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Saturday, May 14, 2011

Is a Mobile Phone Safe?

By Kelly Edmunds


Nearly everyone including children and old people possess a cell phone these days and they are fast surpassing landlines as the primary means of communication. In fact, for the first time in the year 2008, the American people were spending more on their cell phones than on their landlines. However, there is one worrying fact regarding the use of cell phones. It is the concern regarding an exposure to cell phone radiation and its effects.

The cell phones transmit signals through Radio Frequency which is similar to the radiation of microwave ovens and AM/FM radios and is of low frequency. The high frequency radiation which is used in X-rays definitely causes cancer but very little is known about the low frequency radiation. Though cell phones have become popular only in the last decade, tumors take a long time to develop in the body hence one cannot assume that there is no risk involved.

Scientists have not been able to correctly assess the damaging effects that cell phones could have on human beings as the instruments havent been around in usage for that long a time. Effect of low frequency radiation on children has also to be studied. Many studies indicate that using a cell phone for one hour a day for ten years can increase the chances of creating a brain tumor.

Radio frequencies are sent from the antenna to the base station which is closest. When people are far away from the base station a greater amount of radiation is required and hence the scientists claim that one is more at risk to radiation from cell phones if you are in a place far away from a base station. People talking in areas where there is lesser number of base stations are also at a greater risk.

In fact, Israeli researchers have proposed a theory in the American Journal of Epidemiology that people living in rural areas and using cell phones are at a greater risk of developing tumors than those living in urban or suburbs. The tumors are likely to develop in the parotid gland which is a salivary gland just below the person's ear. It is therefore better to avoid excessive cell phone use though there is no conclusive evidence with respect to cancer or any other serious health hazards. Precaution is always justified.




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