Federal Communications Commission is asking for a evaluation of the agencies stance
on radiofrequency energy emitted from mobile phones amid lingering concerns
that the devices may cause brain tumors. Federal Communications Commission Chairman
Mr.JuliusGenachowski on Friday circulated a proposal to his fellow
commissioners calling for a formal inquiry into the mobile-phone emissions
standards set in year 1996. The proposal would need to be approved by a
majority of the Federal Communications Commission five commissioners before the
agency could release it for public remark. If it is approved, the agency would consider changing
its testing procedures and seek input on the need to either strengthen or ease
the current standards. The agency would also look into whether emission
standards should be different for devices used by children, an Federal
Communications-Commission spokesman said on Saturday. The Federal
Communications-Commission spokesman stressed that the agency continues to
believe there is no evidence tying headaches, cancer, dizziness, loss of memory
or other health problems to mobile-phones.
But Federal Communications-Commission inquiry would
seek any scientific evidence that could warrant changes to the emissions standards.
The number of mobile-phones has risen sharply since the early year 1980s, with
nearly 5 billion mobile-phones handsets in use today, prompting lengthy debate
about their potential link to the main types of body brain tumor, glio-ma and
menin-gioma. In month of May 2011 the World Health Organization added cell
phone radiation to a list of possible carcinogens, putting it in the same
category as lead, chloroform and coffee, and said more study is needed. Unlike
ionizing radiation such as that from gamma rays, radon and X-rays, which can
break chemical bonds in the body and are known to cause cancer, radiofrequency
devices such as cell phones and microwaves emit radiofrequency energy, a form of
non-ionizing radiation. According to the National Cancer Institute, there is no
consistent evidence that non-ionizing radiation increases the risk of cancer.
What these devices do produce is energy in the form
of heat, and the concern is that frequent use of mobile-phones held up to the
ear can change brain cell activity, as some studies have suggested. What is not
yet clear is whether this causes harm, which is why the World Health
Organization and other health bodies have called for further study. But since
the World Health Organization announcement, scientific evidence has
increasingly pointed away from a link between mobile-phone use and brain
tumors, according to a panel of the International Commission on Non-Ionizing
Radiation Protection. Last October a study by Danish researchers involving more
than 350,000 people concluded that mobile phones do not increase the risk of
cancer, concurring with other studies that have reached similar conclusions.
And a study last July looking at children and adolescents aged 7 to 19
concluded that those who used mobile phones were at no greater risk of
developing brain cancer than those who did not use the devices. The Federal
Communications Commission in 1996 established a limit on emissions and a safe
level of human exposure. Mobile phones are tested and must be within this limit
before they are granted Federal Communications Commission approval to be
marketed in the United States. Federal Communications Commission spokeswoman
Tammy Sun said that the existing guidelines do not pose any harm or risk to
cell phone users, adding that the United States "has the most conservative
emissions standards in the world."
"Our action today is a routine review of our
standards," Sun said in a statement. The Federal Communications Commission
does not set health policy, relying instead on input from the Food and Drug
Administration, Department of Health and Human Services and other agencies.
"We hope and expect that other federal agencies and organizations with
whom we work on this issue will participate in the process," Sun said.
Demand for wireless devices like Apple Inc's iPhone and Google Inc's suite of
Android-powered smart-mobile-phones has surged in recent years, with some
consumers opting to forgo landline service altogether. According to a study by
Cisco Systems Inc. the number of mobile-phones devices connected to the
Internet is expected to exceed the number of people on Earth in four years'
time. For people who are concerned about the effects of radiofrequency energy
from mobile-phones, the FDA and Federal Communications Commission suggest they
have shorter conversations on them and use a hands free device, which places
more distance between the phone and the user's head.
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