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Two US government agencies are interpreting a study on the safety of mobile phone radiation: one says it causes cancer in rats. The other says there is no reason for people to worry.
No new research has been published on Thursday. Instead, the National Toxicology Program has raised concerns about a link between heart cancer and brain cancer from a male rat study released last winter.
The Food and Drug Administration, which oversees the safety of mobile phones, disagrees with the updated alert. And "these results should not be applied to the use of the human cell phone," said Dr. Jeffrey Shuren, head of radiological health at the FDA.
The most important thing is what happens in humans, not in rats, said Dr. Otis Brawley, Chief Medical Officer of the American Cancer Society.
"The incidence of brain tumors in humans has been stable for 40 years," said Brawley. "It's the most important scientific fact."
In a $ 30-million study, scientists placed rats and mice in special chambers and bombarded them with radio waves, such as those emitted by older 2G and 3G phones, nine hours a day. day for two years, almost their entire life.
The levels encountered by rodents were much higher than those to which people are usually exposed.
Last February, the National Toxicology Program announced a slight increase in an unusual type of heart tumor in male rats, but not in mice or female rats. The agency concluded that there was "some evidence" of a link. In addition, the February report mentioned "equivocal evidence" of brain tumors in male rats.
On Thursday, the agency improved the description of these results. The increase in heart tumor revealed "clear evidence" of cancer in the male rat. There is "some evidence" of brain cancer.
The change came after the agency had asked outside experts to badyze the results.
"We believe that the link between radiofrequency radiation and tumors in male rats is real, and external experts have agreed," said John Bucher, senior scientist at the toxicology agency.
According to his agency, the risks to rats do not apply directly to people, but the study raises safety issues.
The FDA immediately disagreed, triggering a press release baduring Americans that "decades of research and hundreds of studies" have given the health agency the badurance that the limits of The current safety of radiation from mobile phones protects public health.
In addition, the FDA pointed to the confusing results of the rodent study – for example, irradiated rats lived longer than comparison rats that were not exposed to the rays. The toxicology agency said it appeared that radiofrequency energy was helping the kidneys of older rats.
There is a reason why two different government agencies are confronting each other: they ask different questions, said George Washington University Public Health Professor George Gray.
A former chief scientist of the Environmental Protection Agency, Dr. Gray said the toxicology program was examining how mobile phone radiation affects animals. By examining what this means for humans, the FDA "brings more sources of information and data than these recent tests on rats and mice," he said in an email.
"I'm calling from my cell phone," said Brawley of the cancer society.
He pointed out a well-known risk related to mobile phones: car accidents that distract drivers.
In terms of cancer, people could use headphones or speakers, he added.
Those who study the risks do not hang up.
"My family and I will not change our mobile habits based on this news," said George Washington, co-author of the book "Risk: A Practical Guide to Determining What's Really Safe and What's New?" really dangerous in the world around you. "
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