A Loaded Gun. to the head of nearly every American over the age of 13. Since their invention in 1973, cell

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1 Richards 1 Evan Richards Mrs. Roy Expository Reading and Writing: Period 4 19 November 2010 A Loaded Gun When Martin Cooper invented the cell phone, he never imagined that it would become as popular as it is today. He also never imagined that he would practically be placing a loaded gun to the head of nearly every American over the age of 13. Since their invention in 1973, cell phones have grown in popularity at an exponential rate. Today over 90% of Americans own at least one cell phone, making them one of the most common technological devices in our society. The use of these mobile phones comes at a price, though. Every time a phone call is made, a cell phone emits electromagnetic radiation similar to, but lower in power than, that in a microwave oven. Holding the phone to the side of the head when making calls allows this radiation to be absorbed into the head and brain. Although it is still unclear what effects this radiation has on the human brain, the possible dangers are enormous. Due to the potential health risks of cell phone radiation, especially for teens and children, the government must rewrite laws regulating the radiation and manufacturers must redesign cell phones to limit and change the radiation. Although recent studies have not found conclusive evidence that cell phone radiation has negative health effects, cell phones have not been around long enough for all health effects to develop, and some may emerge ten to twenty years from now. One of the original studies on cell phone radiation, conducted in 1994, found no mobile phone/brain cancer link in virtually all respects (Nordenberg). While the results of this study are clear, its time frame detracts from its validity. The study was conducted in a time period before cell phones became widely used, limiting the sampling size for data. With such a small sampling size, it is likely that any people

2 Richards 2 who actually had health problems due to cell phones were missed by the study. The more recent Interphone study, conducted in Europe and the United States over the last ten years, observed that overall, cell phone users have no increased risk for two of the most common types of brain tumor glioma and meningioma ( Cell Phones and Cancer Risk ). The study also reported that there actually was a small increase in glioma risk amongst those people who talked on cell phones the most, but researchers dismissed the correlation ( Cell Phones and Cancer Risk ). This second finding should not have been ignored simply because it occurred in a small portion of the population. If this small percentage of users eventually grows to include the majority of cell phone users worldwide, the number of people with increased risk of glioma will multiply greatly. Similar findings of increased risk of acoustic neuroma and tumors on the same side of the head as a cell phone was often used were also reported in those using cell phones for longer periods, especially ten years or more ( Cell Phones and Cancer Risk ). These findings will become more and more common in current times when nearly all cell phone users will become long term users. By the time current teenagers reach their mid-twenties and early-thirties, they will have used cell phones for over ten years and likely will keep using them for years to come. As a result, many will run the risk of developing tumors sometime in their life, even if not right away. Brain cancer can take years or even decades to develop, making possible long term effects of mobile phone use difficult to study (Nordenberg). Not enough time has passed since the invention of cell phones for all health effects, such as cancer, to show themselves in studies. Cancers and other health problems may appear in ten to twenty years without any signs of warning. We cannot assume that cell phones are safe as they are and that they will have no effects on us down the road. The results of recent studies are simply not reliable enough to place our health at stake. We are putting our future generations in danger by allowing current cell phone radiation

3 Richards 3 because teens and children who use the phones are at more risk than adults who use them. What started out as a simple communication tool solely for adults has gradually become more and more common in the hands of teenagers. The problem lies in the increased dangers for these teens. When you put [a cell phone] up against your ear, you re sort of touching your skull and right on the other side of that bone is brain tissue, which is very sensitive, says Dr. Dan Wartenberg, an environmental epidemiologist at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (qtd. in Block). By holding the phone to their skull, people shorten the distance between their brain and any radiation emitted by the phone. As a result, most of the radiation emitted by the phone is absorbed by the brain, center of our nervous system and one of the most important organs in our body. Any radiation absorbed by the brain has potential to harm, and children may be at greater risk because their nervous systems are still developing at the time of exposure ( Cell Phones and Cancer Risk ). While adults skulls block out some of this radiation, the skulls of younger individuals are thinner and less developed, allowing more radiation through and letting it penetrate deeper into the brain (Soller). In fact, it has even been found that children s brains absorb twice as much radiation as adult brains (Ferriss). As children and teens are exposed more and more to cell phones, their brains will be overloaded with the harmful radiation. Today s children will grow up using cell phones and use them for the rest of their lives, amounting to decades of radiation exposure. By allowing this radiation to be emitted by cell phones and thereby harming our children, we are decreasing their chance of survival and thus putting our future generations in danger. Original laws regulating cell phone radiation are no longer strict enough due to increased use of cell phones and their current omnipresence in our society. After the invention of the first cell phone, it took several years before commercial devices were available to the masses. Cell phones initially came into use in the 1980s in Europe, but it was not until the 1990s that they

4 Richards 4 became common in the United States ( Cell Phones and Cancer Risk ). In 1992 the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) acknowledged the presence of cell phone radiation when it began regulating the amount that could be emitted by a cellular device. That year the FCC set the maximum specific absorption rate, or SAR, for cell phones, stating that any phone at or below these SAR levels is a safe phone (Ferriss). While phones below the SAR level may have been safe in 1992, it is likely that they are no longer safe now. Cell phones have changed dramatically since 1992, leading to differences in the radiation emitted by the devices. Cell phone radiation today is different from cell phone radiation twenty years ago, yet the law has remained the same. Not only has the radiation changed, the number of cell phones in use has increased as well. According to recent surveys, as of 2009, there were more than 285 million subscribers to cell phone service in the United States, an increase from 110 million users in 2000 and 208 million users in 2005 ( Cell Phones and Cancer Risk ). This increase in the number of cell phones being used means more radiation exposure for the average American. Years ago, when the number of cell phones in use was still relatively small, each cell phone could emit more radiation because there were not as many around. Nowadays, though, since cell phones are still allowed to emit the same amount of radiation, the total amount of radiation has increased exponentially with the growth in popularity of the devices. Legislators need to change the laws regulating the SAR for cell phones to reflect the current prominence of the phones in our society and the new radiation emitted by newer phones. By limiting the radiation the government can reduce the amount of exposure Americans are receiving and thereby reduce any possible health risks. Companies must redesign their cell phones to limit and change the radiation emitted by them, however expensive the redesign and changeover may be. Dr. Wartenberg has recently considered solutions to the radiation problem, saying, I look at remedies that we might be able

5 Richards 5 to suggest that are relatively easy to do, so that they re palatable and people actually might take the advice as opposed to say something like, we should ban cell phones. That s just not going to happen (qtd. in Block). Cell phones have become such an essential device in our society that it is unreasonable to get rid of them altogether. Instead, we must find some way to redesign cell phones so that they emit less radiation or at least emit it at a less harmful frequency. The antenna is where most of the radiation emitted by a cell phone originates. As cell phones have evolved, the antenna has changed from a telescoping antenna to one that is incorporated into the handset somehow ( Cell Phones and Cancer Risk ). The distance between the antenna and the user has a considerable effect on the amount of radiation absorbed by the body, where the amount of RF energy absorbed by a person decreases significantly with increasing distance between the antenna and the user ( Cell Phones and Cancer Risk ). Manufacturers could design a handset that places the antenna farther away from the body, thereby decreasing the amount of radiation absorbed by the user. Engineers could also simply design the phones to emit less radiation altogether. Since they already must meet the current standards set by the FCC, it will be neither difficult nor expensive to design future products that emit radiation well below the maximum. The constant turnover of cell phones and two year contracts with major service providers will negate any costs incurred in a changeover process to cell phones that emit less radiation. By limiting the radiation, manufacturers will eliminate possible health risks from using cell phones. The prospect of a cell phone acting as a loaded gun at the temple of nearly every American over the age of thirteen is enough to scare even the most fearless cell phone user, yet this scenario is unfolding today as millions of cell phone users in the United States absorb radiation while talking on their cell phones. While no specific conclusions have been reached as to the effects of this radiation, the potential dangers to a user s health are enormous. With the radiation having the worst risks for our future generations, now is the time to be proactive. The

6 Richards 6 government must rewrite outdated laws to regulate the radiation emitted by cell phones and the manufacturers themselves must redesign the devices to limit the radiation, no matter the cost. The health of our future generations and society depends upon it.

7 Richards 7 Works Cited Block, Melissa. Scientist: Cell Phone Use May Increase Cancer Risk. All Things Considered (NPR) 24 Jul Points of View Reference Center. EBSCO. Web. 19 Oct Cell Phones and Cancer Risk. National Cancer Institute. 19 May U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services. Web. 28 Oct Ferriss, Susan. "Mark Leno Bill Would Require Radiation Labels for Cell Phones." Sacramento Bee, The (CA) 19 Feb Points of View Reference Center. EBSCO. Web. 19 Oct Nordenberg, Tamar. "Cell Phones & Brain Cancer: No Clear Connection." FDA Consumer 34.6 (2000): 19. Points of View Reference Center. EBSCO. Web. 19 Oct Soller, Kurt. Kids, Put Down Your Cell Phones!. Newsweek (2008): 63. Points of View Reference Center. EBSCO. Web. 19 Oct

8 Richards 8 Bibliography Block, Melissa. Scientist: Cell Phone Use May Increase Cancer Risk. All Things Considered (NPR) 24 Jul Points of View Reference Center. EBSCO. Web. 19 Oct Cell Phones and Cancer Risk. National Cancer Institute. 19 May U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services. Web. 28 Oct DiMauro, Laurie. Developments in Telecommunications. Electronic America ed. Detroit: Gale, Information Plus Reference Series. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 19 Oct Ferriss, Susan. "Mark Leno Bill Would Require Radiation Labels for Cell Phones." Sacramento Bee, The (CA) 19 Feb Points of View Reference Center. EBSCO. Web. 19 Oct Glazer, Sarah. Cell Phone Safety. CQ Researcher (2001): CQ Researcher. Web. 19 Oct Haas, Jane Glenn. Our Health: Breast Cancer Linked to Cell Phones?. Orange County Register, The (Santa Ana, CA) 02 Apr Points of View Reference Center. EBSCO. Web. 19 Oct Nordenberg, Tamar. "Cell Phones & Brain Cancer: No Clear Connection." FDA Consumer 34.6 (2000): 19. Points of View Reference Center. EBSCO. Web. 19 Oct Soller, Kurt. Kids, Put Down Your Cell Phones!. Newsweek (2008): 63. Points of View Reference Center. EBSCO. Web. 19 Oct