Following the proliferation and wide scale adoption of mobile phone technology, there has been increased concerns from various quarters as to whether it has adverse effects on human health. One report, in 2011, puts the total number of global subscription at 7.4 billion. If this was the figure as of 2011, you can then imagine by how much it must have increased over the period of last 7 years to date. This is quite frightening enough to draw public interests, especially when it is a matter of public knowledge that cellphones depend on radio-frequency (also called electromagnetic) radiation to transmit information packet.
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Radio-frequency radiation, depending on its strength, is known to cause changes in atoms or molecules of the body tissues, an occurrence that can trigger cancer development and other associated diseases. Because of this reality alongside wide scale usage, many health opinion leaders are concerned that should this be true, then the wide scale adoption of mobile phone technology could pose significant public health risks.
In this article, therefore, we will be looking at different scientific opinions (and the consensus) as to whether the radiation from mobile phones impacts us negatively in an attempt to answer the question: Does mobile phone radiation pose A Hazard To Human Health?. Additionally, we will also examine how mobile phone system works, laying emphasis on the associated health risks to enable individuals decide if they would continue to depend on mobile phones for communication purposes; and finally highlighting expert-endorsed recommendations which are intended to limit exposure to cellphone's radio-frequency radiation.
Research opinions on health risks of mobile phone usage
It is a general knowledge that mobile phones emit radio-frequency radiation of very low strength, but the possibility of these emissions having adverse effects on human health has been a subject of intense debate among scientists, with proponents claiming to have carried out studies to back their opinions while the antagonists point out that all efforts to replicate the results of the so called studies have proved abortive so far.
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In one of the studies termed REFLEX study which was conducted over a four-year period by 12 research groups in seven European countries, the team claimed to have found mobile phone equivalent radiation that was able to cause breaks on the strands of DNA molecules from different human cells and linked such damage to having the capacity to cause cancer in humans. The extent of damage was found to increase with increasing strength of radiation and length of exposure, according to the study ref. Furthermore, in specific terms, the study noted that the breakage occurred when cells are exposed to radio-frequency radiation of between 0.3 and 2 intensities measured in watts per kilogram, overlapping with 0.2 and 1watt per kilogram, which is the range of radiation commonly emitted by mobile phones.
Despite the seeming richness of the REFLEX study and other similar studies, majority of published studies (of recent) maintained that the weight of scientific evidence so far doesn't support the claim that radio-frequency radiation has the capacity to cause health problems in humans. Agreed; radio-frequency radiation from mobile phone, like microwave radiation from other sources, has the capacity to heat up molecules but the strength of its radiation is not strong enough to cause cellular damage, much less break off molecules that could then result in cancer and other heath issues.
Let's consider a scenario whereby an individual holds a cellphone onto a particular side of his cheeks for several hours answering a call. Under this circumstance, cellphone radiation, because it's being focused for hours on that side of the cheek, may cause localized heating, but, given the low strength of the radiation, the rate at which the body tissues absorb and dissipate the heat is far more than the rate it's being generated. Hence, the person on call hardly noticed the heating effect.
Furthermore, it is known that the interacting frequencies are too poor for individual photon energies to cause ionization of most biochemical compounds. This is unlike energies of gamma rays, x-rays, UV-light, and some others which are strong enough to cause splitting of bio-molecules including DNA and therefore could have health effects on human beings when exposed beyond certain thresholds.
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However, following the 2011 statement by the World Health Organization (WHO) in which radio-frequency radiation from mobile phone was classified as being "possibly carcinogenic for humans", many people have called for standardized precautionary approach to using mobile phone. Presently, research into health effects of long-term usage is still ongoing.
That notwithstanding, the current international consensus is that the use of mobile phone does not cause cancer neither does it promote accelerated growth of existing tumors. Source
The working mechanism of mobile phone system
Mobile phone system works on the principle of a two-way radio with individual cellphone at one end and the base stations at other ends. Base stations have antennae that are mounted far above the ground in order to get widest coverage while cellphones are inbuilt with a radio receiver and a transmitter. On calling someone, your cellphone antenna connects to a nearby base station through radio-frequency radiation, delivering information packet to the base station's antenna. Then the base station, having received the signals, passed them along through the landline phone system to the desired source.
The radio-frequency radiation being emitted by base stations is relatively constant while the one from mobile cellphone varies depending on 3 major parameters, including:
- The duration of the call,
- The distance you hold the phone from your body, and
- Proximity (or closeness) to the base station.
The levels of RF radiation from the handset, to which your head is exposed, are around 100 to 1,000 times more intense than exposure from base stations. Source
When you make a call from a place with poor network coverage, your phone will struggle to emit more radio-frequency radiation in order to make up for the poor electromagnetic field coverage, and thus exposing your head to a more intense radio-frequency radiation. This is not good for you health-wise. And that's why it is advisable not to use your phone while in places of poor network coverage.
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Precautionary measures
Based on the evidence so far, mobile phone radiation doesn't cause harm to human health on short-term basis, but further investigations are currently being undertaken in order to make a formal statement as relates to long-term usage. If you're concerned, in the meantime, however, you may use the below tips to minimize your exposure to radio-frequency radiation.
- Use mobile phones having low specific absorption rate.
- Use landline phone instead of mobile phone.
- Ensure your mobile phone calls do not last long.
- Consider using a hands-free kits.
- When your mobile phone is switched on, keep it as far away from your body as possible.
- Avoid using protective shields for your phone for whatever reason. This is because, doing so may interrupt the normal coverage, and make your phone to emit more radio-frequency radiation as it struggles to reestablish connection to the base station. Thanks for reading.
References for further reading
- Cell tower radiations and its impacts on humans and the environment
- Mobile phone and your health
- Do cell phones pose a health hazard
- Mobile phone radiation damages lad DNA
- Do you believe that mobile phone radiation maybe harmful to human health
- Mobile phone radiation and health
- Current research results
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