Ericsson A2218Z User Manual page 12

Some menus/features are operator dependent.
ies, however, have suggested that low levels of RF could accelerate
the development of cancer in laboratory animals. In one study, mice
genetically altered to be predisposed to developing one type of cancer
developed more than twice as many such cancers when they were
exposed to RF energy compared to controls. There is much uncer-
tainty among scientists about whether results obtained from animal
studies apply to the use of mobile phones. First, it is uncertain how
to apply the results obtained in rats and mice to humans. Second,
many of the studies that showed increased tumor development used
animals that had already been treated with cancer-causing chemicals,
and other studies exposed the animals to the RF virtually continu-
ously--up to 22 hours per day.
For the past five years in the United States, the mobile phone indus-
try has supported research into the safety of mobile phones. This
research has resulted in two findings in particular that merit addi-
tional study:
1 In a hospital-based, case-control study, researchers looked for an
association between mobile phone use and either glioma (a type of
brain cancer) or acoustic neuroma (a benign tumor of the nerve
sheath). No statistically significant association was found between
mobile phone use and acoustic neuroma. There was also no associ-
ation between mobile phone use and gliomas when all types of
types of gliomas were considered together. It should be noted that
the average length of mobile phone exposure in this study was less
than three years.
When 20 types of glioma were considered separately, however, an
association was found between mobile phone use and one rare
type of glioma, neuroepithelliomatous tumors. It is possible with
multiple comparisons of the same sample that this association
occurred by chance. Moreover, the risk did not increase with how
6
often the mobile phone was used, or the length of the calls. In fact,
the risk actually decreased with cumulative hours of mobile phone
use. Most cancer causing agents increase risk with increased expo-
sure. An ongoing study of brain cancers by the National Cancer
Institute is expected to bear on the accuracy and repeatability of
1
these results.
2 Researchers conducted a large battery of laboratory tests to assess
the effects of exposure to mobile phone RF on genetic material.
These included tests for several kinds of abnormalities, including
mutations, chromosomal aberrations, DNA strand breaks, and
structural changes in the genetic material of blood cells called lym-
phocytes. None of the tests showed any effect of the RF except for
the micronucleus assay, which detects structural effects on the
genetic material. The cells in this assay showed changes after expo-
sure to simulated cell phone radiation, but only after 24 hours of
exposure. It is possible that exposing the test cells to radiation for
this long resulted in heating. Since this assay is known to be sensi-
tive to heating, heat alone could have caused the abnormalities to
occur. The data already in the literature on the response of the
micronucleus assay to RF are conflicting. Thus, follow-up research
is necessary. 2
FDA is currently working with government, industry, and aca-
demic groups to ensure the proper follow-up to these industry-
funded research findings. Collaboration with the Cellular Tele-
communications Industry Association (CTIA) in particular is
expected to lead to FDA providing research recommendations and
scientific oversight of new CTIA-funded research based on such
recommendations.
Two other studies of interest have been reported recently in the liter-
ature:
Guidelines for Safe and Efficient Use