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Praktische opdracht ANW Mobiele telefoonstraling
Introduction
Recently a lot of research is being done into the health risks of radiation from mobile
phones. The scientific evidence of earlier research wasnt sufficient enough to decide
weather mobile phones should be forbidden or not.
In the next few chapters you can read the answers to questions I asked my self to get an
opinion about the question if mobile phones are dangerous enough to stop using them. I
read a lot of research reports from scientists which helped me to create my opinion
about the health risks of mobile phones.
In the first chapter the possible effects of using a mobile phones are described. ItҒs also
important to know if these effects are permanent or reversible. In the second chapter
youll read about who have more risk to get aeffected by RF radiation of mobile phones
more then others. In chapter three, you can read about if people who use their mobile
phone regularly are more likely to be affected by the RF radiation then people who use
their phone only once in a while.
There is a lot of research going on about the health risks of phone masts too. In chapter
four I tried to answer the question which of the two (mobile phone or phone mast) is
more risky for human health.
I hope youҒll get to know everything you want to know about the risks on health from
mobile phone radiation.
Mobile phones produce radiofrequency (RF) radiation that is part of the electromagnetic
radiation spectrum. Most mobile phones transmit and receive RF radiation at
frequencies of between 825 and 915 megahertz (MHz). The Radiation Protection
Standard for Maximum Exposure Levels to Radiofrequency Fields - 3 kHz to 300 GHz
(2002) specifies limits on exposure to RF radiation from various sources, including
mobile phones. The level at which these limits are set is much lower than the levels at
which any thermal (heating) effects can occur.
What are the possible effects of using mobile phones?
Scientists have known for a long time about the ability of RF radiation to cause heating,
which can lead to severe health effects on the body such as fatigue, reduced mental
concentration and cataracts if exposed to very high levels. These effects are known as
thermal effects, some of which can be created by subjecting a person to a warm
environment.
Other effects on human health are different types of cancer.
Over 900 cancer patients from the years 1997-2003 have been compared with a control
group of over 2000 people. The conclusion is that those who have used a mobile or a
cordless phone for more than one hour a day during ten years ran twice the risk of the
control group to have gliomas, the most dangerous form of brain tumor.
On the side of the head where people used to hold their phones, the risk to develop brain
cancer increased more than on the other side of the head. In addition, the risk was
increased by 30% for developing Acoustic Neurinoma, a benign tumor on the auditory
nerve that may cause permanent deafness if not removed in time.
This experimental study has just been published in the International Journal of and
Occupational and Environmental Health.
Comparison of brains from unexposed and exposed rats Exposed animals, were much
more likely to have albumin leaking from blood vessels in inappropriate locations. This
shows as dark dots in the exposed brain above on the right.Control animals, in contrast,
showed either no albumin leakage or occasional isolated spots, as seen in the figure on
the left. A closer look at the cells within the brain revealed that exposed animals had
"scattered and grouped dark neurons... often shrunken.. with loss of internal cell
structures." ...A neuronal damage of the kind described here may not have immediate,
demonstrable consequences, even if repeated. In the long run, however, it may result in
reduced brain reserve capacity that might be unveiled by other later neuronal disease or
even the wear and tear of aging.
Are the risks different for different groups?
In England, they recommend children to wait using a mobile phone until theyre 12 years
old. This is because different researches concluded that the skull of a kid is not
developed enough, so radiation from mobile phones can get through far more easily.
This is said by Sir William, of the National Radiological Protection Board.
In a report of ғThe health council of the Netherlands they are not totally sure about the
fact that children are more sensitive for RF radiation from mobile phones than adults,
and here they say that itԒs one of the things they need to do more research about.
Another thing they want to get an explanation for is why some people say that they feel
like theyre very sensitive to electromagnetic fields.
Is your health effected by using a mobile phone regularly?
At the Department of Oncology in a hospital in Sweden 1617 patients with malignant
and benign brain tumors were studied. They found out that the patients which used their
phones more, and for a longer time, had a greater risk to develop brain cancer than the
ones which used their phones less and didnҒt have the phone long yet.
Is it the mobile phone or the phone mast which is dangerous?
A phone mast is different from broadcast radio transmitters and pager transmitters and
television transmitters because it has a two-way communication system. This means that
a phone mast does not only transmit to mobile phones, but also receives from mobile
phones.
When you stand near a phone mast, you are still about 12 meters away from the mast
aerial, but when you call with a mobile phone, the phone is right near your head, it even
touches your ear. The radiation of a phone mast can be fifty times higher than the
radiation from a mobile phone, but the risk of getting effected by this radiation depends
on the distance you are located from the phone mast. The distance to your mobile phone
when using is considerably smaller than when you stand near a phone mast.
In this figure you can see at the numbers, that they decrease the further away from the
phone mast.
The radiation decreases when the distance increases, and this is far more then a linear
decrease.
Conclusion
Its hard to give an opinion about if something is dangerous or not when there are no
facts about it, but IҒll try to give my opinion about this subject by answering the
research question I posed earlier.
Can radiation from mobile phones damage health of the users?
Yes, it is scientifically proven that using a mobile phone can have health effects like
fatigue, reduced mental concentration and cataracts if exposed to very high levels. It is
also scientifically and experimentally proven that the risk of developing different sorts
of brain cancer gets higher when using a mobile phone regularly.
But scientists are still doing research with mobile phones and phone masts, about the
health risks. They still have too less evidence to get to a conclusion, and weather to
forbid using a mobile phone or not. Except for a few scientists, they even dont
recommend people to not use their phones too often.
So I think that people using a mobile phone should know about the fact that the risk of
developing brain cancer could increase, and about other health effects, but that they
shouldnҒt be forbidden to use their mobile phones until its scientifically proven that this
is dangerous for peopleҒs lives.
Source list
http://www.epa.sa.gov.au/mobilephone.html
http://www.psrast.org/mobileng/mobilstarteng.htm#dnadamage
http://www.guardian.co.uk/mobile/article/0,2763,1248687,00.html
http://www.gezondheidsraad.nl/pdf.php?ID=628&p=1
http://www.zyra.org.uk/phonmast.htm
http://www.psrast.org/mobileng/mobilstarteng.htm
http://physicsweb.org/articles/news/4/12/6/1
http://www.neuroreport.com/pt/re/neuroreport/abstract.00001756-199810050-00018.ht
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