International studies looking at
possible adverse health effects related to cellphones, cell towers, WiFi and
other equipment have come to mixed conclusions.
Some studies have suggested that cellphones may increase the risk for certain brain tumours, primarily among the heaviest users.
In 2011, the WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) asked Dr. Anthony Miller , an epidemiologist and a professor emeritus at the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health to review the evidence assessed by its working group that led members to conclude that exposure to electromagnetic radio-frequency fields was a possible cause of cancer.
“But the evidence is still quite mixed,” said Demers, director of the Occupational Cancer Research Centre at Cancer Care Ontario.
“If that was the case, our brain tumour rates all over the world would be going up right now – and they’re not. If there’s some kind of smaller effect, that still remains possible. It may be we simply haven’t been using them long enough to have seen an effect yet. … Often it takes decades for us to be able to see a pattern associated with an increased risk of cancer.”
“If we’re at the beginning of a period of increasing exposure of a new possibly – probably – carcinogen, it could be some years before we get a major impact seen in the population,” Miller said in an interview. “But by then it will too late.”
Children are of particular concern because their smaller size and developing bodies and brains could make them more vulnerable to adverse health outcomes.
How to limit wireless exposure
Here are some tips for reducing exposure to electromagnetic radio-frequency waves, based on the precautionary principle:
Some studies have suggested that cellphones may increase the risk for certain brain tumours, primarily among the heaviest users.
In 2011, the WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) asked Dr. Anthony Miller , an epidemiologist and a professor emeritus at the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health to review the evidence assessed by its working group that led members to conclude that exposure to electromagnetic radio-frequency fields was a possible cause of cancer.
“But the evidence is still quite mixed,” said Demers, director of the Occupational Cancer Research Centre at Cancer Care Ontario.
“If that was the case, our brain tumour rates all over the world would be going up right now – and they’re not. If there’s some kind of smaller effect, that still remains possible. It may be we simply haven’t been using them long enough to have seen an effect yet. … Often it takes decades for us to be able to see a pattern associated with an increased risk of cancer.”
“If we’re at the beginning of a period of increasing exposure of a new possibly – probably – carcinogen, it could be some years before we get a major impact seen in the population,” Miller said in an interview. “But by then it will too late.”
Children are of particular concern because their smaller size and developing bodies and brains could make them more vulnerable to adverse health outcomes.
How to limit wireless exposure
Here are some tips for reducing exposure to electromagnetic radio-frequency waves, based on the precautionary principle:
Turn off cellphones or tablets
when not needed or turn on airline mode.
Keep cellphones away from your
head as much as possible. Use speakerphone mode or earbuds for phone calls
rather than a Bluetooth headset. Don’t carry your phone in your pocket or bra.
Do not sleep with wireless devices
near you.
Keep cellphones and tablets away
from small children.
Use a wired baby monitor instead
of a wireless unit. Do not place a wireless baby monitor by your child’s bed.
Use a wired monitor instead.
Use hardwired Internet
connections for computers in your home instead of using WiFi. Turn wireless
router off at night. Do not keep it in high-use or sleeping areas.
Pregnant women should keep
wireless devices away from the abdomen.
Avoid cordless phones.
Sources:
Canadians For Safe Technology; Health Canada
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