Cell Phone RadiationHealth, Safety Standards,

Precaution

Dariusz Leszczynski, PhD, DSc

Research ProfessorSTUK - Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority, Helsinki, Finland

&Adjunct Professor

University of Helsinki, FinlandDisclaimer: all opinions are my own and not of my employer

The Commonwealth Club of CaliforniaDariusz Leszczynski in Expert Roundtable:

Skeptical About Cell Phones and Health?December 9, 2013, San Francisco

Who am I?

Was a member of the IARC Working Group that in May 2011 classified cell phone radiation as a possible human carcinogen

Full CV available on my science blog: ‘BRHP – Between a Rock and a Hard Place’

The Commonwealth Club of CaliforniaDariusz Leszczynski in Expert Roundtable:

Skeptical About Cell Phones and Health?December 9, 2013, San Francisco

Epidemiological evidence• Epidemiological studies lack reliable dosimetric information• Do not consider sufficiently cancer latency• Studied cancer only; what about other ailments

Human volunteer studies• Lack of biomarkers of response• Too much relying on the subjective observations of volunteers

Animal studies• Negative results do not mean no effect in humans

In vitro studies• Needed for discovering the mechanisms• Huge diversity in design causes problems with interpretation

The Commonwealth Club of CaliforniaDariusz Leszczynski in Expert Roundtable:

Skeptical About Cell Phones and Health?December 9, 2013, San Francisco

Evidence of biological effects remains contradictory• Effect on DNA

• Indirect DNA damage or inhibition of repair of spontaneously occurring (radiation unrelated) damage of DNA?

• Effect on gene & protein expression • Observed in vitro (genes & proteins) and in human volunteers

(proteins; genes not studied yet)

• Cellular stress response – candidate for the mechanism?• Observed in different cell models and with different exposures• Might affect expression of genes involved in cancer

• Physiological and health impact , if any, of the above biological effects remains undetermined

• Effects are non-thermal

The Commonwealth Club of CaliforniaDariusz Leszczynski in Expert Roundtable:

Skeptical About Cell Phones and Health?December 9, 2013, San Francisco

Leszczynski et al. 2002 Caraglia et al. 2005 Friedman et al. 2007 Buttiglione et al. 2007 Yu et al. 2008 Lee et al. 2008

Possible mechanismCell phone radiation affects stress response

Invoking the Precautionary Principle

“Whether or not to invoke the Precautionary Principle is a decision exercised where scientific information is insufficient, inconclusive, or uncertain and where there are indications that the possible effects on environment, or human, animal or plant health may be potentially dangerous and inconsistent with the chosen level of protection.”

Commission of the European CommunitiesBrussels, 2.2.2000; COM(2000) 1 final

The Commonwealth Club of CaliforniaDariusz Leszczynski in Expert Roundtable:

Skeptical About Cell Phones and Health?December 9, 2013, San Francisco

ConclusionsIARC classification of the cell phone radiation as a possible carcinogen is a sufficient reason for invoking Precautionary Principle

Current safety standards are insufficient because use of an off-the-shelf cell phone (considered to be safe) was shown to increase the risk of brain cancer

Users, especially children, should be encouraged to limit exposures

Research should continue to find out how human body reacts to cell phone radiation

The Commonwealth Club of CaliforniaDariusz Leszczynski in Expert Roundtable:

Skeptical About Cell Phones and Health?December 9, 2013, San Francisco