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Mobile phones and your health

Estimatessuggesttherearearound1.6billionmobilephoneusersthroughouttheworld-and numbersareincreasing.Sincetheuseofmobilephonetechnologyissowidespread,medical researchersareconcernedthatanyassociatedhealthrisks,evensmallones,couldcause significantpublichealthproblems. Heat is the main concern Mobilephonescommunicatewithbasestationsusingradiofrequency(RF)radiation.RFradiationat asignificantlevelhasathermaleffect,whichmeansitraisesbodytemperature.Thereare concernsthatthelowlevelsofRFradiationemittedbymobilephonescouldcausehealthproblems suchasheadachesorbraintumours. No conclusive evidence Intensiveinternationalresearchhasntfoundconclusiveorconvincingevidencethatmobilephones aredamagingtohealthintheshortorlongterm.Ontheotherhand,therearestillunanswered questionsregardingtheircompletesafety.Researchisongoing. Radiation explained Radiationisacombinationofelectricalandmagneticenergythattravelsthroughspaceatthe speedoflight.Itisalsoreferredtoaselectromagneticradiation(EMR).Radiationisclassifiedinto twobroadgroups: Ionising radiation (IR)-capableofcausingcharacteristicchangesinatomsormolecules inthebodywhichcanresultintissuedamagesuchascancer.ExamplesofIRincludexraysandgammarays. Non-ionising radiation (NIR)-doesntcausethesecharacteristicchanges,butcan promptmoleculestovibrate.Thiscanleadtotemperaturerises,amongothereffects. ExamplesofNIRincludeultravioletradiationinsunlight,visiblelight,lightbulbs,infrared radiation,microwaveenergyandradiofrequencyenergy.

Ima ge des crip

Mobile phone system explained Themobilephonesystemworkslikeatwo-wayradioandincludestheindividualhandsetandthe basestations.Basestationshavetheirantennaemountedhighofftheground(onatowerorroof) togetthewidestcoverage.Amobilephonehasaradioreceiverandatransmitter. Whenyoumakeacall,yourphoneusesradiofrequency(RF)radiationviaitsantennatotalktoa nearbybasestation.Oncethebasestationhasreceivedyoursignal,yourcallisroutedthroughthe landlinephonesystem. MobilephonebasestationsemitrelativelyconstantlevelsofRFradiation.Thehandsetsemitlevels ofRFradiationthatvarydependingonthreethings: Howlongyouusethephone Howcloseyouholdthephonetoyourbody Whereaboutsyouareinrelationtothebasestation.Ifthelinktothebasestationisweak, thehandsetincreasesitsradiationleveltocompensate.

ThelevelsofRFradiationfromthehandset,towhichtheusersheadisexposed,arearound100to 1,000timesmoreintensethanexposurefrombasestations. Australian mobile phone system regulations ItisestimatedthattheRFradiationfromamobilephoneheldagainsttheearwillheatalocalised areaoftheusersfaceand,toalesserextent,thebrainbyafractionofadegree.Thisislessthan theheatingcausedby,forexample,exercise.However,highlevelsofRFradiationoverheatbody tissuesandcausedamage.

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TheAustralianexposurelimitsforRFradiationfrommobilephonesissetfarbelowthelevelat whichanymeaningfulheatingoccurs.AllmobilephonesinAustraliamustmeettheAustralian RadiationProtectionandNuclearSafetyAgency(ARPANSA)StandardRPS3. ThelocationofbasestationsandtheRFradiationoutputlevelsfrombasestationantennaeare alsoregulated.ThereiscurrentlyscientificdebateonwhetherornotRFradiationhasanyother damagingeffectsapartfromraisingbodytemperature-forexample,causingchangestocellular membranes.Becausethereisnotenoughevidenceaboutanyotherpossibleeffectsapartfrom heat,theAustralianStandarddoesntincludethem. Research results are inconsistent TherehavebeenmanystudiesthroughouttheworldonRFradiationanditseffectsonthebody. Thereis,ofcourse,abigdifferencebetweenabiologicaleffect-aneffectonthebody-anda healtheffect.Forexample,RFradiationfromamobilephonehasthebiologicaleffectofraisingthe temperatureinalocalisedareaofthebrainbyafractionofadegree.Thisbiologicaleffectdoesnt automaticallycarryanyhealthrisks. Inourexampleofraisedtemperature,thehumanbodyisequippedtodealwithmuchwider variationsintemperaturewithoutexperiencingharm.MoststudiesshowthatRFradiationdoesnt causeadversehealtheffects,butafewstudieshavesuggestedthatRFradiationexposurecouldbe harmfulby,forexample,alteringhowefficientlywecanmemorisethings.Ofthosestudiesthat indicatedpossibleadversehealtheffects,follow-upstudieshaventbeenabletoconfirmthe results. Mobile phone use and cancer - animal research RFradiationdoesntcausecancerbecauseitisaformofnon-ionisingradiation,andthereisno otherknownbiologicalwaythatRFradiationcouldbecarcinogenic. MostanimalstudieshaventfoundanylinkbetweenRFradiationandcancer,butafewhave.In onestudy,carriedoutinAdelaide,micethatweregeneticallymodifiedtobepredisposedtocancer experiencedfastertumourdevelopmentaftertheirwholebodywasexposedtoRFradiationduring theirlifetime. However,afollow-upstudyperformedinthesamelocationandusinglargernumbersofanimals failedtoshowanyeffectsofRFradiation.Therelevanceofthetypeoftumoursintheseanimal studiestomobilephoneusersisunclear. Mobile phone use and cancer - population studies Populationstudies(studiesoflargegroupsofpeople)havebeenlimitedforanumberofreasons: Itisntpossibleforsciencetodetermine,beyondashadowofadoubt,theexactcauseor causesofanycancer. Cancercantakemanyyears,evendecades,todevelopandpopulationstudiessofarhave onlymonitoredthehealtheffectsfollowingafewyearsofmobilephoneuse. Thescientificmedicalcommunitybelievesthatstudiesthatareintendedtoshowthelong termeffectsneedtobedoneoveratleast10years. PopulationstudieshaveincludedimperfectmeasuresofRFradiationexposurelevels. RFradiationexposuredependsonmanyfactorsworkingincombination,suchasthemodel ofmobilephoneused,thelengthofthecall,howoftencallsaremadeandthewaythe phoneisheldagainstthehead.ThesefactorsmakeRFradiationexposuredifficultto measure.

Populationstudiescompletedtodatehavenotshownanyconsistentassociationbetweenphone useandcancer.Longtermstudiesthatwilldeterminewhethermobilephoneusershaveahigher incidenceofbraincancerthannon-mobilephoneusersarestillongoing.Thecurrentinternational consensusisthatmobilephonesdontcausecancerorpromotetheacceleratedgrowthofexisting tumours. Mobile phones and other health effects Researchisongoingintowhetherornotmobilephoneusecauseshealthproblemsapartfrom cancer.Othersuspectedhealtheffectsunderinvestigationinclude: Non-specific symptoms-suchasheadache,insomniaanddizziness.Onetheory suggeststhatRFradiationinterfereswiththebalancesystemofthemiddleear.However, thereisnoevidencethattheRFradiationfromamobilephoneiscausingthesenonspecificsymptoms.

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Cognitive functions-RFradiationhasbeenfoundtochangebrainactivityduringsleep. However,thisisntconsideredanadversereaction,sincethesamesortsofchangescanbe causedbyhormonesandcaffeine,forexample.Changesinmemoryandreactiontimein somestudiesareslightandtemporaryand,onceagain,dontsuggestanyhealth implications. Cardiovascular system-thereisnoevidencetosuggestthatmobilephonescauseany changestothecardiovascularsystem,includingheartbeatandbloodpressure. Hormones-thereisnoevidencetosuggestthatmobilephonesalternaturalhormone levels.

Other effects from mobile phones Mobilephoneusecanalsohaveotherindirecthealtheffects.Forexample: Electronic equipment-itispossibleforRFradiationtointerferewithmedicalelectronic equipmentiftheequipmentisvulnerabletothefield.Handsetsshouldbeturnedoffin hospitalbuildings. Road accidents - studiesshowthatusingamobilephonewhiledrivingsignificantly increasestheriskoftrafficaccidents.Thisriskcanbesubstantiallyreducedbyusinga hands-freemodel,asresearchsuggeststhatthesetypesofphoneshavelesseffecton driverconcentration.Talkingonahand-heldmobilephonewhiledrivingisillegalinall StatesandTerritoriesofAustralia.

Precautions to reduce exposure Evidencesofarsuggeststhatmobilephonesarentharmful,butlongtermrisksandconsequences areyettobeclarified.Ifyouareconcerned,youcanreduceyourexposuretoRFradiationinthe followingways: Chooseamobilephonemodelthathasalowspecificabsorptionrate(SAR),whichrefersto theamountofRFradiationabsorbedbybodytissues. Usealandlinephoneifoneisavailable. Keepyourmobilephonecallsshort. Useahands-freekit. Dontcarryyourmobilephoneclosetoyourbodywhenitisswitchedon. Inyourcar,choosethetypeofmobilephonethathasitsantennamountedontheroofof thevehicle. BewaryofclaimsthatprotectivedevicesorshieldscanreduceyourexposuretoRF radiation-thereisnoevidencetosuggestthesedeviceswork.Infact,theycanincrease RFradiationbecausethephonewillautomaticallyincreaseitsRFoutputtocombatthe effectsoftheshieldandtoensureoptimalcommunication.

Cordless phones Mobilephonesemitasignalthatcanspantoabout20km.Bycomparison,cordlessphonesare extremelylowpoweredbecausetheyonlyneedtotransmittheirsignalashortdistanceaway:for example,withinthehouseoroffice.Thereisnoevidencetosuggestthatcordlessphoneusehas harmfulhealtheffects. Where to get help Yourdoctor AustralianRadiationProtectionandNuclearSafetyAgency(ARPANSA)Tel.(03)94332211 DepartmentofHumanServices,RadiationSafetyProgramTel.1300767469 AustralianMobileTelecommunicationsAssociation(AMTA)Tel.(02)62306055

Things to remember Thecurrentinternationalconsensusisthatmobilephonesdontcausecancerorpromote theacceleratedgrowthofexistingtumours. Cancercantakemanyyears,evendecades,todevelop.Populationstudiessofarhaveonly monitoredthehealtheffectsfollowingafewyearsofmobilephoneuse. Usingamobilephonewhiledrivingsignificantlyincreasestheriskoftrafficaccidentstalkingonahand-heldmobilephonewhiledrivingisillegalinallStatesandTerritoriesof Australia.

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Mobilephonesandyourhealth

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