179
Safety
THATOFTENCANNOTBEREPEATEDINOTHERLABORATORIES!FEWANIMALSTUDIES
HOWEVERHAVESUGGESTEDTHATLOWLEVELSOF2&COULDACCELERATETHE
DEVELOPMENTOFCANCERINLABORATORYANIMALS(OWEVERMANYOFTHESTUDIES
THATSHOWEDINCREASEDTUMORDEVELOPMENTUSEDANIMALSTHATHADBEEN
GENETICALLYENGINEEREDORTREATEDWITHCANCERCAUSINGCHEMICALSSOASTOBE
PREDISPOSEDTODEVELOPCANCERINTHEABSENCEOF2&EXPOSURE/THER
STUDIESEXPOSEDTHEANIMALSTO2&FORUPTOHOURSPERDAY4HESE
CONDITIONSARENOTSIMILARTOTHECONDITIONSUNDERWHICHPEOPLEUSE
WIRELESSPHONESSOWEDONOTKNOWWITHCERTAINTYWHATTHERESULTSOF
SUCHSTUDIESMEANFORHUMANHEALTH4HREELARGEEPIDEMIOLOGYSTUDIES
HAVEBEENPUBLISHEDSINCE$ECEMBER"ETWEENTHEMTHESTUDIES
INVESTIGATEDANYPOSSIBLEASSOCIATIONBETWEENTHEUSEOFWIRELESSPHONES
ANDPRIMARYBRAINCANCERGLIOMAMENINGIOMAORACOUSTICNEUROMA
TUMORSOFTHEBRAINORSALIVARYGLANDLEUKEMIAOROTHERCANCERS.ONEOF
THESTUDIESDEMONSTRATEDTHEEXISTENCEOFANYHARMFULHEALTHEFFECTSFROM
WIRELESSPHONE2&EXPOSURES(OWEVERNONEOFTHESTUDIESCANANSWER
QUESTIONSABOUTLONGTERMEXPOSURESSINCETHEAVERAGEPERIODOFPHONE
USEINTHESESTUDIESWASAROUNDTHREEYEARS
5. What research is needed to decide whether RF exposure from
wireless phones poses a health risk?
!COMBINATIONOFLABORATORYSTUDIESANDEPIDEMIOLOGICALSTUDIESOFPEOPLE
ACTUALLYUSINGWIRELESSPHONESWOULDPROVIDESOMEOFTHEDATATHATARE
NEEDED,IFETIMEANIMALEXPOSURESTUDIESCOULDBECOMPLETEDINAFEW
YEARS(OWEVERVERYLARGENUMBERSOFANIMALSWOULDBENEEDEDTOPROVIDE
RELIABLEPROOFOFACANCERPROMOTINGEFFECTIFONEEXISTS%PIDEMIOLOGICAL
STUDIESCANPROVIDEDATATHATISDIRECTLYAPPLICABLETOHUMANPOPULATIONS
BUTTENORMOREYEARSFOLLOWUPMAYBENEEDEDTOPROVIDEANSWERSABOUT
SOMEHEALTHEFFECTSSUCHASCANCER4HISISBECAUSETHEINTERVALBETWEEN
THETIMEOFEXPOSURETOACANCERCAUSINGAGENTANDTHETIMETUMORS
DEVELOPIFTHEYDOMAYBEMANYMANYYEARS4HEINTERPRETATIONOF
EPIDEMIOLOGICALSTUDIESISHAMPEREDBYDIFlCULTIESINMEASURINGACTUAL2&
EXPOSUREDURINGDAYTODAYUSEOFWIRELESSPHONES-ANYFACTORSAFFECT
THISMEASUREMENTSUCHASTHEANGLEATWHICHTHEPHONEISHELDORWHICH
MODELOFPHONEISUSED