Are Cell Phones Dangerous? Or, more to the point, is the radiation emitted from a cell phone a hazard to your health and well being? Last fall I didn’t know much, if anything, about the risks of cell phones and wireless devices.
Since then I’ve spent hundreds of hours researching the effects of the radio frequency radiation that our smart devices emit. The results of my inquiry are somewhat frightening. Why? Because a growing body of evidence shows that wireless radiation, even at low levels, can be harmful to our health in many ways.
Do Cell Phones Cause Brain Cancer?
Cell phones are listed as a Class 2B carcinogen by the World Health Organization (WHO). This category is defined as “possibly carcinogenic to humans,” putting cell phones and other smart devices in the same category as lead, DDT, and jet fuel.1
According to a study in the journal Pathophysiology, heavy cell phone use triples the risk of brain cancer.2 This study also demonstrated that individuals who began using cell phones as teenagers more than quadrupled their risk of brain cancer.3
Researchers at the National Toxicology Program (NTP), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), conducted a study exposing rodents to radio-frequency radiation levels emulating those that humans experience with heavy cell phone use. The findings concluded that such exposure is associated with the formation of cancer in the brains of rats.4
University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute
In 2008, Dr. Ronald Herberman, an oncologist, as well as Founder and Director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI), a National Cancer Institute (NCI) designated Comprehensive Care Center, issued a memo stating:5
Free exclusive eBook, plus recipes and health tips, delivered to your inbox.
Recently I have become aware of the growing body of literature linking long-term cell phone use to possible adverse health effects including cancer. Although the evidence is still controversial, I am convinced that there are sufficient data to warrant issuing an advisory to share some precautionary advice on cell phone use.
Dr. Herberman recommended that children should not be “allowed to use cell phones other than for emergencies,” and also warned, “Avoid using your cell phone in places like a bus where you can expose others to your phone’s EMFs.” He further stated that people should, “Avoid carrying your cell phone on your body at all times.”
The Powerful Telecom Lobby
Did you know that the telecommunications lobby spends more than $87 million per year convincing our elected officials that cell phones are safe?6
The telecommunications industry is fighting an ordinance in Berkeley, California requiring cell phone retailers to post warnings for customers regarding the radiation exposure from mobile devices.7 These warnings are found in fine print, buried deep in cell phone user manuals. Lobbyists claim that posting these warnings will cause undue panic.8 For the iPhone this reads:
To be sure that human exposure to RF energy does not exceed FCC, IC, and EU guidelines always follow these instructions and precautions. When using iPhone near your body for voice calls or wireless data transmission over a cellular network, keep iPhone at least 5/8 inch away from the body.9
In 1977, Berkeley became the first American city to ban smoking in restaurants. Who have the cell phone companies enlisted to fight this battle? The same lawyer that defended Big Tobacco for decades.
Other Sources of Wireless Radiation
In addition to cell phones, there are many other sources of wireless radiation including:
- Smart Meters
- Computers Using Wi-Fi
- Wireless Printers
- Wi-Fi Routers
- Wireless Speakers
- Cordless Phones
- Microwaves
- Smart Home Devices Including:
- Light Switches
- Thermostats
- Sound Systems
- Door Locks
- TV’s and Remotes
- Appliances (Dishwashers, Washers, Dryers)
- Smart Watches and Fitness Trackers
- Airport Scanners
- Gaming Consoles
- Baby Monitors
My Personal Experience with Wireless Radiation
I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2006. After that initial MS attack, I was highly functional until 2014. That was around one year after we moved into our new house.
I was involved in every aspect of building the house, other than the electronics. Our contractor recommended a smart house. I did not research the implications, let alone the potential impacts that hundreds of wireless access points in one’s living space could have.
As time passed in our new home I became sicker. I also spent more time at home, which I later learned made me even sicker. Finally, I hired two building biologists (Riun Ashlie and Risa Suzuki) to investigate the complex systems we installed. What did we find? Something rather frightening.
Smart meters contain a device that communicates wirelessly using radio frequency radiation. This is called a zigbee chip. We had more than 200 zigbee chips in our new home and it’s taken months to remove all of the smart technology. If you look at the list above, we had a large portion of the devices on it.
We removed the last smart technology from our house in February. For three and a half years I lived in a home that contained radio frequency radiation levels well over 1,000 times those recommended by the Building Biology Association. It’s now been eight weeks since we removed the last of the smart lighting system and other devices.
I’m starting to feel better, but I know it may take more than a few weeks to get well after sleeping with 3 zigbee chips within a meter of my head as well as all around my living space. I’ll keep you posted on my progress and will continue to discuss the health ramifications of wireless technology and the radio frequency radiation that accompanies it.
For more information on steps you can take to reduce your exposure to radio frequency radiation see:
CB says
How terrible (but worth it) to have to pay to have all those devices installed and then pay to have them all removed so soon after! I’ve enjoyed learning about EMFs through your posts and I’ll be so interested to hear of your upcoming progress.
As a side note…Your sites was one of the first I came across when I first started trying to heal myself through food. Since then, I have been diagnosed with Hashimoto’s and MS (like you!) so your site has become all the more applicable and inspirational. Thank you for sharing!
Elana says
CB, thanks for sharing a bit of your story here, I really appreciate it. I’m so sad to hear about your diagnoses, but heartened that we are on this healing path together :-)
Lisa Lai says
Elana,
First let me just say that I so admire all you give and share with people through your website. I live in Boulder too and really love following you (and making your cupcake recipes!). Thank you for sharing your healing journey with us, so we can all learn along with you. I’m going to look into this further given a recent decline in my own health which remains a mystery… also after moving into a home we recently purchased. I really appreciate you.
Lisa
Elana says
Lisa, thanks for your comment. It’s so nice to meet you here and I hope that we can meet in person at one of my cooking classes here in Boulder someday soon! I hope you find all the answers that you’re looking for regarding your new house. Please stop back by and keep me posted on your progress :-)
Danneca says
I am so sorry that you have been suffering unnecessarily. I am praying for a speedy recovery for you. I have been feeding my family of 13 from your recipes for the past 7 years, and I can’t imagine life at our table without your recipes. They have brought us much joy and health. I still do not have a cell phone and we do not have wifi in our home for this reason. Everyone teases me, but I will not let my babies grow up in that environment. I appreciate this post so much.
Elana says
Danneca, thank you for your prayers! God bless you for protecting your children from WiFi. The data on how it is affecting out little ones is truly disturbing.
Sharon says
Kudos to you Danneca! Well done Mama, you are an aware, educated, principal driven woman;what a great example to your family and community.
Keep up the fantastic care and leadership.
Laura says
My hubby found out about this problem and got a meter to measure it. It’s truly eye-opening. I had been trying to tell him a few years back but he didn’t pay attention until now. I am so sorry this happened to you, to all of us. It’s sad & we all must educate ourselves, all the time.
Take care and thank you so much for telling us.
Elana says
Laura, thank you for your comment! I’m so happy to hear that your husband is measuring EMF’s and that the two of you see the danger of them. There are so many scam products out there that claim to remove EMF’s from our surroundings, so I’m thrilled to hear that people are actually taking the time to get educated about this important matter :-)
Laura says
We bought the $34.95 model, it works like magic, be sure to see this videos.
My hubby put a shield around the smart box, he grounded it to the water pipe that goes down deep into the ground & then retested, it worked.
Also, check out the catalog they send you with an order, but you can buy materials at the hardware and if my hubby can do it, so can anyone else, especially if one research it and educate how to block these signals. Copper screen, stainless steel screening, etc.
It’s not hard. We can do this!
Elana says
Laura, that’s fantastic! We had to do the same thing with out smart meters since we called the company and they would not remove them.
Laura says
Here’s the link:
https://www.lessemf.com/gauss.html#130
HH says
The meter you linked to measures ELF (Extremely Low Frequency, e.g.: 60Hz power line radiation) but not microwave radiation such as that emitted from “smart” meters, cell phones, ZigBee, wi-fi and other modern communication devices. In order to properly measure those fields, a much more expensive meter is required, but a $100 one is better than nothing. It needs to read up to 3 GHz minimum, but as each new technology comes out, the latest being 5G, the frequency keeps going higher. 5G is in the tens of GHz.
Elana says
Thanks HH! I will be posting the meter I use to measure radio frequency radiation very soon :-)
TDW says
Dear Elana, I am so happy you are on the road to recovery. Jason Bawden-Smith has written “In The Dark” about this subject and has a new website called EMF Warriors dot com with an online library. There also is a new product that helps the human body deal with the effects of EMF called Blusheild available at blushield-global dot com. I have no affiliation with either this author or these products.
All the best, TDW.
Elana says
TDW, thanks so much for your comment! Thanks also for the recommendation of an EMF shield. Have you tested it to see if it works? Unfortunately I’ve tested quite a few of these products and have not found one that blocks EMF’s so I am sticking with the removal strategy, until I can find a product that really does remediate EMF’s.
HH says
You are right to be skeptical. There is no valid scientific mechanism by which these “miracle” products could possibly work. The only sure course of action is to reduce exposure through comprehensive shielding (which is difficult in most cases), distance from the source, or outright removal of the source.
Elana says
HH, well said! In fact, perfectly said, I agree wholeheartedly! This is what we in the EMF awareness movement need to keep shedding light upon :-)
Diane says
This is a shocking revelation and I’m so sorry it affected your health so dramatically. I hope you will continue to recover. I’m rooting for you!
Elana says
Diane, thanks for your kind words! I really appreciate them :-)
Joyce says
Elana,
Thank you for putting this information out! I’m totally on board with you all the way. I also wanted to share something with you, which you probably already know, but many of your reader may not. It’s becoming more and more common for people, especially women to get sick after moving into a new home. The carpets, the flooring, even the cabinetry are filled with toxins. However, aside from all the new Smart Homes, and the carpets and glues used in new homes etc. etc. the most toxic thing in our homes are our beds! Mattresses in order to pass inspection are literally saturated with fire retardants similar to that used in rat poisoning. Thankfully, I don’t have a Smart Home, but I did have an expensive mattress, and after a lot of researching and prayer I learned about mattress toxicity. Within one day… yes one day my severe leg swelling went away and then shortly thereafter the other health issues disappeared. Just felt the need to share.
Joyce says
PS I left out the important part… oops! We replaced our modern state of the art mattress with a very comfortable organic mattress with no fillers or chemicals whatsoever. Organic mattresses are available for cribs too.
Elana says
Joyce, thanks for bringing that up, it’s very important! Back in around 2004 we replaced all of the toxic mattresses in our house with organic cotton mattresses that do not have any metal or coil springs in them :-)
Elana says
Joyce, thanks for your comment! As I mentioned in this post, we used green building materials for all surfaces inside and out for the build of our new home:
https://elanaspantry.com/simple-steps-to-reduce-emfs/
Thanks again!
Elana
Karen Tressler says
I am sorry to hear you were having problems from EMF’s. Thank you for sharing this information. I will be changing things in my home.
Elana says
Karen, thanks for your sweet comment :-)
Shauna Sousares says
Elana — Thanks for sharing this information, many people aren’t aware of the dangers of exposure. If you haven’t done so already (though I suspect you have!), I encourage you to pass this information on to your builder who recommended a Smart Home. The electrician with whom we work was blissfully unaware of the dangers of equipment he proposed installing in our home, until we shared what we had learned. Here’s to your improving health!
Elana says
Thanks Shauna. We did let the contractor know about it and they are still installing the same smart technology in other new homes they build because it’s what people want (or think they want). I hope that as the EMF awareness movement grows that more consumers will have more information and be savvier than I was.
P indel says
For years we have been using pong cases for our cell phones which highly reduce our radiation exposure. See pongcase.com for info
Elana says
Thanks for your comment P! I think it’s safer to put the phone in airplane mode rather than use “shielding.” If the phone can still transmit you are still exposed to radio frequency radiation :-)