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High exposure to radio-associated radiation associated with cancer in male rats. Credit: NIEHS
The National Toxicology Program (NTP) concluded that it was clearly established that cancerous heart tumors develop cancerous cardiac tumors in male rats exposed to high levels of radio frequencies, such as those used in 2G and 3G mobile phones. Tumors have also been observed in the brain and adrenal gland of exposed male rats. For female rats and male and female mice, the evidence was equivocal as to whether the observed cancers were associated with RF exposure. The final reports represent the consensus of the NTP and a group of external scientific experts who reviewed the studies in March after the publication of the draft reports in February.
"The exposures used in the studies can not be directly compared to the exposure that humans experience when they use a cell phone," said John Bucher, Ph.D., NTP's chief scientist. "In our studies, rats and mice received radiofrequency radiation all over their body, but people are mostly exposed in specific local tissues close to where they are on the phone." Exposure and exposure times were greater than what people live. "
The lowest level of exposure used in the studies was equal to the maximum local tissue exposure currently allowed for cell phone users. This power level rarely occurs with the typical use of a cell phone. The highest exposure level in the studies was four times higher than the maximum power level allowed.
"We believe that the link between radio radiation and tumors in male rats is real and external experts have agreed," said Bucher.
The NTP studies, valued at $ 30 million, have lasted more than 10 years and constitute the most comprehensive assessment, to date, of the health effects of animals exposed to RFR with modulations used in 2G and 3G cell phones. 2G and 3G networks were standard when studies were designed and are still used for phone calls and texting.
"One of the strengths of our studies lies in the fact that we were able to control exactly the amount of radio radiation received by animals – something impossible when we study the use of the Human cell phone, which is often based on questionnaires, "said Michael Wyde, Ph.D., chief toxicologist on the studies.
He also noted the unexpected discovery of a longer life span in exposed male rats. "This can be explained by an observed decrease in chronic kidney problems that are often the cause of death in older rats," Wyde said.
The animals were housed in rooms specially designed and built for these studies. RF exposure started in the uterus in rats and at ages 5 to 6 weeks in mice, and continued until two years, or almost all their natural life. Exposure to RFR was intermittent: 10 minutes break and 10 minutes break, or about nine hours a day. RFR levels ranged from 1.5 to 6 watts per kilogram in rats and from 2.5 to 10 watts per kilogram in mice.
These studies did not study the types of RFRs used for Wi-Fi or 5G networks.
"5G is an emerging technology that has not been defined yet, and as we understand it now, it's probably very different from the one we've studied," said Wyde.
For future studies, the NTP builds smaller RFR exposure chambers that will make it easier to evaluate new telecommunication technologies in a matter of weeks or months rather than years. These studies will focus on the development of measurable physical indicators, or biomarkers, of the potential effects of RFR. These may include parameter changes such as damage to DNA in exposed tissues, which can be detected much earlier than cancer.
The US Food and Drug Administration has designated the RFP on cellular phones to be considered by the NTP for its widespread public use and limited knowledge of the potential health effects of long-term exposure. NTP will share the results of these studies with the FDA and the Federal Communications Commission, who will review them as they continue to monitor further research on the potential effects of the RFR.
NTP uses four categories to summarize the evidence that a substance can cause cancer:
- Clear evidence (highest)
- Some evidence
- Equivocal proof
- No evidence (the lowest)
More information on categories is available at ntp.niehs.nih.gov/results/pubs… term / defs / index.html.
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