Keep a distance to reduce risks

Re: “Study on cellphones and cancer is reassuring” (Opinion, March 9)

I disagree with the suggestion by Christopher Labos that there is no evidence to associate radio-frequency radiation (RFR) with cancer.

The new evidence for increased risk of brain cancer since the 2011 evaluation by a working group of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has come from updated case-control studies from Sweden and a large French case-control study as well as a re-evaluation of the Canadian components of the large Interphone multi-country case-control study.

The occurrence of two tumour types in male Harlan Sprague Dawley rats exposed to RFR, malignant gliomas in the brain and schwannomas of the heart, in the National Toxicology Program animal study, together with the casecontrol studies in humans strongly support the categorization of RFR as carcinogenic to humans (Category 1).

There is also strong evidence of hypersensitivity to RFR (microwave sickness) in a number of people.

This evidence makes it incumbent on all organizations to follow the California example so that all are made aware of the risks and know how to take steps to reduce them (distance is your friend!).

Anthony B. Miller, MD, professor emeritus, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Port Hope, Ont.