Wednesday, June 1, 2011

WHO: a portable "possibly carcinogenic"

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the intergovernmental agency based in Lyon and belonging to the World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a press release stating that he classified the electromagnetic fields and radio frequency mobile phones as "possibly carcinogenic to humans (Group 2B)".

They aggravate the risk of gliomas which represent two thirds of all cancers of the brain, according to IARC, which cites the project Globocan published in 2008. A working group comprising 31 scientists from 14 countries met at IARC to try to assess the risks related to exposure to radio frequencies and electromagnetic fields, the statement said.

For this, they reviewed hundreds of studies on the subject. They focused on the occasional exposure to radar and microwave, environmental exposures to radio signals, television and wireless telecommunications. Finally, they were interested in the dangers of using a mobile phone. The expert panel concluded that studies evaluating the microwave, radar, radio frequency electromagnetic fields and environmental were "inadequate".

Then there is not enough data and good quality reports to determine whether occasional or prolonged exposure is dangerous to health. By cons, IARC scientists also felt that research on the dangers of mobile phones now provide "limited evidence" of an increased risk of glioma or acoustic neuroma, a benign tumor of the auditory nerve.

Previously, WHO estimated that there was insufficient evidence. So a change of position. Dr. Jonathan Samet, head of the working group in question and a member of the University of Southern California, said that "the evidence, which continue to accumulate, are strong enough to support a conclusion and a classification 2B .

Category 2 includes "agents for which, at one extreme, the degree of evidence of carcinogenicity in humans is almost sufficient, while at another extreme, there is no data for humans, but for which there is evidence of carcinogenicity in experimental animals ", as defined in the Preamble to the IARC Monograph on the evaluation of carcinogenic risks to humans.

Class 2A probably carcinogenic agents together and the group consists of 2B possible carcinogens. The first group of agents have evidence qualitatively superior to the latter. Found for example in group 2B a number of pesticides. Specifically, it is vitally important report. For the first time a member of the WHO officially recognizes that radio frequencies and electromagnetic fields may pose a health hazard still poorly understood.

Microwaves, radar, like Wi-Fi, 3G cellular networks and phones or DECT wireless home are potentially hazardous to health and could increase risks of cancer. The problem is that there are not enough studies to draw a qualitatively satisfactory scientific conclusion leaning in one direction or another.

Yet we are at a turning point. 3G and 4G now multiply and Wi-Fi hotspots abound. Whole cities go to the "wireless". At the same time, associations fighting against this fashion are created. For example, there Roofs Robin, a French association that attempts to alert the public about the dangers of electromagnetic radiation.

Hospitals are beginning to create units dedicated to the treatment of ailments that are associated with this phenomenon and states, like Belgium or Costa Rica, pass laws to regulate the installation of antennas because of their reputed effects on health. IARC then pulls the alarm and implicitly asks the scientific community to conduct the studies needed to provide a reliable answer to this dilemma.

He is also an important first step toward recognizing the danger of using mobile phones by including them in class 2B. In this case, that means starting to have enough data to raise the alert level and recognize that these tools can increase the risk of cancer. A smartphone is a pack of cigarettes, but by placing them in class 2B, WHO calls for vigilance.

IARC does not make recommendations to the public, but Dr. Kurt Straif who is head of the monograph program of the center offer his advice. The use of hands-free and sending a message rather than make a phone call or avoid sleeping with her head resting next to his phone may reduce its exposure by ten.

CTIA, the American association majors wireless telecommunications in the country, rejected the conclusions of the IARC report. In a statement, John Wall, vice president of the organization, attempted to discredit the study by stating that IARC had also placed the coffee in the 2B category and a study biased exaggerating the effects of mobile phones has same weight as objective reporting in the eyes of the working group.

Finally, he recalled that this "classification does not mean that cell phones are a cause of cancer." The IARC report nevertheless convinced Deborah Glick, Member American who immediately informed by the voice of the chief of staff whose remarks were reported by Daily News, she was working on a bill requiring the publication of warning messages and create measures to protect children.

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