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does cell phones cause cancer?

1.7K views 31 replies 21 participants last post by  tkr514  
#1 ·
this really should have been labeled wtf i saw tonight but i didnt think anyone would read it...
there is a large power line about 1/2 mile away from my house...and tonight my sis n law had a flat...i changed it and i noticed when the jack made contact with the car it would barely spark....a small small blue constant arc.i dunno what it could be but that....i dont know what this means i only know that it was weird.----i think it was 60 minutes that did a piece on a group of people who lived directly in the path of a power line that 75% of them got cancer......and also i have heard of the reports of cell phone use causing brain tumours......anyway ..it was strange and was just wondering what it means to me if anything...
 
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#4 ·
I don't know about causing cancer, but they sure make my blood pressure go up! I wish the car manufacturers would install jammers that would block cell-phone signals while the car was in gear. If you want to talk, pull over and put it in park or neutral; that would shut the jammer off. It would also get these a--holes out of my way! HANG UP AND DRIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
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#5 ·
I highly doubt it's true, but I heard a story about a guy who used his cell-phone constantly and ended up with a cell-phone shaped tumor in his brain. And with a tower being a 1/2 mile away, there shouldn't be any current that would create a spark where you were. It would take a lightning strike to cause that. Anyway, so far the cancer causing cell-phones just seem to be urban myth. All I really know is with all these guys cranking up their car steroes to 125db without any protection, I'll be investing in hearing-aid companies in the future.
 
#6 ·
My friend just blew 1500 on a system. He has a JW 6 totally maxxed out and tuned. Very clean but ungodly loud on some songs. My ears couldn't take that more than a ride or two every weekend or so.
 
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#7 ·
i sell cell phones for verizon. as far as i know the amount of power put out doesn't do anything. the strongest old bag phones put out 5-6 watts of power with most around 3, new hand held sets are only .6 watts. the gov regulates the SAR readings and all are required to be within a certain range which are tested to show no negative affects. i think it's a myth like sitting too close to the tv.
 
#8 ·
My dad was an Aeronautical Engineer with Sikorsky in Norwalk, Conn. He also had Bachelors degree in Music and a Masters in Math. He refused to purchase a house in Fla.....my mom really wanted it....because power lines went over it. He said the least they would do would interfere with TV(this was in the early 70's) the worst they would do is make us 'sick'..... Not a dumb man.... To this day, I have trouble dealing with electricity(though that is only one reason) He also told us never to fly the DC 10.....later we understood why.... Take it for what its worth.......
 
#11 ·
It's either static discharge or an electical problem in the car.
Your body and the metal jack simply gave it a path to ground.
No need to blame cell phones, power lines, UFO's DC-10's, etc.
 
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#12 ·
yeah its gotta be an electrical short in the auto......you could hear the noise the high power wire s make and i just went out in left field with it......i feel kinda stupid now.....its gotta be a short...why wouldnt that blow a fuse though?melt a wire...something?
 
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#14 ·
Yea, rumors and superstitions are still rampant even today.
The DC-10 has a better safety record than the Boeing 747.
I don't buy houses with overhead wires simply because I may have to sell it one day and so many OTHER buyers would be afraid of them.
There is no scientific evidence linking mobile phones to cancer or other health problems.

Maybe being reasonable is why I didn't get selected for a jury in product liability case?
 
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#15 ·
Re: do cell phones cause cancer?

Power lines don't cause cancer. Don't you think if they did that all the people (linemen) who work for all the power companies across the world would have cancer? Our government orders recalls of products when relatively small numbers of the population are injured or killed by a certain product.........they would definitely have done something about a "safety zone" between where people dwell and power lines.

As for the cell phones there is not enough scientific data either for or against them causing cancer. Like someone stated earlier they only use .6Watts of power, which is VERY low.

Most of the stories you have seen on TV or in the news regarding the above are just there for ratings.
 
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#16 ·
Electomagnetic radiation is neat stuff. Eighteen years ago my mom broke her leg, and it wouldn't heal properly. The doctor put a new cast on her that would create electromagnetic fields in her leg when supplied with power. The results were measureable via x-rays (another example of electromagnetic radiation). Under the right conditions electromagnetic fields can have physiological effects on the human body. It is not a big stretch of the imagination to suspect that if there are good effects, then there can be bad effects.

Cancer is kind of tricky. Basically the DNA in some cell has been modified in a manner where it reproduces in a very anti-social manner with respect to the rest of the body. We typically associate cancer with the normal process of DNA mutation or mutations caused by chemical exposure or ionizing radiation exposure.

Cell phones transmit electromagnetic radiation called radiofrequency (RF) radiation. Radar also relies upon RF radiation to work as do microwave ovens. The frequencies vary according to the application. Known physiological effects from RF radiation exposure include heating of body tissues. Left unchecked, the heating can damage organs. Spermatazoa counts decrease (fortunately the process reverses if the exposure was not too severe). Eyes can get cataracts. I think you get the picture. Typical whole body adsorption rates can be 4.0W/kg without adverse effects (time and frequency dependent). When you consider that cell phone outputs are less than 1 Watt, it would take a VERY tiny human to be affected by tissue heating. Keep in mind that the shape of the 1 Watt output is similar to a sphere, so only a small fraction is even directed at a user.

On the other hand, it is difficult to ABSOLUTELY absolve all frequencies of radiofrequency radiation from blame with respect to cancer, especially since cancer studies in humans are epidemiologically based, making it quite a challenge to isolate a specific agent as the cause for a cancer.

A study released recently suggested that cell phones do not cause cancer. I have not reviewed the study to learn about the parameters used in the study, so I cannot comment on the quality of the research.

As for me, I'm still using my cell phone.



Post Edited (Jan 15, 8:25am)
 
#17 ·
High exposure to X-ray, radiation, magnetic fields, UV, etc, have been shown to cause problems in all people.

Low dosages of the same are impossible to correlate with actual diseases. Even if it could be proven, it's darn hard to say where those low dosages came from (TV, computer, cell phone, microwave, sunlight, radio stations, power lines, CB radios in other cars, radio controlled toys, wireless networks, battery chargers, etc, etc).



Post Edited (Jan 15, 8:47am)
 
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#18 ·
OK. The brain uses electrical current to pass on info, and gather it from your nervous system. Extremely tiny amounts. who is to say a cell phone won't damage, or disrupt those currents? (Probably why drivers that use them on the road can't drive) Try this: put your cell phone 4" away from your screen, and send an e-mail with it, or get one sent to it. Watch what it does to the screen! I am not saying they cause cancer, and heaven knows I have been zapped by higher voltages, and amperages(Don't weld in the rain) but it is an odd phenomena. I think the car in question has a short somewhere, no power lone would do that.----Bob
 
#19 ·
I grew up in E. Norwalk, Chevyman! Dad worked at Nordens(A Division of the Sikorsky Plant) on Strawberry Hill.... I went to Central Catholic High... Have friends there.... :eek:) You are in Norwalk???????? We are talking....Norwalk, Connecticut...
 
#20 ·
It's not "odd" at all.
It takes very little magnetics to deflect the extreemly light electron before it strikes the screen on a CRT. Basically all you have is a very sensitive field detector.

If you do the same "experiment" with a flat screen LCD (wired directly like your brain) then you will see absoluetely nothing at all...



Post Edited (Jan 15, 9:19am)
 
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#22 ·
two friends of a customer

of mine have cancer above their right ear. Close to retirement. Are they going to make it? Both severe cell phone users. Studies in Europa have shown problems a long time ago. Just keep an eye on those kids with the phone "glued" to their ears today. Just wait 10-20 years.
Enno
 
#24 ·
Correlation does not imply causation.

Being close to retirement does not mean that they've been exposed to cell phone radiation any longer than anyone else has, it only means that they have been exposed to many things in their 60+ years.

I cannot find the European studies to read. The JAMA study here could not make the link between cell usage and cancer. If there was a scientific link then it should be reproducible in the States (but was not).
 
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#25 ·
Re: two friends of a customer

I would classify the fate of your friends as a tragedy, not necessarily proof. There is such a thing as false causation...a matter of coincidence. For instance, look at all of the pro athletes who abuse drugs. Does becoming a sports professional cause drug abuse?

Years ago, as microwave ovens became popular, there was a fear among many of radiation from the ovens. Time has proven them to be safe as long as they are not damaged.

On the other hand, writings from ancient Greece noted a link between lead exposures and various diseases. Thousands of years later we were still willing to put lead into our cars and have it spew out through the exhaust pipe to contaminate the environment.

Sometimes we panic because of our ignorance, and sometimes we ignore the facts staring us in the face.
 
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