# Cell phone radiation and your important bits **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 3, 2003, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-radiation-and-your-important-bits/166164 "2003-04-03T11:04:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Swoop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b77776/32.png) [@Swoop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swoop)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2003, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-radiation-and-your-important-bits/166164/1 "2003-04-03T11:04:16Z")
There’s always been a fuss about cell radiation affecting the brain and what-not, but has there been any research into its effects on the lower regions? I usually keep my cell in my front pants pocket, and many people keep them on belt-clips, which keeps them a lot closer to gonads and ovaries than you’d normally keep a device known to emanate radiation. Anyone know? ---
**Author:** ![Early\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Early\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Early_Out)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2003, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-radiation-and-your-important-bits/166164/2 "2003-04-03T12:28:50Z")
The radiation from a cell phone has never been proven to have any effect whatsoever on any part of the human body, no matter how close it is to you, and no matter how long it’s there. The “fuss” about cell phone radiation affecting the brain has been just that: fuss. No facts. ---
**Author:** ![Aro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b3f665/32.png) [@Aro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aro)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2003, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-radiation-and-your-important-bits/166164/3 "2003-04-03T12:47:50Z")
So all these guys are plain [wrong](http://www.globalchange.com/radiationnews.htm) then? > [@](#): > > 30% increase in brain tumours found in regular mobile phone users. Brain cancers most frequently developed on side of head to which the person held their phone. Biggest increase in cancerous growths was in accoustic neuromas which form behind the ear and are usually treated quite easily. Incidence of these types of growths is increasing in the UK. There may be many studies that say many different things and various conclusions may be overstated, but it is simply incorrect to maintain that there is **no** evidence whatsoever. ---
**Author:** ![Early\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Early\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Early_Out)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2003, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-radiation-and-your-important-bits/166164/4 "2003-04-03T13:40:56Z")
I’m immediately suspicious of anyone who bills himself as a “futurist.” Call it prejudice, if you like, but that label screams “nut with an agenda.” At any rate, according to the National Cancer Institute, there are currently no studies that indicate any link between cellphone use and brain tumors: [Here](http://cis.nci.nih.gov/fact/3_72.htm), [and here](http://www.nci.nih.gov/newscenter/cellphassoc), [and here](http://www.nci.nih.gov/newscenter/cellphassoc-qa). These folks certainly don’t have any particular axe to grind. Being good scientists, however, they do leave the door open to future findings. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2003, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-radiation-and-your-important-bits/166164/5 "2003-04-03T14:10:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Early Out \* > **At any rate, according to the National Cancer Institute, there are currently no studies that indicate any link between cellphone use and brain tumors: [Here](http://cis.nci.nih.gov/fact/3_72.htm), [and here](http://www.nci.nih.gov/newscenter/cellphassoc), [and here](http://www.nci.nih.gov/newscenter/cellphassoc-qa).** **Aro** ’s link refers to a study announced in August 2002. Your links predate this study. Still, that study looked at users of older analog cell phones. The same study found no link between the newer GSM phones and brain tumor. [This BBC article](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/2210605.stm) give a more balanced (in my opinion) overview of the study. ---
**Author:** ![Aro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b3f665/32.png) [@Aro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aro)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2003, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-radiation-and-your-important-bits/166164/6 "2003-04-03T14:25:19Z")
The study on the page I linked to is from research published in March 2003. It was covered extensively in the media here in the UK and it reportedly superseded previous research. > [@](#): > > Study by Professor Kjell Mild, Orebro University in Sweden - published in the International Journal of Oncology March 2003 From [here:](http://www.thisislondon.com/news/articles/3852657?source=Evening%20Standard) > [@](#): > > Dr Richard Sullivan, head of clinical programmes at Cancer Research UK, said: 'These latest findings appear to show a link and that warrants further investigation. > > 'We would need to see a large-scale study replicating these results before we could say whether they are significant. > > ‘Certainly the study appears to be robust.’ Seems that it may be still a little early to accept his (Mild’s) conclusions, but considering that many such studies are now finding (albeit tenuous) links, it may be prudent not dismiss the findings as completely wrong before some further independent verification. But equally, as you said, best not to jump to any wild conclusions or panic unnecessarily about the ‘proposed’ threat. Guess I’ll jump right back on that fence again. ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2003, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-radiation-and-your-important-bits/166164/7 "2003-04-03T15:49:54Z")
Aro, the reason that these studies are not widely accepted is that we know pretty much about electromagnetic signals, and there’s just no way that they could cause this damage according to our current extensive understanding. There have been quite a few studies done, many finding no correlation, and some finding a correlation. Studies like this are extremely difficult to get right, because there are so many effects that need to be controlled for. Especially important (I would think) would be recall bias and confounding variables. About the physics, the radiation from cell phones (in the 900 MHz and 1900 MHz ranges) is what’s called “non-ionizing” radiation, meaning that it’s not concentrated enough to cause an electron to jump to another level, therefore it can’t cause direct changes to chemistry. It can jiggle the molecules around slightly, so if there’s a whole bunch of it, it can heat things up, and of course heat can cause damage. But the temperature rise from the amount of power from a cell phone is completely negligible - the amount your head heats up using a hair dryer is many thousands of times greater, maybe millions. So we’re left with no plausible mechanism for it. Now there’s always the possibility that cancer could be caused by a mechanism that we don’t understand yet. Again, the problem with this is that we understand how microwaves interact with matter really really well already. Since we don’t have a plausible mechanism, then the epidemiological data showing an effect would have to be really convincing to persuade most scientists, and the studies done so far just haven’t done that. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2003, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-radiation-and-your-important-bits/166164/8 "2003-04-03T19:31:39Z")
> [@](#): > > I usually keep my cell in my front pants pocket, and many people keep them on belt-clips, which keeps them a lot closer to gonads and ovaries than you’d normally keep a device known to emanate radiation. Setting aside, for the moment, the fact that they don’t seem to do anything to any sort of living tissue… Do you usually talk on your phone while it’s on your belt-clip? The phone is only emitting anything at all when you’re calling someone or on the phone with them. Sure, there’re radio waves coming from the tower when someone calls you, but you’re getting those waves anyway, regardless of whether you have a phone, and they won’t be made any stronger by the presence of a phone near your crotch. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2003, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-radiation-and-your-important-bits/166164/9 "2003-04-03T19:48:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Chronos \* > **The phone is only emitting anything at all when you’re calling someone or on the phone with them.** Not quite. When someone calls you the system has to locate you (or more accurately, your phone). When your phone receives a signal from the network, it sends one back to acknowledge. Granted, it’s a brief signal, but there it is. ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2003, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-radiation-and-your-important-bits/166164/10 "2003-04-03T20:00:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Chronos \* > \*\* The phone is only emitting anything at all when you’re calling someone or on the phone with them. Sure, there’re radio waves coming from the tower when someone calls you, but you’re getting those waves anyway, regardless of whether you have a phone, and they won’t be made any stronger by the presence of a phone near your crotch. \*\* My understanding ([cite](http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/cell-phone2.htm)) is that if your cell phone is on, it is occasionally transmitting to the local towers, so that the phone system knows which cell you are in.