Cell phone RISKS
YOU DON'T DESERVE BRAIN CANCER -- YOU DESERVE THE FACTS
By Amy Worthington (mailto:[email protected]) 1/20/03
Some people appear to have an almost pathological emotional attachment to their cell phones and there is a fascinating suggestion that cell radiation pulses might actually be addictive to the human brain.. We can't save those who would rather die than switch. But ethics compelled us to ensure that all reasonable people have access to the basic scientific facts.
Your cell phone is a microwave transmitter and it should bear a cancer warning! Microwave energy oscillates at millions to billions of cycles per second. The Journal of Cellular Biochemistry reports that these frequencies cause cancer and other diseases by interfering with cellular DNA and its repairmechanisms. Microwave promotes rapid cell aging. Italian scientists have recently demonstrated that cell phone radiation makes cancerous cells grow aggressively. Cordless phones marked 900 megahertz or 2.4 gigahertz emit the same dangerous microwave radiation as cell phones.
The connection between microwave exposure and cancer has been documented for years. During the Cold War, the Soviets irradiated the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, Russia, with low level, twin-beam microwave radiation. Two successive ambassadors developed leukemia. Other staffers also developed cancer, or their blood showed DNA damage, which precedes cancer.
Research by University of Washington professor Dr. Henry Lai shows brain cells are clearly damaged by microwave levels far below the U.S. government's "safety" guidelines. Dr. Lai notes that even tiny doses of radio frequency can cumulate over time and lead to harmful effects. He warns that pub! lic exposure to radiation from wireless transmitters "should be limited toæminimal."
Motorola advises consumers to avoid pointing a cellular antenna toward exposed parts of the body. But independent tests show that cell phones can also leak huge amounts of radiation from the keypad and mouthpiece. This radiation deeply penetrates brain, ear and eye tissues, which are especially susceptible to microwave damage. Belt clip cases allow cell phones to deliver radiation to the liver or kidney areas when a wired, hands-free earpiece is used.
Recent studies confirm that cell and cordless phone microwave can:
- Damage nerves in the scalp
- Cause blood cells to leak hemoglobin
- Cause memory loss and mental confusion
- Cause headaches and induce extreme fatigue
- Create joint pain, muscle spasms and tremors
- Create burning sensation and rash on the skin
- Alter the brain's electrical activity during sleep
- Induce ringing ! in the ears, impair sense of smell
- Precipitate cataracts, retina damage and eye cancer
- Open the blood-brain barrier to viruses and toxins
- Reduce the number and efficiency of white blood cells
- Stimulate asthma by producing histamine in mast cells
- Cause digestive problems and raise bad cholesterol levels
- Stress the endocrine system, especially pancreas, thyroid, ovaries, testes
In 1993, the telecom industry committed $25 million dollars for a series of research projects designed to prove that cell phones are safe. The studies proved just the opposite! They proved that federal microwave exposure standards are dangerously inadequate. Cell damage and tumors can be easily induced in the lab at about one third of the FCC's exposure guidelines.
The telecom boys panicked. They and their lackey politicians and federal regulators decided the only lucrative thing to do was to LIE and DENY. Despite damning evidence, the FDAstill prevaricates: "There is no reason to conclude that there are health risks posed by cell phones to consumers." Meantime, the telecom industry has been pressing to INCREASE BY MORE THAN 10 TIMES the allowable human exposure to cell phone radiation!
Luckily, Dr. George Carlo headed up the industry's study project. He presents the shocking facts in his book, Cell Phones: Invisible Hazards in the Wireless Age: An Insider's Alarming Discoveries About Cancer and Genetic Damage (Carroll and Graf, 2001). A summary of Dr. Carlo's book is this: Cell phones are hot, adequate protective regulations are naught, and Americans are being "fried" so that the deceitful telecom industry can rake it in! It's dirty business as usual, and the longer the industry can con the public, the more billions it collects.
On June 16, 2002, CBS aired a Sixty Minutes segment which confirmed the telecom industry is about as grungy as it gets. CBS producers accused major phone service providers of cheating, scamming, forging signatures, switching phone service without permission and lying about charges. The attorney general of Connecticut stated that despite millions of dollars in fines each year, these companies remain incorrigible. Should we be trusting this industry with our brain tissues and our very lives?
Microwave to the head is extremely hazardous to children. Parents in some European nations are now warned to keep children away from cell phones. A University of Utah researcher found the younger the child, the more radiation is absorbed by the brain. Spanish researchers have shown that cell phones can alter electrical activity of a child's brain for hours, causing drastic mood changes and possible behavior and learning disabilities. Scientists fear that cell phone radiation could damage human embryos. Pregnant women are advised to be wary.
A cell phone must greatly increase its field strength to maintain communications within the metallic cage of an auto. Thus, the effect of microwave radiation inside a vehicle is especially intense. Volkswagen of Europe has warned that cell phone usage inside a car can be "injurious to health due to the extremely high electromagnetic fields generated."
Insurance studies in England showed that an average driver talking on a cell is actually more impaired in function and reaction time than a drunk. Finland's Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority reports that one hour of exposure to mobile phone radiation can cause human cells to shrink. Researchers believe this is due to increased protein activity, an indicator of cell damage. What an unstable world needs now is a global population afflicted with incredible shrinking brains!
Brain cancer rates in USA have increased by 25% since 1975. In 2001, 185,000 Americans were diagnosed with some form of brain cancer. A grade four brain tumor can grow from the size of a grape to tennis ball size in just 4 months. Brain tumors are almost always fatal and most people die within 6-12 months after diagnosis. On April 7, 2002, Sixty Minutes aired a fascinating report on brain cancer, explaining that scientists are unsure why incidence of the disease is growing so exponentially.
Ironically, the segment was followed by a Sprint ad, which advised parents that the best way to keep track of teenagers is to connect them to a cell phone. While researchers say that radical damage to the brain can occur within the first few minutes of conversation, telecom ads encourage customers to spend many hours on the phone each month. Those blazing, full-page cell phone ads in newspapers and magazines must be the reason cell phone dangers are almost never discussed in the mainstream media.
An excellent resource tool is Robert Kane's book Cellular Telephone Russian Roulette (Vantage Press, 2001). As a telecommunications expert, Kane presents an impressive collection of studies showing that both government agencies and cell phone manufacturers KNEW YEARS AGO that cell phone radiation at present exposure levels is dangerous to human health. He notes that cell phones would be rendered useless if their RF emissions were reduced to safe levels.
Reports of illness from heavy cell phone usage and from living or working close to powerful RF transmitters are synchronous with numerous cancer-related lawsuits now being filed against the cell phone industry. The insurance industry sees big trouble ahead. Underwriters for Lloyd's of London refuse to insure phone manufacturers against damage to users' health. Cell phones are today what tobacco was 40 years ago.
Excellent web sites offering up-to-date scientific data on microwave and other radiation issues are:
E-mail ([email protected]) and ask for free updates on important radiation issues and studies.
Dr. Lai's e-mail is [email protected]
Powerful microwave energy directed at homes, offices and schools can flow right through windows and walls. Microwave meters and mitigation devices are available at:
[email protected] www.trifield.com
A specialized RF meter (in the $300 range) is useful for avoiding some environmental exposure and for keeping the interior of your home safe. Turn your microwave meter on when you drive. You will discover that from coast to coast, Americans are being bombarded with communications radiation in the microwave spectrum, just like those lucky embassy workers in Moscow who ended up so very sick. USA is having a real "blast" so to speak! And it is going to get worse as wireless technologies broaden.
By Amy Worthington ([email protected]) 1/20/03