Why Cell Phone Radiation is Harmful Essay

Conflicting Viewpoints: Cell Phone Radiation

Is cell phone usage safe? The FCC has said that cell phone radiation is not harmful to humans. However, studies have shown that it does have an effect, especially on the brain and even on children and babies developing in the womb (Gandhi, Morgan, de Salles et al., 2012). My position is that cell phone radiation can be dangerous and that more studies should be done to focus on the problems of cell phone radiation. I chose this topic because I have always suspected that cell phone radiation was harmful and I wanted to look more closely at what researchers have said on the topic.

Two opposing views to my position are: 1) cell phone radiation is not harmful, as the FCC has demonstrated in its research on the subject, and 2) there are too many other variables that factor into how a person’s body develops and/or changes over time; to say that brain cancer or childhood defects are solely the cause of cell phone radiation (if at all) is to assume too much and ignore the myriad other factors that could account for defects or cancer development. My view is that there is plenty of evidence to show that cell phone radiation is indeed dangerous and harmful and that the FCC is not an impartial critic in this matter, and that those who say harm cannot be directly linked to cell phone radiation are actually the ones ignoring the facts.

First of all, Nylund and Leszczynski (2006) have clearly shown that mobile phone radiation causes changes in gene and protein expression in human endothelial cell lines. While their study showed that different levels of changes were seen across samples, the fact is that cell phone radiation does alter the body. This is significant because cancer growth is the uncontrolled replication of cells—and at a basic level, cell phone radiation is altering the way cells grow. This means that there is a fundamental link between cell phone radiation and cancer risk, and for this reason their study shows that cell phone radiation has the potential to be harmful.

Secondly, Gandhi et al. (2012) have shown that children are especially vulnerable to cell phone radiation, particularly because their bodies are still growing and external factors can have the greatest impact on their development. Cell phone radiation over a prolonged period of time can impact their growth in different ways. Gandhi et al. (2012) demonstrated through their testing and analysis that children’s heads absorb more radiation than adults and thus more safety precautions should be taken by the mobile phone industry. Their study supports the viewpoint that cell phone radiation is harmful to the body.

Thirdly, Kesari, Siddiqui and Meena (2013) have shown that cell phone radiation exposure can adversely affect the brain and can cause neurodegenerative disease. Any type of prolonged…