WASHINGTON-European researchers have found DNA breaks and chromosomal aberrations from radio-frequency radiation like that emitted from mobile phones, but they said new data does not prove handsets pose a health risk and called for more research.
The $3 million research project-dubbed REFLEX-was carried out during the past four years by two labs in Europe, but results have yet to be replicated by a third laboratory. Living cells in laboratories were exposed to mobile phone-level radiation.
“The data obtained in the course of the REFLEX project show that [RF radiation] had genotoxic effects on primary cell cultures of human fibroblasts and on other cell lines. … There was a strong positive correlation between both the intensity and duration of exposure to [RF radiation] and the increase in single- and double-strand DNA breaks and micronuclei frequencies,” stated the study’s summary.
In October, a separate European study concluded long-term mobile-phone use can increase the risk of a benign tumor known as acoustic neuroma. That study, coordinated by the World Health Organization as part of the 13-nation Interphone research program, also urged caution in interpreting the results. Specifically, the epidemiology research showed an increased risk of acoustic neuroma on the side of the head where the handset is placed for individuals with 10 or more years of cell-phone use.
However, scientists at the Institute of Environmental Medicine in Stockholm, Sweden, said follow-up research is needed before it can be determined whether mobile phones pose a health danger to consumers.
The cell-phone industry is quick to point out that other studies show no link between cell phones and cancer, and government health agencies here and overseas do not regard cell phones as dangerous, though many recommend more research.
