|
dwtk
it all rolls into one


Registered: 02/24/07
Posts: 4,482
Loc: Franklin's Tower
Last seen: 5 years, 3 months
|
Radiation from cell phones may cause cancer
#14540154 - 05/31/11 10:54 AM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
|
|
http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/05/31/who.cell.phones/index.html
Quote:
Radiation from cell phones can possibly cause cancer, according to the World Health Organization. The agency now lists mobile phone use in the same "carcinogenic hazard" category as lead, engine exhaust and chloroform.
|
Mad_Larkin

Registered: 11/29/07
Posts: 18,606
|
Re: Radiation from cell phones may cause cancer [Re: dwtk]
#14540155 - 05/31/11 10:54 AM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
|
|
Old news imo.
|
dwtk
it all rolls into one


Registered: 02/24/07
Posts: 4,482
Loc: Franklin's Tower
Last seen: 5 years, 3 months
|
Re: Radiation from cell phones may cause cancer [Re: Mad_Larkin]
#14540160 - 05/31/11 10:56 AM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
|
|
not really.. it was always just speculation, not officially proven
|
ifoundwaldo


Registered: 09/28/10
Posts: 8,389
Loc: Denver, CO
|
Re: Radiation from cell phones may cause cancer [Re: Mad_Larkin]
#14540166 - 05/31/11 10:57 AM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
|
|
Except that the FDA (in the US) has always held the stance that cell phone radiation is not carcinogenic.
But it is pretty obvious IMO that excessive cell phone usage is a bad idea. Those Bluetooth headsets must be even worse.
--------------------
|
pwnasaurus
Stranger



Registered: 07/16/08
Posts: 12,317
Loc: Canada
|
Re: Radiation from cell phones may cause cancer [Re: ifoundwaldo]
#14540181 - 05/31/11 11:01 AM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
|
|
Quote:
ifoundwaldo said: Except that the FDA (in the US) has always held the stance that cell phone radiation is not carcinogenic.
But it is pretty obvious IMO that excessive cell phone usage is a bad idea. Those Bluetooth headsets must be even worse.
Bluetooth is not even remotely similar to the frequencies used by mobile phones
|
koraks
Registered: 06/02/03
Posts: 26,672
|
Re: Radiation from cell phones may cause cancer [Re: Mad_Larkin]
#14540208 - 05/31/11 11:09 AM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
|
|
Yes, old news, although I wasn't aware that the WHO has now adopted this viewpoint, nor am I aware of any conclusive evidence of this effect. I'm actually rather surprised of this viewpoint, even though the formulations are still quite tentative: Quote:
The team found enough evidence to categorize personal exposure as "possibly carcinogenic to humans."
Possibly, yes, I can agree with that. But does that also mean that the WHO is going to advise against the use of W-Lan technology, power lines and microwave ovens, which all generate stronger fields than a cellphone does?
Btw, the term 'radiation' is a bit misleading in this context. Although strictly speaking, the microwaves transmitted by a cellphone are indeed electromagnetic radiation, it has nothing to do with the ionizing radiation involved in nuclear reactions. I'm surprised as to the specific mention of brain cancer as a risk. I would have expected skin cancer to be the main problem, as ultra-short wave radiation tends to only penetrate tissue to a limited depth. The skin and bone between a cellphone and your brain should block the vast majority of the energy that is transmitted by the phone, leaving only minute power densities in intra-cranial tissue.
In any case, this sort of thing points towards a more profound challenge in today's society. We are becoming increasingly risk-aware and focused on eliminating risks from daily life. Especially new technologies are often debated in this respect: are they safe enough to use on a large scale? The problem is that it is logically impossible to prove if anything is safe. At best, one can prove that something is not safe, or that a technology does not seem correlated with a number of known risk factors. That means that out of sheer necessity, safety regulations will always only be able to trail behind the introduction of new technologies. Also, it means that we will never be able to label any technology as 'safe': at best, we can say that something is 'safe, until proven otherwise'. This is not necessarily a problem, if not for the tendency these days of the general public to expect 100% safety of the products and services that they consume, either directly or indirectly. This conflict cannot be resolved, unless we let go of the (often implicit) requirement for 100% safety.
|
JT


Registered: 02/28/07
Posts: 7,027
Loc: athens
Last seen: 4 years, 6 months
|
Re: Radiation from cell phones may cause cancer [Re: koraks]
#14540218 - 05/31/11 11:11 AM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
|
|
sucks
but having a 4g phone with the internets wherever i go is worth it. i'll probably have a heart attack anyway before any of the cell phone radiation would kill me
|
badchad
Mad Scientist

Registered: 03/02/05
Posts: 13,372
|
Re: Radiation from cell phones may cause cancer [Re: dwtk]
#14540330 - 05/31/11 11:46 AM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
|
|
We'll find out, but it may not be for some time. For all practical purposes, widespread cell phone use didn't begin until the 90's. It may take decades for cancers to show up.
However, if they do, there is such a huge amount of data, that even small increases should be easily detectable.
-------------------- ...the whole experience is (and is as) a profound piece of knowledge. It is an indellible experience; it is forever known. I have known myself in a way I doubt I would have ever occurred except as it did. Smith, P. Bull. Menninger Clinic (1959) 23:20-27; p. 27. ...most subjects find the experience valuable, some find it frightening, and many say that is it uniquely lovely. Osmond, H. Annals, NY Acad Science (1957) 66:418-434; p.436
|
frith
God

Registered: 10/27/09
Posts: 7,512
Loc: Philadelphia, PA
|
Re: Radiation from cell phones may cause cancer [Re: badchad]
#14540339 - 05/31/11 11:49 AM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
|
|
who cares?
apparently everything gives you cancer nowadays.
--------------------
|
Mad_Larkin

Registered: 11/29/07
Posts: 18,606
|
Re: Radiation from cell phones may cause cancer [Re: badchad]
#14540349 - 05/31/11 11:53 AM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
|
|
|
|