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FCC also regulates the base stations that the
wireless phone networks rely upon. While these
base stations operate at higher power than do the
wireless phones themselves, the RF exposures that
people get from these base stations are typically
thousands of times lower than those they can get
from wireless phones. Base stations are thus not the
primary subject of the safety questions discussed in
this document.
What are the results of the research done
already?
The research done thus far has produced conflicting
results, and many studies have suffered from flaws
in their research methods. Animal experiments
investigating the effects of radio frequency energy
(RF) exposures characteristic of wireless phones
have yielded conflicting results that often cannot be
repeated in other laboratories. A few animal studies,
however, have suggested that low levels of RF could
accelerate the development of cancer in laboratory
animals. However, many of the studies that showed
increased tumor development used animals that
had been genetically engineered or treated with
cancer-causing chemicals so as to be pre-disposed
to develop cancer in absence of RF exposure. Other
studies exposed the animals to RF for up to 22
hours per day. These conditions are not similar to
the conditions under which people use wireless
phones, so we don't know with certainty what the
results of such studies mean for human health.
Three large epidemiology studies have been
published since December 2000. Between them, the
studies investigated any possible association
between the use of wireless phones and primary
brain cancer, glioma, meningioma, or acoustic
neuroma, tumors of the brain or salivary gland,
leukemia, or other cancers. None of the studies
demonstrated the existence of any harmful health
effects from wireless phones RF exposures.
However, none of the studies can answer questions
about long-term exposures, since the average
period of phone use in these studies was around
three years.
What research is needed to decide whether
RF exposure from wireless phones poses a
health risk?
A combination of laboratory studies and
epidemiological studies of people actually using
wireless phones would provide some of the data
that are needed. Lifetime animal exposure studies
could be completed in a few years. However, very
large numbers of animals would be needed to
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