Looking in Depth

     Many people have wondered the same thing as me, why isn’t non-ionizing radiation something that concerns people? It is all around us, there are ratings designed to quantify it, yet still, it does not seem to be on the general populations’ radar. Being that cell phones have become one of the most common electronic devices that people buy and use, I feel it is important to analyze the radiation emitted by these phones and try to better understand how they affect humans.  Further below, I have summarized a few of the many studies completed that show the effects of cell phone radiation on people – in hopes of highlighting why we should care, and then what we can potentially do about it.  

     Have you ever been on your phone for a long time and the screen begins to heat up?  I have!!  This is an indicator that radiation is being released from your phone, and your body is absorbing it.  If one was to analyze at the microscopic level how radiation affects cells in ones’ body, you would see that when no radiation is present the cells in the body move and dance freely around, but when there is a presence of radiation, those freely dancing cells begin to move towards the nearest the radiation source.  This migration or movement of cells caused by the radiation waves creates more rapid molecular and cellular movement. On the atomic level, when there is more movement, there is more energy and more heat. If cells in the human body become too hot, they can denature and lose their function.  Ultimately, this is why high levels of radiation can be problematic – as cells heat up very quickly, they change.  

     Knowing that radiation causes cells to heat up, does the radiation released from cell phones create enough radiation to destroy the living cells in a body and lead to dysfunction?  This leads me to the question I have set out to analyze and try to answer – is RF radiation harmful? 

Here Are Summaries of Studies I Have Analyzed:

Scientific Studies, Experiments, and Data

  • NCI*’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER*) Program funded by the Cancer Control and Population Sciences studied trends in cancer incidence in U.S. white citizens. They found that 20-29-year-olds (between the years of 1992 and 2006) had an increasing trend of frontal lobe cancers in both males and females, but no rise in cancers in the areas of the brain that are in the closest proximity of the brain while on the phone. It was concluded that the data does not support that cellular phone use causes brain cancer. [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20639214/] 
  • The authors, who declared no conflict of interest within the study, Trends in Pediatric Central Nervous System Tumor Incidence in the United States, stated that by reviewing the U.S. Cancer Incidence between 1993 and 2013 there was no change in malignant Central Nervous System Cancers from ages 0-19 in the United States. There was a slight increase in the glioma incidence by .77% per year and pilocytic astrocytoma rates increased by .89% per year, but the embryonal cancer rates decreased by .88% per year. [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30464022/] 
  • The NCI*-Sponsored Control Study, which was government-funded, took data from 5 medical centers between 1994 and 1998 using questionnaires for a total of 469 people, aged 18 to 80 years old. There were 47 participants already diagnosed with cancer, and 422 without. The study concluded that there was no significant association observed between brain cancer and cellphone use, but cerebral tumors (15 cases) were most often noticed on the same side of their head as the side that they use their phone. Overall, this study concluded that there was no association between the risk of brain cancer and cellphone use, but stated that this study needs to be reviewed and re-analyzed to collect data over a longer period of time. [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11122586/] 
  • In the book, Occupational Medicine, A Multivariate Logistic Regression Cross-Sectional Cohort Study by Monica Sandström (Administrator at the Department of Radiation Sciences at Umeå University), studied 17,000 people in Sweden and Norway (in 1995) and concluded that 44% of the participants experienced one or more symptom of radiofrequency radiation exposure, with everyone at least stating that they had warm sensations around their face during or after cell phone calling exposure, and that sensation lasting for up to 2 whole hours. This study also showed a statistically significant association between the number of calls per day and warmth around ears, headaches, and/or fatigue. [https://www.hindawi.com/journals/amed/2018/9242718/] 
  • In 1995, in Denmark, a cohort study was conducted, called The Danish Study: Use of Mobile Phones and Risk of Brain Tumors. This was funded by the Danish Strategic Research Council under a grant. This study examined the connection between 358,000 cell phone users, 30 years of age or above, and their connection to tumors. In 2007 the cohort study team followed up with the participants finding that there were 10,729 cases of tumors found in the central nervous system, with a ratio of 1.03 (males) and .91 (females). This study was concluded that due to the low ratio values/values close to 1 (meaning no significant change), there is no association between cell phone use and tumors, even of people that have used cell phones for many years. [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22016439/] 
  • NCI*-sponsored Controlled Case Study (government-funded): Cellular-Telephone Use and Brain Tumors evaluated the use of cellular telephones and their connection to intracranial tumors found in the nervous system. This study was conducted between 1994 and 1998 with 782 participants from hospitals in Phoenix, Arizona; Boston; and Pittsburg. 62.53% of participants were diagnosed with gliomas, 25.19% were confirmed with meningiomas, and 12.28% were confirmed with acoustic neuromas. The results showed that by comparing the telephone use and tumors of each participant, there was no correlation between the tumors and time on cellular devices, but it was concluded that the tumors occurred in the same side of the head where a cellular phone was used, but cellular phones were not the original cause of the observed tumors. [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11150357/] 
  • The Interphone Case-Control Study, funded through the mobile phone industry, which included Mobile Manufacturers Forum, and Groupe Speciale Mobile Association (labeled scientifically independent) investigated the differences and similarities with people diagnosed with tumors such as gliomas, acoustic neuromas, meningiomas, and parotid gland tumors in 2000. This study was the largest study conducted that analyzed cell phone use and head and neck tumors, and was conducted by researchers from 13 different countries. The findings of the study indicated that there is an increase/risk of developing gliomas within the people that spend heavier amounts of time on cellphone calls. It was also found that there was an association between tumors in the brain and the location of the phone, meaning that if you talked to someone on the phone, for example, holding your phone on the right side of your head, there is a better chance of getting a tumor on the right side of your brain opposed to the left. Additionally, there was what appeared to be an increased risk of acoustic neuromas in the participants that had used cell phones for over 10 years (within 5 of the 13 countries analyzed). [https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/radiation/cell-phones-fact-sheet] 
  • An analysis of data from Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden: Time Trends In Brain Tumor Incidence Rates between 1974 and 2003 used data from cancer registries and noticed that there were a total of 59,984 people from the ages of 20-79 that acquired brain tumors. The increase in gliomas increased by an average of  0.35% per year from 1974 to 2003. Meningiomas increased by .8% per year in men and 3.8% in women (after 1990). [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19959779/] 
  • Mobile phone use and brain tumors in the CERENAT Study, a case-control study with 1,339, cases were completed in France between  2004 to 2006, and it used data from in-person interviews via questionnaires and phone data to conclude that there was no association of gliomas and meningiomas in relation to cell phone use, but cellphone use was proven to create a was a higher risk of developing gliomas and meningiomas. The verdict was that there was a possible correlation between heavy phone use and brain tumors. [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24816517/] 
  • The international controlled case conducted between 2004 and 2008 known as The CEFALO Study: Mobile Phone Use and Brain Tumors In Children and Adolescents: A Multicenter Case-Control Study was a Norwegian study funded by the Research Council of Norway (government corporation) via a grant. The study representatives interviewed 352 case-patients (diagnosed with cancer), and 646 control subjects (without cancer), along with each of their parents. The children were between the ages of 7 and 19, living in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, or Switzerland. The results concluded that there was no correlation between mobile phone use and brain cancer, even with heavier cellphone users. There was also no connection between the area of brain tumors and the cell phone dominant side. [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21795665/] 
  • A consistency check of Mobile Phone Use and Incidence Of Glioma studied and analyzed the incidence of gliomas rates in people ages 20-79 from 1978 to 2008, using data from the Nordic Countries. The study noticed annual percent incident change rates of .4% in men and .3% in women. Also, glaucoma rates decreased for younger men but increased for more elderly ones. This study was unable to rule that increased cell phone use causes heightened health risks. [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22249239/] 
  • In 2008 a study found in the book Environmental Health, 2000 adolescents (15-19 years old) in Sweden indicated that with cell phone exposure they noticed rashes and dermatitis on themselves. [https://www.hindawi.com/journals/amed/2018/9242718/]
  • The Study analyzing gliomas and their connection to wireless telephones found in the book Pathophysiology, conducted by an oncologist and professor Lennart Hardell, working for the Örebro University Hospital, showed that there was no relationship between mobile phone use and cancer. This study was conducted in 2011. [https://www.hindawi.com/journals/amed/2018/9242718/]
  • In 2018 there was a national study: Mobile Phone Use and Incidence Of Brain Tumor Histological Types, Grading or Anatomical Location: A Population-Based Ecological Study which examined participants ranging from 20-59 years of age and the trends in brain tumors in Australia over three different time periods, (1982-1992, 1993-2002, 2003-2013). The results showed no increase or decrease in cancer data relating to cell phone use, even in the temporal lobe, which is most exposed from the use of mobile phones. [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30530588/] 
  • A Review Article on The Effects of Mobile Phones and Tablets on Skin: A Systematic Review by Hindawi (Note: authors agreed to have no conflict of interests) reported in 2017 that collagen tissue increased in cells that were exposed to mobile radiation. In addition to this, the radiation from cellphones for 1 hour increased fibroblast skin activity. For further insight, fibroblasts are specialized cells in the dermis layer of the skin that generate tissue and allow healing from injuries. The increased fibroblast activity indicates that the cells in your face are reacting to the radiation from cellphones as it was an injury. This process produces excess tissue, which can lead to tumors. Finally, this study also concluded that 900MHz of mobile phone radiation creates exocytosis in skin cells, which is the infiltration of the outer layer of the cell, the epidermis. In conclusion, cell phone radiation was shown to have no statistical significance in creating skin diseases or cancers. [https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/radiation/cell-phones-fact-sheet] 
  • In 2018, a cohort study, of 392,119 participants over 25 years old, reported that when using cellular phones they experienced an increase in their facial temperature, hypersensitivity (of warmth), angiosarcoma of the scalp, facial dermatitis, and a burning sensation on the face. This highlights that the radiation is heating up the cells in the facial region (which can lead to tumors or cancers). [https://www.hindawi.com/journals/amed/2018/9242718/] 
  • A research article: Cellular Effects Following Exposure to Mobile Phone Radiation and Its Compensation was performed in 2019. The study started by transmitting 1800 MHz of mobile phone radiation (SAR value of 1.510) continuously to cells to perform different tests. When the cells were exposed for equal or more than an hour of radiation, the cell sample lost 50% vitality (meaning half of the cells died). When the cells were shielded from the thermal radiation using cardboard, the cells continued to lose vitality but at a slower rate. In both cases, the radiation resulted in cell rounding, detachment, and intracellular vacuolization. This study went further to study the orientation of the mobile phone and the human absorption of the radiation. There was no significant difference between different phone orientations and radiation absorption. The study continued and tested if a specialized cellular phone case would change the radiation levels. With the phone covered by a compensatory device, there was a greater cell vitality. In conclusion, this study found that “2 hours of continuous exposure to non-thermal radiation caused reduced cell viability by more than 50% in comparison to untreated controlled cells” as well as decided that the orientation of a phone doesn’t matter, but specialty items can block radiation. [https://japanjournalofmedicine.com/index.php/cellular-effects-following-exposure-to-mobile-phone-radiation-and-its-compensation/]

Organized by Color→ My View of Each Study/Set of Data

RF radiation showing effects in the body    

RF radiation somewhat showing effects in the body      

RF radiation does not show effects in the body

Scientific Studies, Experiments, and Data Specifically in Animals

  • In a Review Article: Radiation Effects of Mobile Phones and Tablets on the Skin: A Systematic Review, the authors (they declared that they have no conflict of interests) stated within studies in rats that were conducted in 2017, there is an indication that there is skin changes, increased surface layer thickness, atrophy of epidermis, proliferation, and impairment in collagen tissues with radiofrequency radiation exposure. [https://www.hindawi.com/journals/amed/2018/9242718/] 
  • In 2017 The NTP* (an interagency program funded by the government) studied radiofrequency radiation in rats and mice. The animals experienced radiofrequency radiation to their entire body at exposures of 3,6 or 9 watts per kilogram of weight for either 5 or 7 days a week. When they did experience radiation, the radiation was programmed in intervals of 10 minutes on and 10 minutes off. The rodents resulted in having small cancers within the Schwann cells of their hearts along with non-cancerous changes (just in male rats). This study is very significant because the Schwann cells of the heart in rodents are very similar to the cells in humans that are responsible for acoustic neuromas, which have been proven (in some studies) to become an increased risk with heavier cellphone use. [https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/radiation/cell-phones-fact-sheet] 
  • In 2018 The Italian Ramazzini Institute (non-profit) exposed rats to radiofrequency radiation levels of 0.001, 0.03, and 0.1 watts per kilogram of weight for 19 hours a day for 7 days a week. The study concluded that the rats with the highest exposure levels resulted in more heart schwannomas (only in males) and increased non-malignant Schwann cell growth in all rats. [https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/radiation/cell-phones-fact-sheet]

 * ABBREVIATION DEFINITIONS *

NCI – National Cancer Institute 

SEER – Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program

CERENAT – 

CEFALO – 

NTP – National Toxicology Program