What's the Harm in Using a Cell Phone?

For a device as widely used as a cell phone, most people wouldn't think there was much of any harm in using one. Unfortunately, there should be some concern when looking into the radiation side of things.

Phone by Allison Cook. Everyone seems to have a cell
phone today, which is why it's scary and surprising that
they may pose a risk to our health.

To begin, radiation deals greatly with the electromagnetic spectrum. According to Safe Space Protection, most things in the natural world, including humans, produce waves from this spectrum, but they are very low in intensity. EMFs, or artificial waves, are what can cause problems and they are made by many forms of technology, including power lines.

Cell phones fall are under the very low-frequency category within the nonionizing radiation part of the electromagnetic spectrum. The section below the one cell phones is in is known as extremely low-frequency (ELF) waves, which have the longest wavelengths and can be found coming from power lines that help run household appliances. These waves can cause harm, but only when the body is exposed for long periods of time and are in close proximity to the body.

Photo by Allison Cook. If you were to read the manual that
comes with your phone, you would be adviced to hold it
away from your head. The closer a phone is to the body,
the greater risk that a tumor or some form of cancer will form.

So if cell phones are supposedly so low in frequency, what's the problem? Well, there is a little more to it. The "non-ionizing part" mentioned earlier is what's key. According to the American Cancer Society, it's the RF waves that come off the cell phone's antennas that can cause issues but only to the tissues closest to the phone that absorb the most amount of energy. RF waves are used to send signals to the cell towers and fall in between radio and micro-waves. All of these, also collectively under the category non-ionizing radiation, cannot directly damage DNA and therefore do not have enough energy to cause cancer. The way people can get exposure to RFs is when they hold their phone right up against their face while using it. The longer someone is on their phone, the more RF energy their tissues will absorb and the closer someone is to a tower, the less energy a phone uses.

The biggest concern in many of the articles read was that by holding a phone close to one's head, said person would be at risk of getting a tumor. The American Cancer Society reported two types of tests done to determine if this were so. The first was Lab Studies, which use animals and cells in a dish and are careful to control outside variables. These studies resulted in the conclusion that cell phones do not give off enough energy and therefore there was not a clear causational link between the phones and cancer. The second was Human Studies, which were case studies and it was noted that the majority of these looked specifically at brain tumors. This came up with a variety of results, but most studies found the following: people with brain tumors did not report using their phones more than the controls nor was there an increase in brain tumors with the increasing number of people using cell phones nor was is found that the tumors occur most often where cell phones most often make contact to the head. On top of this many big name agencies, including the CDC, FDA and NIEHS all say something along the lines that as of now, there is not enough evidence to show a link between cancer and phones.

This does not mean there isn't one. Safer Phone Zone published a list of 10 things anyone can do to reduce any risk. For example, by simply keeping your phone away from the body at night and while carrying it during the day (out of bras and pockets, away from pillows and nightstands) and putting it on airplane mode or off-line, you can minimize, or completely stop, the phone from emitting the electromagnetic waves. Switching sides of the head throughout a call may also spread out the exposure, and by waiting until the person being called to pick up before putting the phone closer to the head will limit the amount of exposure.

In the end, the best anyone can do is be aware and conscious of the risks, even if they may be minimal.

Photo by Allison Cook. As a society, we don't just have
phones; we have laptops, iPad and all sorts of other technology.
What else could cause a harm by radiation?

Before this blog closes, there is one more thing that must be mentioned: WiFi. Time published an article in September 2016 about how WiFi send out electromagnetic radiation just like phones. The article talks about how much more dangerous WiFi was, but now there seems to be a question of which is worse. Time claims that putting something between the person and the router can help reduce exposure.