Health and Safety Information 309
International Cohort Study on Mobile Phone Users
(COSMOS)
The COSMOS study aims to conduct long-term health
monitoring of a large group of people to determine if there
are any health issues linked to long-term exposure to radio
frequency energy from cell phone use. The COSMOS study
will follow approximately 300,000 adult cell phone users in
Europe for 20 to 30 years. Additional information about the
COSMOS study can be found at
http://www.ukcosmos.org/index.html
.
Risk of Brain Cancer from Exposure to Radio
Frequency Fields in Childhood and Adolescence
(MOBI-KIDS)
MOBI-KIDS is an international study investigating the
relationship between exposure to radio frequency energy
from communication technologies including cell phones and
brain cancer in young people. This is an international
multi-center study involving 14 European and non-European
countries. Additional information about MOBI-KIDS can be
found at
http://www.creal.cat/programes-recerca/en_projectes-creal/
view.php?ID=39.
Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)
Program of the National Cancer Institute
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) actively follows cancer
statistics in the United States to detect any change in rates of
new cases for brain cancer. If cell phones play a role in risk
for brain cancer, rates should go up, because heavy cell
phone use has been common for quite some time in the U.S.
Between 1987 and 2005, the overall age-adjusted incidence
of brain cancer did not increase. Additional information about
SEER can be found at
http://seer.cancer.gov/
.
Cell Phone Industry Actions
Although the existing scientific data do not justify FDA
regulatory actions, the FDA has urged the cell phone industry
to take a number of steps, including the following:
•
Support-needed research on possible biological effects of RF
for the type of signal emitted by cell phones;
•
Design cell phones in a way that minimizes any RF exposure to
the user; and
•
Cooperate in providing users of cell phones with the current
information on cell phone use and human health concerns.
