This is going to be a tricky post to write, because there's an enormous amount of confusion, doubt, uncertainty, partisan bickering and plain old obfuscation in the field. I'm no expert, but there's enough smoke out there to make me seriously concerned about the possibility of a real fire beneath it all.
We've read of the potential radiation hazard from cellular telephones. There's no authoritative ruling that it's dangerous, but some scientists make a persuasive case that it is. (Their conclusions, needless to say, are denied by the manufacturers and vendors of such devices.) Even regulatory authorities are noncommittal about it - see the US Food & Drug Administration's Q&A page, for example.
The spread of wireless computer networks - including in the home - is giving rise to more concern. There's persuasive evidence that a home wireless router emits a lot more radiation than previously thought, and no-one is sure what this may do to our health. According to one report such devices emit the same kind and levels of radiation that are found near cellular telephone masts. People living near the latter have complained about numerous symptoms including dizziness, fatigue, headaches, memory problems and nausea: some "experts" have claimed a correlation between proximity to such masts and an increase in the rate of cancer and heart disease. The report comments that "we are all now living in a soup of electromagnetic radiation one billion times stronger than the natural fields in which living cells have developed over the last 3.8 billion years".
Now a new report claims that wireless telephones, the kind found in almost every home today, may also present risks. Many of them have so-called "base stations" into which the phone is plugged to recharge. According to the report:
These phones operate using the same technology as wi-fi computer systems and mobile phones - with the base station acting like a miniature mobile phone mast.
A recent survey by the Dutch Electrohypersensitivity Foundation has found that digitally enhanced cordless telephones - Dects - are the main source of radiation in homes that have them.
The researchers claimed that they frequently cause headaches, fatigue, heart palpitations and concentration and sleep problems.
According to cancer specialist Professor Lennart Hardell from the University Hospital, in Orebro, Sweden: "The risks are the same as for mobiles, but they haven't been studied because researchers thought the Dect operated like a landline."
One of the few scientists to have included cordless phones in his studies, Professor Hardell's research suggests that habitual users have a three-fold risk of acoustic neuroma (a benign tumour between the ear and brain) and a four-fold risk of a malignant brain tumour.
But other experts dispute his findings.
And therein lies the problem. Some experts say they're dangerous - others deny it. For every report alleging potential or actual problems, there's another one (or two, or three) to reject its conclusions.
What are we supposed to do while the boffins are making up their minds? I don't know about you, but I've come to the conclusion that I'm going to make some changes to the way I use such technology.
Cellular telephone use is easy - I only use one when I'm traveling. That's such minimal use that I don't think I need to worry.
I've switched off my wireless network at home. If I want to connect my notebook to the Internet I'll carry it to my desk and plug it into my ADSL modem/router directly. It's less convenient, but it may save me health problems later on.
As for my telephones, I've used these and predecessors like them for many years:
That's about to change. I'm going to buy a couple of traditional corded telephones, put one on my desk and one on my bedside table, and relegate the cordless handset to another room for those times when I need to walk around with a phone. If I need it, I'll simply ask my caller to hold on for a moment while I go and get it.
I may be over-reacting. I simply don't know . . . but I'd rather be safe than sorry.
I hope you'll think about this and draw your own conclusions. It might be "much ado about nothing" - but it might be something that will directly affect your health, your future, and ultimately your life. I urge you to follow the links I've provided above, and do a search for information about the radiation problem from cellular phones, wireless routers and telephones. Read it for yourselves so that you can make an informed decision.
Food for thought.
Peter
7 comments:
Most modern cell phones acknowledge this risk to some extent. If you look at the manual, they'll talk about how the antennae is designed to minimize the amount of radiation going into your head, and you need to extend the antennae and stuff to make sure you're getting the benefits from the design.
I've read that the cordless phones put out more power, and most operate on frequencies that might cause more trouble.
I spent 21 years in the United States Navy. I spent most of that time on board ships and naval installations (and still do so as a civilian contractor) that continuously emit amounts of RF radiation in every frequency band from Extra Low Frequency to Microwave radar and sat-com transmissions that would cause the prognosticating ninnies that whine about the minuscule wattage emanating from Cell phones and cordless devices to wet themselves in fear.
I've been on bases that the air search radars could be heard on the radios and tape players of your car while driving around the base.
I've been stationed on ships where, every time I went out on deck, my digital watch was shut down and blanked by the massive levels of RF radiation.
I did these things for 21 years.
I have never heard of a case of anyone in those high level radiation fields having long term health effects as a result.
RF and microwave energy at high enough levels have immediate health effects (like, for instance, they can cook flesh...hence the microwave oven), but there is no evidence at all that I'm aware of that exposure even at extremely high levels has any long term health effects.
These claims are the same type of doomsday, the sky is falling, we're all gonna die hysterical predictions that you read in "Sun" and "Globe" magazines every day.
Don't worry, reports of the death of humankind have been greatly exaggerated. Tin foil hats optional.
Sailorcurt, I hear you: but with respect, I beg to differ.
I, too, served aboard ships with massive amounts of RF radiation, and I'm familiar with the "Safe To Transmit" boards and all the safety elements put in place to prevent over-exposure to such radiation. Nevertheless, such exposures did happen, and I can recall several occasions when individuals were hospitalized for observation and for treatment of RF-induced burns.
Another problem is that I don't think anyone's ever done a study to correlate things such as cancers in later life with exposure to such RF radiation earlier in life. It may be that many former seamen developed such cancers in their final years: but as far as I know no-one's checked to see whether the proportion of former seamen contracting such diseases is higher than the general population. Such a study might make interesting reading.
Finally, the radiation frequencies used by cellular phones, wireless routers and cordless phones are not the same as those used aboard ships for radio and radar transmissions. The telephones also transmit less than an inch away from the skull when the phones are in use. It may be that such close-range radiation, even at low power, does damage that more powerful radiation at a greater distance won't inflict. Again, we simply don't know.
I respect your comments, and you may well be right. Unfortunately, I think the jury's still out on this one. It'll be interesting to see what emerges over the next few years as more studies are done.
The "RF induced burns" relate to the immediate health effects I was talking about.
As far as long term health effects: I'm no expert but I've read many different reports about RF exposure over the years and I've never seen anything to convince me that exposure at levels that don't cause burns or other immediate effects are harmful, either long or short term.
Additionally, I've read report after report that discount the effects of cell phones or cordless phones in the occurrence of cancer.
I fail to see how the presence of 200mw of radiation can have a different or more severe effect than much higher levels in the same frequency bands just because the emitting antenna is farther away. RF is RF and the power level you are exposed to is the power level you are exposed to regardless of the distance from the antenna.
With that said, virtually all of the studies and reports I've read say that "more study is needed" so it is POSSIBLE that there could be some effect.
But I doubt it and if there is, it is minuscule. If it were a pronounced risk, I believe that we'd have seen some telling statistics by now. Sailors have been being regularly exposed to extremely high levels of RF radiation since WWII.
I'd say the danger of being killed by some idiot driving down the highway or getting ill from repeated exposure to lead and smokeless powder fumes are a much more serious threat than worrying about repeated exposure to .2 watts (or less) of RF energy.
But to each his own. Everyone needs to assess the risks and weigh the benefits and come to their own conclusions...just like with any other issue.
Cell phone kill dozens a day, 100 percent of which is brainless idiots running red lights, coming over the centerline or running into the back of stopped traffic because they are mentally absent, talking on the phone.
Cell phone kill dozens a day, 100 percent of which is brainless idiots running red lights,
I think that has more to do with the brainless idiot than the cell phone.
We're all drenched in RF everywhere we go, every day, and have been for the last 100 years.
A correllative that approached causation would have been seen by now, and so that doesn't leave much, except for fear of the subtle effect of the interaction of several normally benign factors.
I for one, and my spare head for another, shrug my four shoulders and roll my three eyes at such things. ;)
Oh, and these guys seem to be well balanced on the topic:
http://www.fcc.gov/oet/rfsafety/rf-faqs.html
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