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exposed the animals to RF for up to 22 hours per day. These
conditions are not similar to the conditions under which people use
wireless phones, so we don’t know with certainty what the results of
such studies mean for human health. Three large epidemiology
studies have been published since December 2000. Between them,
the studies investigated any possible association between the use of
wireless phones and primary brain cancer, glioma, meningioma, or
acoustic neu-roma, tumors of the brain or salivary gland, leukemia, or
other cancers. None of the studies demonstrated the existence of any
harmful health effects from wireless phone RF exposures. However,
none of the studies can answer questions about long-term exposures,
since the average period of phone use in these studies was around
three years.
5. What research is needed to decide whether RF exposure from
wireless phones poses a health risk?
A combination of laboratory studies and epidemiological studies of
people actually using wireless phones would provide some of the data
that are needed. Lifetime animal exposure studies could be completed
in a few years. However, very large numbers of animals would be
needed to provide reliable proof of a cancer promoting effect if one
exists. Epidemiological studies can provide data that is directly
applicable to human populations, but 10 or more years’ follow-up may
be needed to provide answers about some health effects, such as
cancer. This is because the interval between the time of exposure to a
cancer-causing agent and the time tumors develop - if they do -may
be many, many years. The interpretation of epidemiological studies is
Summary of Contents for CDM2030
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