Evil Cell Phone
© unknownScientist Devra Davis, who wrote Disconnect, uses cellphones cautiously and only while using a headset.
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When a reporter called scientist Devra Davis on her cellphone, the first thing the epidemiologist and toxicologist said was: Call back on my land line.

It's not that Davis, author of Disconnect, a new book about cellphone radiation, doesn't use her mobile device, she just uses it cautiously, limiting her talk time and wearing a headset - steps she advises everybody to take.

Davis, a researcher at Georgetown University and founder of the Environmental Health Trust, sees the effects from cellphone radiation as a looming public health crisis.

"Frankly I think we have about three years to get on top of this or we face a global epidemic," said Davis, who recently testified before a U.S. Senate committee panel about the dangers of cellphone use.

Davis spoke to the Star about sickly sperm, the tobacco industry playbook and the "completely uncontrolled experiment" we're conducting on our children.

For every study that discovers health problems with cellphone radiation, another finds no concern. Why so much contradictory evidence?

There is a pattern I discovered that whenever scientists have produced findings the industry feels threatened by, their response is to use science as a form of public relations. They took the idea from the playbook of the tobacco industry. If you could confuse people and create doubt, you had won.

What do we know for sure about the health effects?

We now have studies from Italy, France, Australia, Germany, Japan and Israel showing that pulse digital signals from cellphones can damage the DNA of brain cells.

How deep into the skull does cellphone radiation penetrate?

It depends on the age and health of the person. The standards for cellphones were set using a six-foot-tall man weighing more than 200 pounds with an 11-pound head.

You say kids are particularly vulnerable. Why? Up to what age?

Children are vulnerable for three reasons. Their skulls are thinner so signals can penetrate deeper. Their brains contain more fluid; the more fluid, the more affected by microwave radiation. Finally, the brains of children continue to develop and grow. We know from modern neuroscience that their brains are not fully mature until their mid-20s, and later for boys than girls.

The big concern, for all ages, has been brain tumours, which are slow-growing. Is cellphone radiation a risk factor?

Yes. I've looked at the totality of the evidence, extensive exposure literature on whole animals and cell cultures. There's clear evidence cellphone radiation causes a variety of damage to the brains of animals which is documented in my book.

In addition, we now have from the World Health Organization's Interphone study statistically significant evidence, confirming other studies, that after 10 years of heavy use - defined as half-an-hour a day in the Interphone study - - there is double the risk of brain cancer. Other studies have shown that for heavy users who start before the age of 20 the risk is quadrupled.

Children are the fastest growing group of cellphone users. This is a completely uncontrolled experiment we are conducting on our children and grandchildren.

But that much-anticipated WHO Interphone study, reported in May, also had confusing findings. What else did we learn from it?

We learned it's hard to do epidemiology. We also learned that it's like trying to study the bus we are riding on. The technology and our ways of using it are changing.

Most epidemiological studies of brain cancer and cellphones are negative. Most studies follow people who've used them for eight years or less. Of course they're negative. In the Interphone study it was only after 10 years that the risk doubled for glioblastoma multiforme, a highly malignant form of brain cancer.

You say cellphone radiation may interfere with male reproduction. How so?

Studies in more than seven countries at some top research institutions all found the same thing. Cellphone radiation affected how well sperm swim and how healthy they are.

But the cellphone is at a guy's ear.

Where do you think most young men keep their phones? In their front pockets where it drops down close to the testicles. When the phone is on and on your body, it's constantly sending out signals and receiving signals.

Nations have set limits on cellphone radiation emissions, known as the Specific Absorption Rate (SAR). In Canada and the U.S., it's 1.6 watts per kilogram of body tissue. Doesn't that protect us?

They're based on the 11-pound head of a big guy. I think that given the changes in the ways we use phones, in the phone technology and in who is now using them, the standard has got to be changed.

Do the new smart phones emit more or less radiation than older models?

Less. But it's the on-again, off-again episodic nature of the signal that's the problem. And the antennae. Advisories say to keep away from the antenna. Most people have no idea where the antenna is. On a smart phone there's at least four - data, GPS, voice, Bluetooth, and other applications.

Phones can be designed safer, and I'm sure companies will once people say, wait a minute, why are you putting us at risk?

What are the main precautions people should take?

Don't hold the phone on your body. If you're carrying it on your body it should be off or on airplane mode. Use a wired headset or speaker phone. People use wireless headsets, which offer less exposure than the phone, but they usually keep the phone on their body which defeats the purpose. Don't let children use cellphones except for emergencies. Don't keep a cellphone turned on under the pillow at night, as a lot of teenagers do.

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HOLD THE PHONE: Check manuals, websites for specifics

When asked about radiation emission, the salesmen at three east-end Toronto cellphone stores all had the same reaction: bewilderment.

"They don't give us that information," said one salesman. "It's up to you to go to a company's website."

Some four billion people around the world - including 23.4 million Canadians - use cellphones, but the scientific research on the health effects is confusing and even contradictory. For people concerned about cellphone radiation, some experts advise taking basic precautions, such as limiting time on the phone and using a corded or cordless earpiece, and being your own consumer advocate. That may mean doing some digging and reading the fine print.

Here are a few precautions:

Emissions levels: The American Cancer Society suggests choosing a phone with a low Specific Absorption Rate (SAR), the amount of radio frequency energy absorbed into the user's body tissue. To be sold in Canada and the U.S., a cellphone must not exceed a SAR of 1.6 watts per kilogram.

But ratings do vary among models, and a phone's SAR should be listed on the website, although it may take numerous clicks to find. A consumer could search Google with the name of the model and "SAR" or visit the manufacturer's site.

San Francisco passed a law in June that requires stores selling cellphones to clearly display the amount of radiation emitted by each model at the point of sale.

The wireless industry is suing the city, saying that all federally-compliant cellphones are safe.

"There is no grey area when it comes to safety," said Marc Choma, spokesman for the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association. "All phones sold in Canada must meet the same SAR requirement."

Besides, a phone's SAR is its maximum radio frequency energy emission, and it doesn't always operate at that power level, he pointed out. Factors, such as distance from the base station and network congestion, come into play.

Phone placement: Whatever cellphone you use, keep it away from your body, said Devra Davis, author of Disconnect, and founder of the Environmental Health Trust. Exposure drops significantly as you move the phone away from your head. While a lot of people plaster the phone to the ear, many user manuals provide information on minimum safe distance in the small print. For instance, the BlackBerry Curve 9300 should be held at least .98 inch from the body when turned on. Visit environmentalhealthtrust.org and click on "Read fine print warnings."

Signal quality: Davis also advises using a cellphone only when the signal quality is good. The weaker the signal, the more radio frequency needed to get connected and the more you are exposed.

*Kid caution: Children, especially preadolescents, should use land lines when possible and cellphones only for essential purposes, limiting the length of calls to five or 10 minutes and using headsets, according to a Toronto Public Health advisory in 2008. Health officials in Britain have also discouraged cellphone use by children and have urged the industry not to market their products to children.