WASHINGTON-German researchers have detected an increased risk for certain brain tumors from long-term cell phone use, a finding that is not quite statistically significant but coincides with other recent studies suggesting a possible danger for consumer who use wireless phones for more than a decade.
The German epidemiology research, part of the international Interfone study, is apt to further fuel the wireless health debate because the newly published data offers something for both the wireless industry and health advocates.
“No overall increased risk of glioma or meningioma was observed among these cellular users; however, for long-term phone users, results need to be confirmed before firm conclusions can be drawn,” said the research team led by Joachim Schuz.
In a new paper published in the Encyclopedia of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, University of Washington researcher Henry Lai agrees more needs to be known about long-term use of mobile phones. But Lai is firm in his belief that cell-phone radiation is biologically active.
“It is quite certain that (radio frequency radiation) can cause biologically effects even at low intensity. However, the potential hazardous health effects of such exposure to humans are not clear,” stated Lai. He added: “Owing to the uncertainty in science, exposure in the general population to RFR should be kept to a minimum.”
