WASHINGTON — A study has found a link between exposure to cellphone frequency waves and cancer.
The two-year study conducted by the U.S. National Toxicology Program indicated low incidences of malignant tumors in the brains and hearts of male rats that have been exposed to radiofrequency radiation (RFR), commonly emitted by cellphones, in utero and throughout their lifetimes.
With the widespread use of communication devices, “even a very small increase in the incidence of disease resulting from exposure to RFR generated by those devices could have broad implications for public health,” the report reads.
The partial findings (other NTP studies are ongoing) appear to support the International Agency for Research on Cancer’s conclusions regarding the possible carcinogenic potential of RFR.
Tissues nearest to a cellphone’s antenna can absorb the kind of radiation that cellphones emit, the National Cancer Institute’s website says.
The Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization say no scientific evidence establishes a definite link between cancer and cellphone use.
Ron Melnick, who ran the NTP project until retiring in 2009 and has seen the study’s results, told The Wall Street Journal, “Where people were saying there’s no risk, I think this ends that kind of statement.”
