea of globalization and the fusion of countries and cultures would be completely impracticable without one of the fastest means to get in touch with the people on the other side of the world.
Even though cell phones might be harmful for people’s health and bring considerable damage to the environment, it must be admitted that there is no alternative for cell communication when it comes to have a conversation across the space borders. Even though talking on a cell phone when making a call to another country might be somewhat more expensive than making a regular call, it is still worth noting that, in contrast to the regular phones, cell phones have made international calls considerably more affordable for most people, since the line is not engaged as often as it is when making a regular call.
Therefore, it can be considered that the use of cell phones contributes to the development of communication all over the world; moreover, cell phones have made it possible that people could talk to each other without any limit, which letters or e-mails presuppose. Hence, it can be concluded that the positive aspects of cell phone use are still to be considered. It goes without saying that with no mobile telephones, people would have lost a number of opportunities that allow them develop at present; moreover, people would have missed a large amount of the opportunities that they can opt for now, like the ability to listen to music while walking down the street, or receiving e-mails on their cell phones, and a number of other important trifles.
Despite their obvious positive aspects, cell phones still pose considerable threat to the modern society. Taking into account the specifics of the ay cell phones work and the radioactive substance that cell phones are said to emit, it is required to consider the issue of hazard that cell phones pose to the society. Since the use of cell phones might cause considerable harm to the environment and people’s health, it is necessary to reconsider the use of cell phones once and for all.
Taking into consideration the above-mentioned, one can say with certainty that the use of cell phones is quite harmful for people’s health. As it has been confirmed, cell phones emit the substance that harms people’s health. According to the reports that have been made so far, one of the greatest concerns for the XXI century as for cell phones use has been the issue of cell phones disposal. Since the latter are classified as a toxic waste after they have been used, it is obvious that used cell phones are even more dangerous than the ones that are still operating.
Hence, despite all the advantages of using cell phones, one must admit that the aftereffect of the cell phone use is still far too harmful to continue communicating with the help of mobile connection. In the light of the above-mentioned and the statistic data which marks that the number of cell phone users is growing, it is highly recommended that the impacts which cell phones have on people and the environment should be considered as soon as possible and the conclusions should be made.
It is worth marking that even the negative impact of mobile phones on people’s health is questionable, since no concrete results have been obtained to prove the above-mentioned. It must be admitted that there is certain information on the supposed radioactive emission that cell phones are responsible for. However, the given phenomenon is not enough to claim that cell phones are hazardous for people’s health or the environment. Therefore, it can be suggested that cell phones might be dangerous for people’s health and environment, yet there are no scientific trustworthy proofs for that.
In addition, the idea of cell phones being hazardous to the environment and the wildlife is rather far-fetched. Indeed, it is worth acknowledging that cell phones utilization problem is still an issue in a number of countries, yet establishing the required service is a matter of time. It is also important to mark that the radioactivity of cell phones does not cause much concern while phones are being in use, yet becomes quite topical as soon as cell phones stop operating and need to be recycled somehow.
Therefore, it can be suggested that the alleged harmfulness of cell phones and the supposed radiation issue comes to the fore when a cell phone stops operating, whereas in its working condition, it is viewed as a useful device that helps people communicate. Hence, it is of utter importance to find out if cell phones pose a threat to the health of people and the state of the environment only when stopping operating.
Nevertheless, it cannot be denied that cell phones do emit radioactive waves. Therefore, their harmlessness is questionable. Although the principle of cell phones work is no longer a mystery, it cannot be denied that the issue concerning the harmlessness of the matter that cell phones emit is rather questionable, which means that the latter can be considered potentially dangerous objects and the possible threat for the world. Thus, cell phones should be rather classified as potentially hazardous devices. Moreover, even though the impact that cell phones radiation has on human body has not been measured yet, it is clear that the exposure even to a minimal amount of radiation is threatening for people’s health, which means that one should offer an alternative to cellular connection.
In addition to the hazard that the cell communication poses to the environment, one must note that the addiction to cell phones provokes an excessive use of the so-called “easy” communication that does not involve anything but the vocal component. Hence, it is evident that in the given kind of conversation, one of the most important elements is missing, namely, the non-verbal messages that are transmitted to each of the participants throughout the conversation.
Getting addicted to the above-mentioned type of handling a conversation, people are likely to become dependent on it. Therefore, the participants of a cell phone communication are likely to lose the basic skills of a live interpersonal conversation, which, in its turn, will harm their personal and professional skills. Hence, it is obvious that cell phones contribute to a considerable extent to the communication regress, which is a sign that the excessive use of cell phones is likely to lead to the lack of efficient communicational skills and the inability to maintain a basic conversation. The latter being an obvious sign of a mental regress, one must say that mobile phones must not be used as a basic means of communication unless any other is unavailable.
To sum up the above-mentioned, one must mark that, even though cell phones have become an integral part of the modern personal and business communication, the use and the utilization of the above-mentioned devices must be reconsidered. It is obvious that the toxic waste that the remnants of cell phones emit due to the improper utilization is an extreme hazard for the environment. Therefore, cell phones are supposed to be replaced with another means of communication that presupposes a more careful treatment of the environment and the people’s health. Once providing a specific means of communication that will not pose a threat to the world, people are most likely to stop the environmental disasters that the humankind is currently facing, among them the most dreadful being the pollution.
500 million used cell phones pose an environmental threat. (2004). Home Business Journal. Web.
Ashton, J., & Laura, R. S. (1999). Perils of progress: The health and environment hazards of modern technology and what you can do about them . London, UK: Zed Books.
Bedau, M., & Parke, E. C. (2009). The ethics of protocells: Moral and social implications of creating life in the laboratory . Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press.
Burgess, A. (2004). Cellular phones, public fears, and a culture of precaution. Cambridge, UK: University of Cambridge Press.
Kavoori, A. P., & Arceneaux, N. (2006). The cell phone reader: Essays in social transformation. Bern, CH: Peter Lang.
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IvyPanda. (2020, May 27). Are Cell Phone Dangerous? https://ivypanda.com/essays/are-cell-phone-dangerous/
"Are Cell Phone Dangerous?" IvyPanda , 27 May 2020, ivypanda.com/essays/are-cell-phone-dangerous/.
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IvyPanda . 2020. "Are Cell Phone Dangerous?" May 27, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/are-cell-phone-dangerous/.
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Moskowitz: Cellphone radiation is harmful, but few want to believe it
The telecommunications industry insists cellphone technology is safe. But the director of UC Berkeley’s Center for Family and Community Health is determined to prove it wrong.
By Anne Brice
July 1, 2021
The vast majority of American adults — 97% — own a cellphone of some kind, according to the Pew Research Center . (Photo by Susanne Nilsson via Flickr)
For more than a decade, Joel Moskowitz , a researcher in the School of Public Health at UC Berkeley and director of Berkeley’s Center for Family and Community Health, has been on a quest to prove that radiation from cellphones is unsafe. But, he said, most people don’t want to hear it.
“People are addicted to their smartphones,” said Moskowitz. “We use them for everything now, and, in many ways, we need them to function in our daily lives. I think the idea that they’re potentially harming our health is too much for some people.”
Since cellphones first came onto the market in 1983, they have gone from clunky devices with bad reception to today’s sleek, multifunction smartphones. And although cellphones are now used by nearly all American adults , considerable research suggests that long-term use poses health risks from the radiation they emit, said Moskowitz.
Joel Moskowitz is a researcher in the School of Public Health and director of the Center for Family and Community Health at UC Berkeley. (School of Public Health photo)
“Cellphones, cell towers and other wireless devices are regulated by most governments,” said Moskowitz. “Our government, however, stopped funding research on the health effects of radiofrequency radiation in the 1990s.”
Since then, he said, research has shown significant adverse biologic and health effects — including brain cancer — associated with the use of cellphones and other wireless devices. And now, he said, with the fifth generation of cellular technology, known as 5G, there is an even bigger reason for concern .
Berkeley News spoke with Moskowitz about the health risks of cellphone radiation, why the topic is so controversial and what we can expect with the rollout of 5G.
Berkeley News: I think we should address upfront is how controversial this research is. Some scientists have said that these findings are without basis and that there isn’t enough evidence that cellphone radiation is harmful to our health. How do you respond to that?
Joel Moskowitz: Well, first of all, few scientists in this country can speak knowledgeably about the health effects of wireless technology. So, I’m not surprised that people are skeptical, but that doesn’t mean the findings aren’t valid.
A big reason there isn’t more research about the health risks of radiofrequency radiation exposure is because the U.S. government stopped funding this research in the 1990s, with the exception of a $30 million rodent study published in 2018 by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences’ National Toxicology Program, which found “clear evidence” of carcinogenicity from cellphone radiation.
In 1996, the Federal Communications Commission, or FCC, adopted exposure guidelines that limited the intensity of exposure to radiofrequency radiation. These guidelines were designed to prevent significant heating of tissue from short-term exposure to radiofrequency radiation, not to protect us from the effects of long-term exposure to low levels of modulated, or pulsed, radiofrequency radiation, which is produced by cellphones, cordless phones and other wireless devices, including Wi-Fi. Yet, the preponderance of research published since 1990 finds adverse biologic and health effects from long-term exposure to radiofrequency radiation, including DNA damage.
More than 250 scientists, who have published over 2,000 papers and letters in professional journals on the biologic and health effects of non-ionizing electromagnetic fields produced by wireless devices, including cellphones, have signed the International EMF Scientist Appeal , which calls for health warnings and stronger exposure limits. So, there are many scientists who agree that this radiation is harmful to our health.
I first heard you speak about the health risks of cellphone radiation at Berkeley in 2019, but you’ve been doing this research since 2009. What led you to pursue this research?
I got into this field by accident, actually. During the past 40 years, the bulk of my research has been focused on tobacco-related disease prevention. I first became interested in cellphone radiation in 2008, when Dr. Seung-Kwon Myung, a physician scientist with the National Cancer Center of South Korea, came to spend a year at the Center for Family and Community Health. He was involved in our smoking cessation projects, and we worked with him and his colleagues on two reviews of the literature, one of which addressed the tumor risk from cellphone use.
At that time, I was skeptical that cellphone radiation could be harmful. However, since I was dubious that cellphone radiation could cause cancer, I immersed myself in the literature regarding the biological effects of low-intensity microwave radiation, emitted by cellphones and other wireless devices.
After reading many animal toxicology studies that found that this radiation could increase oxidative stress — free radicals, stress proteins and DNA damage — I became increasingly convinced that what we were observing in our review of human studies was indeed a real risk.
While Myung and his colleagues were visiting the Center for Family and Community Health, you reviewed case-control studies examining the association between mobile phone use and tumor risk. What did you find?
Our 2009 review , published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology , found that heavy cellphone use was associated with increased brain cancer incidence, especially in studies that used higher quality methods and studies that had no telecommunications industry funding.
Last year, we updated our review , published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health , based on a meta-analysis of 46 case-control studies — twice as many studies as we used for our 2009 review — and obtained similar findings. Our main takeaway from the current review is that approximately 1,000 hours of lifetime cellphone use, or about 17 minutes per day over a 10-year period, is associated with a statistically significant 60% increase in brain cancer.
Why did the government stop funding this kind of research?
The telecommunications industry has almost complete control of the FCC, according to Captured Agency , a monograph written by journalist Norm Alster during his 2014-15 fellowship at Harvard University’s Center for Ethics. There’s a revolving door between the membership of the FCC and high-level people within the telecom industry that’s been going on for a couple of decades now.
The industry spends about $100 million a year lobbying Congress. The CTIA , which is the major telecom lobbying group, spends $12.5 million per year on 70 lobbyists. According to one of their spokespersons, lobbyists meet roughly 500 times a year with the FCC to lobby on various issues. The industry as a whole spends $132 million a year on lobbying and provides $18 million in political contributions to members of Congress and others at the federal level.
The telecom industry’s influence over the FCC, as you describe, reminds me of the tobacco industry and the advertising power it had in downplaying the risks of smoking cigarettes.
Yes, there are strong parallels between what the telecom industry has done and what the tobacco industry has done, in terms of marketing and controlling messaging to the public. In the 1940s, tobacco companies hired doctors and dentists to endorse their products to reduce public health concerns about smoking risks. The CTIA currently uses a nuclear physicist from academia to assure policymakers that microwave radiation is safe. The telecom industry not only uses the tobacco industry playbook, it is more economically and politically powerful than Big Tobacco ever was. This year, the telecom industry will spend over $18 billion advertising cellular technology worldwide.
You mentioned that cellphones and other wireless devices use modulated, or pulsed, radiofrequency radiation. Can you explain how cellphones and other wireless devices work, and how the radiation they emit is different from radiation from other household appliances, like a microwave?
Basically, when you make a call, you’ve got a radio and a transmitter. It transmits a signal to the nearest cell tower. Each cell tower has a geographic cell, so to speak, in which it can communicate with cellphones within that geographic region or cell.
Then, that cell tower communicates with a switching station, which then searches for whom you’re trying to call, and it connects through a copper cable or fiber optics or, in many cases, a wireless connection through microwave radiation with the wireless access point. Then, that access point either communicates directly through copper wires through a landline or, if you’re calling another cellphone, it will send a signal to a cell tower within the cell of the receiver and so forth.
The difference is the kind of microwave radiation each device emits. With regard to cellphones and Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, there is an information-gathering component. The waves are modulated and pulsed in a very different manner than your microwave oven.
What, specifically, are some of the health effects associated with long-term exposure to low-level modulated radiofrequency radiation emitted from wireless devices?
Many biologists and electromagnetic field scientists believe the modulation of wireless devices makes the energy more biologically active, which interferes with our cellular mechanisms, opening up calcium channels, for example, and allowing calcium to flow into the cell and into the mitochondria within the cell, interfering with our natural cellular processes and leading to the creation of stress proteins and free radicals and, possibly, DNA damage. And, in other cases, it may lead to cell death.
In 2001, based upon the biologic and human epidemiologic research, low-frequency fields were classified as “possibly carcinogenic” by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) of the World Health Organization. In 2011, the IARC classified radiofrequency radiation as “possibly carcinogenic to humans,” based upon studies of cellphone radiation and brain tumor risk in humans. Currently, we have considerably more evidence that would warrant a stronger classification.
Most recently, on March 1, 2021, a report was released by the former director of the National Center for Environmental Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , which concluded that there is a “high probability” that radiofrequency radiation emitted by cellphones causes gliomas and acoustic neuromas, two types of brain tumors.
Let’s talk about the fifth generation of cellphone technology, known as 5G, which is already available in limited areas across the U.S. What does this mean for cellphone users and what changes will come with it?
For the first time, in addition to microwaves, this technology will employ millimeter waves, which are much higher frequency than the microwaves used by 3G and 4G. Millimeter waves can’t travel very far, and they’re blocked by fog or rain, trees and building materials, so the industry estimates that it’ll need 800,000 new cell antenna sites.
Each of these sites may have cell antennas from various cellphone providers, and each of these antennas may have microarrays consisting of dozens or even perhaps hundreds of little antennas. In the next few years in the U.S., we will see deployed roughly 2.5 times more antenna sites than in current use unless wireless safety advocates and their representatives in Congress or the judicial system put a halt to this.
How are millimeter waves different from microwaves, in terms of how they affect our bodies and the environment?
Millimeter wave radiation is largely absorbed in the skin, the sweat glands, the peripheral nerves, the eyes and the testes, based upon the body of research that’s been done on millimeter waves . In addition, this radiation may cause hypersensitivity and biochemical alterations in the immune and circulatory systems — the heart, the liver, kidneys and brain.
Millimeter waves can also harm insects and promote the growth of drug-resistant pathogens, so it’s likely to have some widespread environmental effects for the microenvironments around these cell antenna sites.
What are some simple things that each of us can do to reduce the risk of harm from radiation from cellphones and other wireless devices?
First, minimize your use of cellphones or cordless phones — use a landline whenever possible. If you do use a cellphone, turn off the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth if you’re not using them. However, when near a Wi-Fi router, you would be better off using your cellphone on Wi-Fi and turning off the cellular because this will likely result in less radiation exposure than using the cellular network.
Second, distance is your friend. Keeping your cellphone 10 inches away from your body, as compared to one-tenth of an inch, results in a 10,000-fold reduction in exposure. So, keep your phone away from your head and body. Store your phone in a purse or backpack. If you have to put it in your pocket, put it on airplane mode. Text, use wired headphones or speakerphone for calls. Don’t sleep with it next to your head — turn it off or put it in another room.
Third, use your phone only when the signal is strong. Cellphones are programmed to increase radiation when the signal is poor, that is when one or two bars are displayed on your phone. For example, don’t use your phone in an elevator or in a car, as metal structures interfere with the signal.
Also, I encourage people to learn more about the 150-plus local groups affiliated with Americans for Responsible Technology , which are working to educate policymakers, urging them to adopt cell tower regulations and exposure limits that fully protect us and the environment from the harm caused by wireless radiation.
For safety tips on how to reduce exposure to wireless radiation from the California Department of Public Health and other organizations, Moskowitz recommends readers visit his website, saferemr.com , Physicians for Safe Technology and the Environmental Health Trust .
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Home Essay Samples Information Science and Technology Cell Phones
Are Cell Phones Dangerous? Exploring the Argumentative Landscape
Table of contents, the health concerns, distraction and safety risks, the countering perspective, balancing the benefits and risks, works cited.
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Home / Essay Samples / Information Science and Technology / Negative Impact of Technology / Are Cell Phones Really Dangerous: Arguments on the Topic
Are Cell Phones Really Dangerous: Arguments on the Topic
- Category: Information Science and Technology
- Topic: Cell Phones , Disadvantages of Technology , Negative Impact of Technology
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Works Cited
- Gutiérrez, José De-Sola, et al. “Cell-Phone Addiction: A Review.” Frontiers in Psychiatry, vol. 7, 2016, doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2016.00175.
- “Cellular Phones.” American Cancer Society
- Nandi, Partha. “3 Serious Reasons to Stop Using Your Smartphone at Night.” NutriLiving by NutriBullet, 11 Oct. 2017
- Pulliam, Daniel, 'Effect of Student Classroom Cell Phone Usage on Teachers' (2017). Masters Theses & Specialist Projects. Paper 1915.
- “Effects of Cell Phones as an Environmental Hazard.” LIVESTRONG.COM, Leaf Group
- [email protected] . “U Drive. U Text. U Pay.” NHTSA, 2 Apr. 2019
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