In today’s world, there have been a number of things that have been an improvement and then on the other hand not so much. The biggest improvement are the cell phones.
They aren’t just an advancement in technology, they are such a huge part in everyone’s lives today. As a whole, we have all become dependent of these devices starting from toddlers being used all the way to elders. Having a mobile phone there are both advantages and disadvantages. Most people look at them as an advantage because they are a quick way to communicate with others, watch one’s favorite television show or even to play games. Little do people know, cell phones are extremely addictive and dangerous to one’s health.
Cell phones emit a small amount of radiation to operate. They emit radiofrequency energy, RF, (radio waves) a form of non-ionizing radiation which is a form of electromagnetic radiation. Cell phones are held up near the ear, and therefore the tissues nearest to the antenna can absorb this energy which excites its molecules. When a phone isn’t being used it is always communicating with cell towers which means that there is still energy getting transferred. There are many main factors of RF energy. One of them is the amount of time a person is on the phone and that corresponds with the amount of RF energy that is absorbed from the phone into the body. Another factor is whether or not the person is using speaker mode/hand free or actually holding the phone up to their ear. There have been studies done to show how radiation effects the body.
A study done by the Researchers National Toxicology Program, a federal group under the National Institute of Health tested 3,000 rats both sexes for two years. Both of the sexes were dosed with RF radiation either 1.5 or 6 watts of radiation per kilogram of body weight. They were exposed nine hours a day for two years. The strength of the exposures were cranked up steadily as the animals grew.
At the end of this study, it was proven that it makes rats prone to a rare tumor called a schwannoma that affects a neuron called Schwann cell. The findings from this study confirm that RF radiation exposure has biological effects. According to Jon Samet, a professor of preventive medicine and dean of the Colorado School of Public Health, “heart schwannomas are exceedingly rare in humans; only a handful of cases have ever been documented in the medical literature” (citation). Other results from the study are RF energy may be linked to cancer in lab rodents. The strongest finding connected EF with heart schwannomas in male rats. Elevated rates of lymphoma as well as cancers affecting prostate, skin, lung, liver and brain in exposed animals. The rates for the cancers increased when the doses increased. A panel of outside experts concluded “”clear evidence” linking RF radiation with heart schwannomas and “some evidence” linking to the brain” (citation).
Lastly, Epidemiology studies reported higher rates of tumors inside the skull of people who use cell phones heavily for 10 years or more. The concerns are benign Schwann cell tumors which are acoustic neuromas affect nerve cells connecting the inner ear with the structures inside the brain. But then on the other hand, studies have found no evidence of acoustic neuromas or brain tumors in heavy cell phone users. Throughout my research, I have concluded that cell phones transmit a certain amount of radiation but the level of how low the radiation is it can’t harm the body greatly. Although most of the studies couldn’t directly show that RF radiation is harmful to humans they were able to show that it was capable of giving rats tumors.
This is scary to me because I myself use my phone frequency to watch netflix, play games or just to connect with others and knowing there is a chance of getting cancer, I am more aware of the time spent. People should be concerned when using a phone because it has become a way to develop cancer and it is a very painful process and chances of survival are small. I believe that one needs to limit the usage of cell phones because there is a chance that the radiation can harm the body in a negative way. Overall, cell phones emit radiation and that hasn’t been fully proven to harm the human body but eventually being on a cell phone can become a hazard for the years to come.
