Analysis by Dr. Joseph MercolaAnalysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola
In 2011, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified cellphones as a “possible human carcinogen.” In light of three new studies, IARC is urged to upgrade it to “probable” carcinogen
In February, the findings of two National Toxicology Program (NTP) animal studies were published. Male rats exposed to cellphone radiation were more likely to develop heart tumors than unexposed rats. DNA damage and damage to heart tissue was also observed
In March the Ramazzini Institute published a lifetime exposure study showing a clear link between cellphone radiation and Schwann cell tumors — the same kind of tumors found by NTP
Ramazzini’s study found RF radiation increased both brain and heart tumors in exposed rats. This, despite using power levels that were up to 1,000 times lower than those used in the NTP studies
The proposed transition to 5G will dramatically increase radiation exposure as it will require the installation of small antennas every 250 feet or so to ensure connectivity
Editor’s Note: This article is a reprint. It was originally published April 10, 2018.
In 2011 the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified cellphones as a Group 2B "possible carcinogen,"1 and the evidence supporting the theory that electromagnetic field (EMF) radiation from cellphones can trigger abnormal cell growth and cancer2,3 just keeps growing and getting stronger.
In February, the findings of two government-funded animal studies4 were published. Curiously enough, the published interpretation of this $25 million research (conducted by the National Toxicology Program , an interagency research program currently under the auspices of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences) significantly downplays the actual findings of the studies.
Cellphone Radiation Linked to Brain and Heart Tumors
The NTP research includes two studies: one on mice and one on rats. Male rats were more likely to develop heart tumors, while female rats and newborns exposed to high levels of radiation during pregnancy and lactation were more likely to have low body weight. DNA damage and damage to heart tissue were also observed in both male and female rats, but not mice. Other types of tumors did occur in both types of animals, though, including brain, prostate, liver and pancreatic tumors.
According to the researchers, if these results can be confirmed, then cellphone radiation may indeed be a "weak" carcinogen. As you'll see below, that confirmation was delivered last month, in the form of published research by the Ramazzini Institute.
The animals in the NTP studies were exposed to cellphone radiation for nine hours a day for two years (basically the full life span of a rat). As noted by The New York Times,5 the heart tumors (malignant schwannomas) found in male rats are "similar to acoustic neuromas, a benign tumor in people involving the nerve that connects the ear to the brain, which some studies have linked to cellphone use."
The scientists also expressed surprise at the finding of DNA damage, as the conventional belief is that non-ionizing radiofrequency radiation cannot harm DNA. "We don't feel like we understand enough about the results to be able to place a huge degree of confidence in the findings," John Bucher, Ph.D.,6 senior scientist at the NTP told reporters. Such statements fly in the face of warnings issued by NTP researchers two years ago.
NTP Whitewashed Its Conclusions
Partial results from these studies were initially released in 2016 because they were deemed too serious to hold back. After all, the health of hundreds of millions of Americans, let along billions of users worldwide, is at stake. At the time, Christopher Portier, Ph.D., retired head of the NTP who was involved in the launch of the study, insisted the findings showed clear causation. "I would call it a causative study, absolutely," he told Scientific American.7 "They controlled everything in the study."
David McCormick, Ph.D., director of the Illinois Institute of Technology Research Institute where the study was conducted, was equally clear, telling reporters,8 "What we are saying here is that based on the animal studies, there is a possible risk cellphone RF is potentially carcinogenic in humans. These are uncommon lesions in rodents, so it is our conclusion that they are exposure related."
As noted by Microwave News,9 while some of the pathology data was updated since the initial release in 2016, the changes are minor. The interpretation, however, changed dramatically. Now, even though the findings are identical, the NTP insists it's "not a high-risk situation" and that the risk to human health is negligible.
Microwave News lists a number of possible political reasons for the sudden turnaround, including new NTP leadership, the current White House administration's disdain for science that threatens big business and the overarching power of the major telecommunications players of today: Apple, Google and Microsoft. There's no doubt there are incredible amounts of money at stake.
Ramazzini Institute Duplicates NTP FindingsRamazzini Institute Duplicates NTP Findings
Whatever the reason, it's quite clear the NTP is now downplaying findings that a mere two years ago were considered of significant importance for public health. The whitewash was made even more obvious with the March 7 online publication of a lifetime exposure study10 by the highly respected Ramazzini Institute in Italy, which like the NTP shows a clear link between cellphone radiation and Schwann cell tumors (schwannomas).11,12,13
But, contrary to the NTP, Ramazzini researchers are now urging the IARC to re-evaluate its carcinogenicity classification for cellphones. According to Fiorella Belpoggi, director of research at the Ramazzini Institute and the study's lead author, RF radiation from cellphones should probably be classified as a "probable" human carcinogen rather than a "possible" carcinogen. In an interview with Microwave News, Belpoggi said:14
Indeed, a recent analysis15,16 reveals the incidence of glioblastoma multiforme, the deadliest type of brain tumor, more than doubled in the U.K. between 1995 and 2015. According to the authors, the dramatic increase is likely due to “widespread environmental or lifestyle factors,” which would include cellphone usage.
Véronique Terrasse, spokesperson for the IARC, has stated the organization will look into it once the NTP has delivered its final report,17 which may take several months.
NTP and Ramazzini Show Effects Are Reproducible
The NTP-funded studies found rats exposed to RF radiation began developing glial cell hyperplasias — indicative of precancerous lesions — around week 58; heart schwannomas were detected around week 70. Ramazzini's study confirms and reinforces these results, showing RF radiation increased both brain and heart tumors in exposed rats. This, despite the fact that Ramazzini used much lower power levels.
While NTP used RF levels comparable to what's emitted by 2G and 3G cellphones (near-field exposure), Ramazzini simulated exposure to cellphone towers (far-field exposure). In all, the Ramazzini Institute exposed 2,448 rats to 1.8 GHz GSM radiation at electric field strengths of 5, 25 and 50 volts per meter18 for 19 hours a day, starting at birth until the rats died either from age or illness.
To facilitate comparison, the researchers converted their measurements to watts per kilogram of body weight (W/kg), which is what the NTP used. Overall, the radiation dose administered in the Ramazzini study was up to 1,000 times lower than the NTP's — yet the results were strikingly similar. As in the NTP studies, exposed male rats developed statistically higher rates of heart schwannomas than unexposed rats.
They also found some evidence, although weaker, that RF exposure increased rates of glial tumors in the brains of female rats. As noted by Ronald Melnick, Ph.D., a former senior NIH toxicologist who led the design of the NTP study and current senior science adviser to the Environmental Health Trust:19
The NTP's conclusion that there's no cause for concern is also challenged by an independent review panel, which concluded its review of the two NTP studies March 28. According to this panel of experts, there's "clear evidence" linking RF radiation with heart schwannomas and "some evidence" linking it to brain gliomas. It remains to be seen whether the NTP will accept or reject the panel's conclusions in its final report.
Why Evidence of Rodent Schwannomas Could Spell Trouble
As explained by Louis Slesin, Ph.D., editor and publisher of Microwave News, the increased incidence of schwannomas in rodents exposed to RF is no mere coincidence, and is of great concern for public health:20
Mitochondrial Damage Is an Even More Pressing Concern
I believe it would be a serious mistake to consider cellphones safe simply because we're not seeing a dramatic uptick in brain (and/or heart) tumors. Remember, cellphone radiation has already been acknowledged to be a carcinogen, and most all carcinogens, like cigarette smoking, take decades to increase cancer risk. Cellphones are indeed the cigarettes of the 21st century and we won't see the epidemic of cancer for another decade or two.
The NTP's research also reveal DNA and cellular damage. The researchers claim there's no explanation for this, but that's far from true. A number of scientists and EMF specialists have presented evidence for a number of different mechanisms of harm. Among them:
•, Office of Naval Research,21 showed cellphone radiation weakens cell membranes and your blood-brain barrier. Some of his experiments demonstrated that dye injected into animals was able to penetrate into the brain when exposed to pulsed digital signals from microwaves.
Today, these findings are particularly notable since cellphones are held close to the brain. The take-home message is that radiation from your cellphone weakens your blood-brain barrier, allowing toxins in your blood to enter your brain, and into the cells of your entire body.
•, Ph.D., has published research22,23,24,25 showing that low−frequency microwave radiation activates voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCCs)26 — channels in the outer membrane of your cells. Once activated, the VGCCs open up, allowing an abnormal influx of calcium ions into the cell, which activates nitric oxide (NO).
NO is the only molecule in your body produced at high enough concentrations to outcompete other molecules for superoxide and is a precursor for peroxynitrite.27
These potent oxidant stressors are thought to be a root cause for many of today's chronic diseases.28 Peroxynitrites modify tyrosine molecules in proteins to create a new substance, nitrotyrosine and nitration of structural protein.29 Changes from nitration are visible in human biopsy of atherosclerosis, myocardial ischemia, inflammatory bowel disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and septic lung disease.30
Significant oxidative stress from peroxynitrites may also result in single-strand breaks of DNA.31 This pathway of oxidative destruction — triggered by low-frequency radiation emitted from mobile devices — may partially explain the unprecedented growth rate of chronic disease since 1990,32 and is a far greater concern than brain tumors.
According to Pall's theory, the physical locations where VGCCs are the densest are indicative of the diseases you might expect from chronic excessive exposure to EMFs. As it turns out, the highest density of VGCCs are found in your nervous system, the pacemaker in your heart and in male testes. As a result, EMFs are likely to contribute to neurological and neuropsychiatric problems, heart and reproductive problems.
•, Ph.D., professor of toxicology and health effects of electromagnetism at the faculty of medicine at McGill University in Montreal, stresses the impact EMFs have on the water in your body. The mechanism of action he proposes involves the enzyme ATP synthase, which passes currents of protons through a water channel.
ATP synthase basically generates energy in the form ATP from ADP, using this flow of protons. Magnetic fields can change the transparency of the water channel to protons, thereby reducing the current. As a result, you get less ATP, which can have system wide consequences, from promoting chronic disease and infertility to lowering intelligence.
Will Findings Affect 5G Rollout?
We're now facing the rollout of high-speed wireless 5G technology across the U.S. How might the NTP and Ramazzini findings affect this transition? According to Melnick,33 "It should most likely lead to a reduction in exposure limits." He also hopes the findings will compel public officials and telecommunications companies to not promote the use of 5G devices for children.
In a recent investigative report for The Nation, Mark Hertsgaard and Mark Dowie reveals "the disinformation campaign — and massive radiation increase — behind the 5G rollout."34
The evidence for harm goes back more than two decades. By early 1999, findings from more than 50 studies were already raising "'serious questions' about cellphone safety." This evidence was shared in a closed-door meeting of CTIA's board of directors, which is the trade association for the wireless industry.
Epidemiologist George Carlo, hired by CTIA in 1993 to defuse concerns about cellphone radiation, was unable to give the industry the clear evidence of safety it desired. Instead he found the converse. Among this evidence was findings of "correlation between brain tumors occurring on the right side of the head and the use of the phone on the right side of the head."
Research also suggested that cellphone radiation was capable of causing "functional genetic damage." Carlo urged the telecom industry to "do the right thing: Give consumers 'the information they need to make an informed judgment about how much of this unknown risk they wish to assume,' especially since some in the industry had 'repeatedly and falsely claimed that wireless phones are safe for all consumers including children.'"
Safety Has Taken a Backseat to Profit
The reason nothing ever came of Carlos' investigation is because the CTIA refused to accept the findings and publicly discredited him for doing the work he'd been paid to do in the first place. In 1999, wireless technologies were nowhere near as ubiquitous as they are today. Now, the stakes are higher than ever, and there can be little doubt that profit is still weighing heavier than science.
5G Will Dramatically Increase Radiation Exposure
The transition to 5G will dramatically increase RF-EMF radiation exposure as it will require the installation of small antennas every 250 feet or so to ensure connectivity. Some estimates suggest millions of new antenna sites will have to be erected in the U.S. alone.
In September last year, more than 180 doctors and scientists from 35 countries signed a petition36 to enact a moratorium on the rollout of 5G due to potential health risks, noting that "RF-EMF has been proven to be harmful for humans and the environment." The petition also points out that:
Protect Yourself From Excessive EMF
There's no doubt in my mind that RF-EMF exposure is a significant health hazard that needs to be addressed if you're concerned about your health, and the roll-out of 5G would certainly make remedial action all the more difficult. Late last year, California governor Jerry Brown vetoed a bill to establish statewide standards for 5G networks.37
Senate Bill 649 sought to restrict the ability of local government to block antenna placement, which led to opposition from local officials across the state. Brown decided to let local leaders have control over 5G infrastructure. In time, we'll likely see similar legislation in other states, so keep your eyes and ears open, and be sure to get involved whenever an opportunity presents itself. In the meantime, here are several suggestions that will help reduce your RF-EMF exposure:
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