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116
Safety
the source. The so-called “cordless phones,” which have a base unit connected to
the telephone wiring in a house, typically operate at far lower power levels, and thus
produce RF exposures far below the FCC safety limits.
4. What are the results of the research done already?
The research done thus far has produced conflicting results, and many studies have
suffered from flaws in their research methods. Animal experiments investigating the
effects of Radio Frequency (RF) energy exposures characteristic of wireless phones
have yielded conflicting results that often cannot be repeated in other laboratories. A
few animal studies, however, have suggested that low levels of RF could accelerate the
development of cancer in laboratory animals. However, many of the studies that showed
increased tumor development used animals that had been genetically engineered or
treated with cancercausing chemicals so as to be pre-disposed to develop cancer in
the absence of RF exposure. Other studies 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 do not 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 neuroma, 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
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