Prof Mike Repacholi

University of Rome “La Sapienza”, Rome, Italy

Former Co-ordinator, Radiation and Environmental Health

World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland

Chairman Emeritus, International Commission on Non-Ionizing

Radiation Protection (ICNIRP)

Mobile phones and cancers:

What is the evidence?

Topics discussed

How do RF fields interact with tissues?

What head cancer are studied?

How do scientists conduct research?

Limitations of science

Scientific reviews

Assessing health risks

IARC 2B classification (2011)

Children’s sensitivity to EMF

Activism in science

World Health Organization (WHO)

Conclusions

Wireless technologies are part of modern life: there is no turning back

Child safety and

emergencies

Personal

Communications

Telecommunications

Radiofrequency electromagnetic

waves

Radio waves are electric (E) and magnetic (H) fields that

oscillate at radio frequencies

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+ +

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+

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RF heating principle

RF fields can move charged particles, vibrate polar molecules and rotate

polar side chains on proteins.

This increased kinetic energy is manifested as heating.

To date no non-thermal effect has had any impact on health below

ICNIRP guidelines limits

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No Field

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Biological and Health Effects

A biological effect is a measurable physiological response to EMF exposure ….not necessarily hazardous

An adverse health effect is a biological effect outside the body's normal range of physiological compensation that is detrimental to health or well-being

Glioma: Glial cells in brain

surrounding nerve cells

Meningioma: In meninges,

tissue surrounding brain

Acoustic neuroma: Nerve

connecting the ear to the brain

Parotid gland tumour: Largest

salivary gland

Head cancers are studied that are at locations

most exposed to RF from cell phones

Head cancers

How do scientists study effects from

mobile phones?

Studies on cell suspensions or tissues (in vitro studies)

Studies on whole animals (in vivo studies)

Studies on human populations (epidemiology studies)

When assessing health risks, epidemiology studies are given

highest weight, but they are subject to biases and so need

support from well-conducted animal and cell studies.

ALL studies need to be replicated or confirmed by

independent labs.

ALL studies need to be taken into account, both +ve and –ve.

ONLY well-conducted studies are used to assess health risk.

Limitations of science

Science cannot prove something does not occur (cant prove

a negative).

Science needs to conduct many different types of studies

before conclusions can be reached, since studies can be

prone to errors and biases.

Using well-conducted studies, health risks are determined

based on the weight of the evidence (results of all studies).

If all study results point in the same direction, one has more

confidence in the conclusions about any risks to health.

Evaluating the database of acceptable studies

+ + +

epidemiological

studies

cellular

studies

animal

studies

clinical

studies

RF exposures from base stations 0.002% to 2% of ICNIRP …lower or

comparable to RF emissions from radio or TV

Only established health effect from RF fields.. increase in body

temperature (>1°C). Basis for ICNIRP guidelines. Need high field

intensities to increase temperature

A mobile phone against the head raises the temperature of the brain by

less than 0.1oC

RF signals from wireless technologies in public areas (e.g. schools and

hospitals) normally 1000s times below ICNIRP

Scientific reviews

Base stations and wireless technologies

Refer: WHO Fact Sheet #304 Base stations and other wireless technologies, May 2006

Body absorbs up to 5x more RF from FM radio and TV than base

stations .. Because radio and TV use lower RF frequencies and the

body absorbs more RF at these frequencies than the higher mobile

phone frequencies

Radio and TV have operated for over 50 years without any known

health consequence.

Digital versus analogue signals? There seems to be no unique health

effects due to different RF modulations because base station and

wireless technology signals are too weak; modulation effects occur at

much higher intensity levels.

Base stations and wireless technologies (2)

WHO Fact Sheet #304 Base stations and other wireless technologies, May 2006

Brain cancer: Interphone study

The Interphone pooled analysis from 13 participating

countries found no increased risk of glioma or

meningioma with mobile phone use >10 years.

Some indications of increased risk of glioma for the

highest 10% of cumulative hours of cell phone use, but

no consistent trend of increasing risk with greater

duration of use.

The researchers concluded biases and errors limit the

strength of these conclusions and prevent a causal

interpretation.

IARC

WHO specialized agency for research on cancer classified

RF* as possibly carcinogenic to humans (2B) based on 2

studies reporting an increased risk of glioma from cell

phone use

Weakest classification for a potential carcinogen does NOT

mean RF causes cancer but there is some weak scientific

evidence to suggest this but chance, bias or confounding

cannot be ruled out as causing this result with reasonable

confidence

This merely means more research is needed before any

firm conclusion can be reached.

*IARC Press Release 208 (May 2011)

WHO Fact Sheet on Mobile Phones

Conclusion: An increased risk of brain tumors is not established

Activism in science

There has been a huge amount of activism on this topic.

Many web sites have been produced that provide misleading

information about health effects

The BioInitiative Report (2012) presents the activists view

and uses only poorly conducted or unreplicated studies that

report positive effects in their review, merely to support

their preconceived conclusions.

Unfortunately some national authorities believe the activists

instead of the highly reputable reviews and conclusions of

WHO, merely to placate a concerned public; but this will

ONLY generate more public concern.

Activists have their own scientific journal, with an activist

as editor in chief, to publish activist articles.

Myths propagated by activists (1)

Cook popcorn? No. Some video clips were circulated in May

2008 on the internet claiming that it is possible to cook popcorn using

the electromagnetic energy. It was a hoax!

Cook an egg or the brain? No. Mobile phones are low powered

(0.25W max) and if all its power was deposited in the egg or the brain,

it would cause a very small temperature increase (0.10C) well below

that required to cook an egg which is > 700C

Cause explosions at petrol stations? No. There is no evidence

mobile phones caused explosions at any petrol station (UK Institute of

Petroleum). RF energy from mobile phones is too low to cause sparks

that ignite petrol.

Attract lightning? No. US National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration (NOAA) advises that cell phones, small metal items,

jewelry, etc., do not attract lightning. Lightning tends to strike much

taller objects.

Myths propagated by activists (2)

Cause collapse of bee colonies? Researchers in Germany suggested bees

were being "confused" by mobile phone signals causing Colony Collapse

Disorder (CCD) and bee deaths. But researchers from US universities have

identified a virus causing the deaths. The US Department of Agriculture says

there is no link between mobile phones and CCD.

Do 'shields' reduce RF from mobile phones? RF shield cases, earpiece

pads/shields, antenna clips/caps, “absorbing” buttons and ‘neutraliser’ chips

claim to reduce RF.

Mobile phones automatically operate at the lowest power necessary to

maintain a quality call.

Adding a device interfering with normal operation can reduce coverage,

reduce battery life and increase transmitter power of the phone and base

station (up to its maximum).

WHO states that ‘shield’ products are unnecessary and their effectiveness in

reducing RF exposure is unproven.

Concerned individuals can limit exposure by reducing call times or using

"hands-free" kits to keep mobile phones away from the head and body.

Reliable sources of information

World Health Organization, fact sheets and reports

International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation

(ICNIRP), reports, statements and guidelines

European Commission Scientific Committee on Emerging

and Newly Identified Health Risks, (SCENIHR) reviews

UK Health Protection Agency, reviews and fact sheets

U.S. National Cancer Institute fact sheets

Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety

Agency, reports and fact sheets

Health Council of the Netherlands, reports

Sweden SSI, reports

Head cancer:

Conclusions Large Interphone study found no evidence of

head cancers except in the heavy user group.

Almost certainly due to recall bias

Hardell group has published many positive

results, but they are distinct “outliers” to most

other epidemiological studies

Recent “systematic review” found no evidence mobile phones use up

to 10 yrs causing any head cancer (>10 yrs?)

Only a few epidemiological studies have been conducted but found no

evidence of head cancers in children; more research is needed.

Although there remains some uncertainty, the trend in the

accumulating evidence is increasingly against the hypothesis that

mobile phone use can cause brain tumours in adults. (ICNIRP)

An increased risk of brain tumors is not established (WHO)

Thank you

for your

attention

Prof. Mike Repacholi

Department of Information Engineering, Electronics and

Telecommunications (DIET)

University of Rome “La Sapienza”, Rome, Italy

E-mail: mrepacholi@yahoo.com

Thank you for

your attention

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