A new peer-reviewed study conducted by the National Toxicology Program (NTP) analyzed data over multiple years and found that male rats developed low incidences of two tumor types when exposed to the same radio frequencies usually emitted by cellphones. This links cellphone use and cancer after long-term debates regarding mobile phone use and health effects.
The tumors were gliomas — which affect the brain’s glial cells, and schwannomas — which affect the heart.
The study also received oversight from the National Institutes of Health, who made a statement regarding the study earlier last week regarding evidence in humans. They noted that data collected from human studies have found limited evidence regarding the increased risk of cancer due to cellphone use. A report from the study on partial findings mentioned that the widespread use of cellphones could have broad implications for the health of the public, even with a very small incident increase.
While the effects on animals don’t necessarily mean humans will be impacted the same way, his study by the NTP is one of the most comprehensive and biggest — $25 million — experiments regarding cellphones effects on human health.
Cellphones were launched on the market in the 1980s. Since this time, the one health effect many feel is possible is the ability of the radio frequency energy to heat human tissue at high enough levels.
The World Health Organization (WHO) classified radiation from cellphone use as a group 2B possible carcinogen in 2011, and the U.S. government has stated that scientific evidence hasn’t done enough to prove health risks. As far as the group 2B classification by the WHO, it’s worthwhile to note that coffee and various pickled vegetables are also labeled as possibly carcinogenic.
This new study gives a lot to think about, but previous studies have also shown that there are no harmful effects related to cellphone use. One of these studies was conducted in Australia last month and the results show no increase in cancer rates.
The NTP was tasked by the United States Food and Drug Administration almost two decades ago to study the radiation from cellphone radio frequency. The organization identifies and tests agents that could be considered potentially harmful to humans. In 2005, the IIT Research Institute of Chicago was chosen by the NTP to conduct this study. It took researchers a few years just to design and build the test’s parameters due to the complexity involved.
The study analyzed the effects of GSM and CDMA, two of the common types of technologies in cellphones. Using two common frequencies — 1900 megahertz for mice and 900 megahertz for rats — the animals were exposed for 18 hours a day. The study exposed the rats and mice to the frequency every 10 minutes with a 10-minute break in between.
The increase in cancer risk was found mostly in the male rats, but the female rats did not show similar results.
If the results have any correlation to humans and can in fact cause cancer, this is an important study to note. There are plenty of possible carcinogens out there and it is important to recognize which ones can harm humans. Even worse, there are plenty of dangerous products that can cause serious injuries due to defects. This is true, even if the radio frequency from the phone could cause heating of the tissue.
If you have been harmed by a dangerous product, we encourage you to call our dangerous product attorneys at Bailey Cowan Heckaman PLLC and learn how we may be able to help you.