Cell phones and brain tumors
From SkepticWiki
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[edit] Claims
Cell phones work by emitting microwaves. Microwave radiation operates by vibrating at millions or even billions of cycles per second. Science has shown that high-frequency radiation can interfere with DNA and break it down, causing cancer. This is why people who spend too much time in the sun get skin cancer, for example. Since most users place the cell phone right next to their heads when using it, this can be very dangerous, especially after accumulating over a long period of time.
Microwaves can also cook flesh. Just look at your microwave oven. These are the very same microwaves that you're pouring into your head when using your cell phone. This cooking can also lead to the breakdown of DNA, causing cancer and other tumors.
For evidence, just look at the rise in cancer rates since cell phones were introduced. This is a problem that affects millions, especially children, as their brains are still developing and they will have accumulated large amounts of radiation by the time they reach adulthood if they begin using cell phones now.
[edit] Skeptical Response
It is indeed true that cell phones emit microwaves. It is also true that microwaves vibrate millions or even billions of times a second (actually, from 300 MHz to 300 GHz), and that microwaves are used to cook food. Aside from that, none of the information in the claims holds up to scrutiny.
The kind of radiation that breaks down DNA, the same kind in ultraviolet light that leads to melanoma, is called ionizing radiation. This is radiation above the visible light spectrum where the wavelengths are so small that they can actually cause an atom to lose an electron and start a process of oxidation that scientists believe may be the cause of many cancers. Microwaves are non-ionizing radiation; they work below the visible light spectrum—the shortest microwave wavelengths are millimeters log, whereas the longest wavelength of ionizing radiation is one one-millionth of a millimeter—and don't have this ability. Furthermore, ionizing radiation vibrates not millions or billions of times a second, but quadrillions of times a second.
While cell phones and microwave ovens both emit microwave radiation, microwave ovens use a much higher power. Whereas cell phones max out at about 3 watts, microwave ovens run from 700 watts to as much as 1500 watts. Simply, the cell phone doesn't put out nearly enough power to cook your brain cells, and even if it did, you'd feel your ear getting warmer first.
Also, radiation just does not accumulate over time. It goes away immediately after entering your head. It may be the case that the damage from radiation accumulates over time, but if the radiation isn't strong enough to cause any damage in the first place, there's simply nothing that can accumulate. You might be able to knock down a tree if you throw enough rocks at it, but if you're not strong enough for any of the rocks to be able to reach the target, then no amount of rocks and no amount of time will allow you to fell the tree. (Some popular confusion on this topic is no doubt due to the layman's association of "radiation" with nuclear processes. While contamination due to radioactivity can accumulate over time, this is because nuclear reactions emit high-energy alpha particles and free neutrons which can change the structures of the nuclei they strike. None of these nuclear contaminants are present in microwave sources.)
In a paper published by the Radiation Research Society entitled, "Cell Phones and Cancer: What Is the Evidence for a Connection?" by J. E. Moulder et al, no evidence for a causal association between cell phone radiation and cancer was found. "The studies of long-term exposure of animals present no compelling evidence that long-term exposure has a negative impact on overall health and show no convincing evidence that RF radiation is genotoxic in animals."[1]
Another study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association likewise found no link: "The use of handheld cellular telephones was unrelated to the risk of brain cancer in the current study... The current study shows no effect with short-term exposure to cellular telephones that operate on analog signals."[2] Other long-term studies involving rats also show no connection.[3]
As for the studies that show a rise in brain cancer rates since cell phones started being heavily used, the fact is that cancer rates across the board are rising and have been since before the introduction of cell phones. Most of this is due to our increased ability to detect cancer in the first place. So this is an Incorrect Cause fallacy. However, even if such a study were to show more of a direct correlation, it would still be scientifically invalid because there is currently no known mechanism for the radiation from cell phones to cause brain tumors.
[edit] References
[edit] Pro-cancer link sites
- You Don't Deserve Brain Cancer - You Deserve The Facts
- Council on Wireless Technology Impacts
- Microwave News
- The EMR Network
- Wave-Guide.org
[edit] Skeptical and scientific sites
- Cell Phones and Cancer: What Is the Evidence for a Connection? (PDF)
- JAMA: Handheld Cellular Telephone Use and Risk of Brain Cancer (PDF, subscription required)
- The Effects of 860 MHz Radiofrequency Radiation on the Induction or Promotion of Brain Tumors and Other Neoplasms in Rats
- Cellular Telephones and Cancer: How Should Science Respond? (PDF)
- The Straight Dope: How are the microwaves in ovens different from those in cell phones?
