News World
Kristy Kirkup
The World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer classified radio frequency emitted by wireless devices as possibly carcinogenic, but a panel of international scientists recently published a study challenging these findings.
The International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection - composed of scientists from Britain, the United States and Sweden - said evidence is mounting against the hypothesis cellphones may cause cancer despite the findings of IARC.
But in the study's conflict of interest disclaimer, the panel acknowledged it received support from the wireless industry to conduct the research. A number of organizations, including the Mobile Manufacturers' Forum, were cited as sources of funding.
The authors, however, maintain their "freedom to design, conduct, interpret, and publish research was not compromised by any controlling sponsor."
Dr. Devra Davis, an American scientist who runs the non-profit education group, Environmental Trust, says the new study is "misleading" and "wrong."
"It is propaganda," said Davis, who also founded the world's first Center for Environmental Oncology.
"The larger issue is they don't know they are completely wrong about the statement that because there is no increase in brain cancer now, cellphones don't cause brain cancer. That is flat out wrong."
Davis says cellphone safety is a major public health issue and governments need to move away from the idea of taking action after there are "enough sick people or dead bodies."
"The fact that we don't have an epidemic right now is of course what we expect," she said. "It is actually preposterous to imply or they really say that because don't have any increase now, there's no problem. It's really very sad."
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment