Alternet: What the Cellphone Industry Doesn't Want You to Know About Radiation Concerns

[villager]

What the Cellphone Industry Doesn't Want You to Know About Radiation Concerns

A leading expert on health effects from cellphone radiation goes to battle against a multi-trillion-dollar industry.



In her 2011 book Disconnect, National Book Award finalist, former senior White House health advisor and internationally regarded epidemiologist Devra Davis revealed that the cellphone industry is knowingly exposing us to dangerous levels of electromagnetic radiation. No small problem when you consider that of the roughly 7 billion people on this planet, about 6 billion of us now use mobile phones.

In a recent analysis for theHuffington Post, Davis examined the cellphone industry's long-term strategy, devised in the early '90s, to deal with studies showing cellphone radiation damages DNA: "war-game the science." Noted in a 1994 Motorola memo, this strategy, wrote Davis, "remains alive and well" today, the latest example occurring just last month. When the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) published newly detailed documentation for its yearlong 2011 expert review—which declared cellphone radiation a "possible human carcinogen" (same as lead and DDT)—the multi-trillion-dollar cellular industry responded by citing a new dubious report out of Taiwan.

Davis, the founding director of the Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology of the U.S. National Research Council, pointed out that the online abstract concludes "with some highly unscientific language that sounds as though it was crafted for the PR section of Foxconn, the Taiwanese producer of phones for Apple, Motorola, and Sony:

'In conclusion, we do not detect any correlation between the morbidity/mortality of malignant brain tumors and cellphone use in Taiwan. We thus urge international agencies to publish only confirmatory reports with more applicable conclusions in public. This will help spare the public from unnecessary worries.'"

In a recent phone interview with AlterNet, Davis, founder and president of the Wyoming-based Environmental Health Trust, discussed the cellphone industry's longstanding covert battle against inconvenient science, strategies it has learned from the tobacco industry, our chemical addiction to mobile devices, and simple ways we can limit our exposure without losing touch with civilization.

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http://www.alternet.org/personal-health/radiation-concerns-about-cellphones?paging=off

[KT2000]

1. Whatever Devra Davis says

is "the word" in my book. Outstanding human being!

[dixiegrrrrl]

2. I do worry about guys walkig around with cell phones in their front pockets

close to the gonads.

[babydollhead]

5. agreed!

[proverbialwisdom]

3. 12/12: American Academy Of Pediatrics Endorses Cell Phone Safety Bill

http://www.ewg.org/release/american-academy-pediatrics-endorses-cell-phone-safety-bil

American Academy Of Pediatrics Endorses Cell Phone Safety Bill

Contact: Alex Formuzis
[phone]
[e-mail]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: THURSDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2012

Oakland, Calif. -- The Environmental Working Group applauds the decision by the influential American Academy of Pediatrics to support pending legislation that would require new research into the safety of cell phone radiation, especially for children, require safety standards that protect children and other vulnerable populations, and impose new labeling requirements for the ubiquitous devices.

EWG Senior Scientist Renee Sharp said in a statement that the bill’s endorsement by the nation’s largest organization of physicians specializing in children’s health “should be a wake-up call” to Congress and the public:

“Many people wrongly still regard the question of cell phone safety as a fringe issue. The fact that the American Academy of Pediatrics is officially supporting a bill calling for more research, more protective standards, and better labeling of cell phones’ associated radiation exposure should be a wake-up call that this is an issue that must be taken seriously.

“We are pleased that this well-regarded doctors’ group has joined the mounting calls for legislation aimed at ensuring cell phone safety. The science is not definitive that exposure to cell phone radiation can cause cancer or other health problems, but there is real reason for concern. Given their widespread use by children and adults, the federal government needs to be doing all it can to ensure that cell phones are safe and that consumers are informed. The government’s efforts have fallen woefully short.

“We must demand stronger safety laws such as the Cell Phone Right to Know Act to help consumers make informed decisions and protect the public from potentially harmful consequences for human health.”

The Cell Phone Right to Know Act, H.R. 6358, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, would expand research on the potential health effects of cell phone radiation, require the Federal Communications Commission to update its limited and outdated safety standards and mandate better labeling and right-to-know measures.

The American Academy of Pediatrics is the first physicians’ organization to take a position on the bill. In his letter to Rep. Kucinich, Academy President Thomas K. McInerny, MD, wrote:

"The AAP strongly supports H.R. 6358's emphasis on examining the effects of radiofrequency (RF) energy on vulnerable populations, including children and pregnant women. In addition, we are pleased that the bill would require the consideration of those effects when developing maximum exposure standards. Children are disproportionately affected by environmental exposures, including cell phone radiation. The differences in bone density and the amount of fluid in a child's brain compared to an adult's brain could allow children to absorb greater quantities of RF energy deeper into their brains than adults. In addition, the AAP supports the product labeling requirements in H.R. 6358. These standards will ensure consumers can make informed choices in selecting mobile phone purchases. They will also enable parents to better understand the potential dangers of RF energy exposure and protect their children."

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[KurtNYC]

4. Ted Kennedy's surgeon, one of the best neurosurgeons in the world

will NOT put a cell phone up against his head.

A $4 ear piece will remedy the problem so it is sad to see the industry dig in so deeply against ANY and all data showing correlations with brain and throat cancers. Adam Yauch, Ted Kennedy, Johnny Cochran and Robert Novak all passed quickly after being diagnosed with cancers on the left side of their heads. Are they the canaries in our coal mine?