Dying for the Latest Technology
November 5, 2009 • By Whitten Maher, The Breeze
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She’s telling me to get off the cell phone, my mother. This is out of the ordinary, as it would be for most people, because these conversations are usually 10 minutes at the least. It’s not that she’s telling me to hang up, however, that is disquieting — it’s why. It’s gonna give me cancer, she says.
What used to be half a joke is no longer one at all.
The link between cell phones and cancer is dubious. Nevertheless, that dubious connection has been around for quite some time. It reared its head again in a recent report from the Environmental Working Group, which has provided the most clarion call for concern yet.
You can find the report, which points to higher risks of cancer in the brain and salivary ducts for longtime users, at http://ewg.org/cellphone-radiation. The study was conducted over the course of 10 years, which puts it roughly at the start of our massive adoption of the relatively young technology.
You can also find specific radiation measurements for specific phone models. From what I can surmise, my Samsung Ace (a candy bar-style smartphone) is a fairly dangerous device. Granted, all I’m going on is the 1.00-1.36 watts/kilogram specific absorption rate, which is toward the high end of the gauge they provide.
Do I know what that means? Of course I don’t. Neither do you, and it will take years for the public at large to understand the science behind the concerns.
The rush to push new technology often leaves the science of safety behind, and modern man’s tragic flaw – that which defines him and that which precipitates his fall – is his zeal for the science of convenience. Equally destructive is the ignorance or apathy with which he responds to health risks that technology can create out of thin air.
Tanning beds, diet drinks, antiperspirant – they all come with latent risks we casually shrug off. It’s not surprising, then, that our generation is particularly adept at the magical thinking which seems to will away risk. We play the odds with drunk driving, pirating movies and software, and risky sexual behavior; I’m betting a slightly increased risk way down the road won’t unnerve the generation of constant contact.
Yet if confirmed, the cancerous specter looms over an estimated 4 billion global users, 275 million of which are in the United States.
This scary proposition springs from the readiness of humanity to tinker with and attempt to tame forces without fully exploring the ramifications of their widespread application.
History provides multiple examples in science, business and government. The latest could very well be these ubiquitous devices that even preteens must have. When actually used in voice calls, cell phones are searching for a signal (they emit more radiation when actively searching) or spontaneously receiving texts or e-mails. For 90 percent of the waking day, they are either in our pockets (not a good zone for radiation) or pressed in action against our brain. They make great alarm clocks, too, working their magic right next to our sleepy little heads.
Of course several studies show little or no cancer risk for mobile phone users. Then again, Reuters recently reported bias in such studies, revealing that “funding for some of the lower-quality studies included two industry groups.”
The industry injecting itself into safety research of its own product? If it sounds familiar, it’s because cell phones might very well be the new cigarettes. The resemblance isn’t lost on Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin, who announced in September he would investigate any link between mobile devices and the risk of cancer, remarking that he is “reminded of this nation’s experience with cigarettes.” Harkin will do this in his new capacity as chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.
Harkin’s predecessor, Sen. Ted Kennedy, passed away in August of a brain tumor.
Whitten Maher is a senior political science major and design editor at The Breeze.
Contact Whitten Maher at mahercw@jmu.edu
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I lik samsung phone