Devra Davis spoke to Pyle and Whitman parents March 17 about her new book, Disconnect, which covers the dangers of cell phone radiation. She proposed a pilot program for Pyle and Whitman to teach students how to safely use cell phones.Davis presented experimental research which suggests that overexposure to cell phone radiation can increase the risk of brain cancer and reduce sperm counts.
Although no one has collected comprehensive evidence on the correlation between cancer and cell phones, Davis said there’s enough data to be cautious.
“I cannot prove to you that this is causing brain cancer now, although I believe that it is, but I don’t think I should have to,” she said. “Your great-grandchildren will suffer the consequences if we wait until we have definite evidence.”
But Davis doesn’t advocate stopping cell phone use; rather, she said it’s necessary to use cell phones in a more health-conscious way, one that won’t be detrimental to other people.
“If you’re in an elevator, a train or a bus and everybody’s on their phone, you’re getting the pinging effect of all of their radiation around you,” she said. “That’s something we need to have an informed national conversation about, because there are ways to reduce that radiation.”
Individuals can take everyday precautions to reduce their exposure: use a head set or the speaker phone, carry a cell phone in a bag instead of a pocket and avoid making calls when there’s a weak signal.
average student • Mar 30, 2011 at 9:13 am
no such thing as cell phone radiation. plain and simple. bring back the idea of the cell phone tower on the roof. its a good idea that paraniod parents destroyed.
@wow • Mar 27, 2011 at 3:27 pm
http://www.npr.org/2011/02/25/134059267/cell-phone-radiation-affects-brain-study-says
@wow • Mar 27, 2011 at 3:27 pm
YES! The energy of the wave makes it dangerous!!! By the way, it sounds like you are suggesting that cell phone waves have shorter wavelengths than visible light, which is not true. Cell phone waves are MUCH longer than visible waves.
Dr. Nora Volkow of the National Institute on Drug Abuse discusses her latest findings on cell phone activity + the brain.
Perhaps cell phone radiation is beneficial?
Angela Flynn • Mar 26, 2011 at 11:41 am
Another issue with a spike in brain cancer is that it takes over ten years for brain tumors to form. A spike will not show up immediately and may still be a good ten years away from being evident. As it is there are studies showing an increase in brain tumor incidents in people who use cell phones for over ten years. It is true that non ionizing microwave radiation does not have the energy to break DNA, but there are many studies showing evidence that it does have other biological effects at levels below the thermal effect level. Some of these effects are harmful, such as decreasing sperm count and increasing brain activity. The increase in brain activity may be a cause of things like distracted driving. The DOT considers driving while using a cell phone to be as bad as drunk driving. Check out http://www.radiationresearch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1&Itemid=3 for some good information on this topic.
wow • Mar 25, 2011 at 1:21 pm
Gamma radiation also has a smaller wavelength than visible light and it is extremely dangerous
look what happened to the hulk
its not the energy of the wave that makes it dangerous
A. Geek • Mar 23, 2011 at 10:22 am
Having cell phones next to your head is a different issue than having a cell tower at the school. Don’t try and conflate the two issues. By the way, it wasn’t Whitman parents who rejected the cell tower – they never got to vote. Dr. Goodwin was the person who preemptively made the decision. Can’t wait to hear you tell him he should retake Physics.
Md • Mar 22, 2011 at 9:21 pm
Yeah, she’s right. Cell phones emit radiation. So does the sun, so do radio towers, so does your remote control, so do lamps. Speaking of light, you WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO SEE if it weren’t for radiation.
Cell phone radiation lies in the radio frequency range of the electromagnetic spectrum. That means that cell phone waves have less energy than visible light and infrared light. So why should we concerned about cell phone radiation when we have visible light all around us? Should we limit our exposure from the violets in our garden?
Science demonstrates that non-ionizing radiation cannot break DNA and cause cancer. Be more worried about sunlight than cell-phone waves.
After the cell-phone tower issue last year, I think Whitman parents should retake physics with Mr. John Logun and relearn E=hv. It really pains me to hear about people claiming things when evidence is inconclusive. At least she said so herself!
A. Geek • Mar 22, 2011 at 2:16 pm
Dear “Yeah right”, While you are correct that mobile phones have been around for decades, it is only in the last few years that 1) people have been using them so much and 2) children have been carrying them. These are the factors that might explain why we aren’t seeing more cases of cancer already.
Yeah right • Mar 22, 2011 at 9:13 am
This is just more stuff designed to make us scared. I don’t believe it. Cell phones have been around since the 1980’s. We don’t see a spike in brain cancer cases, now do we?