New 5G cellphones revive concerns about radiofrequency radiation and cancer.
WASHINGTON — As wireless companies prepare to launch the next generation of service, there are new questions about the possible health risks from radiation emitted by cellphones and the transmitters that carry the signals.
Concerns about the potential harmful effects of radiofrequency radiation have dogged mobile technology since the first bricksized cellphones hit the market in the 1980s.
Industry and federal officials have largely dismissed those fears, saying that the radiation exposure is minimal and that the devices are safe. Incidences of and deaths from brain cancer have shown little change in recent years despite the explosion in cellphone usage, they note.
But the launch of superfast 5G technology over the next several years will dramatically increase the number of transmitters sending signals to cellphones and a host of new internet-enabled devices, including smart appliances and autonomous vehicles. And the move to the new technology comes after unsettling findings from a long-awaited federal government study of the cancer risk from cellphone use.
National Toxicology Program researchers released preliminary data in May that showed small increases in tumors in male rats exposed to cellphone radiation.
The rats were exposed to nine hours of radiation daily, in 10-minutes-on, 10-minutes-off intervals, over their whole bodies for two years. The researchers found increased incidences of rare brain and heart tumors starting at about the federally allowable level of cellphone radiation for brain exposure, with greater incidences at about two and four times those levels.
Extrapolating the results to humans gets complicated, and there were some puzzling findings as well. Why, for instance, did only male rats show increased tumor rates, and not females? Final results from the peer-reviewed study won’t be released until at least the end of 2017.
The study, which the American Cancer Society said marked “a paradigm shift in our understanding of radiation and cancer risk,” reignited debate about the potential harmful effects of cellphones on human health.
The concerns are amplified by the explosive growth in the number of cellphone subscribers over the last three decades and the increasing amount of time people are using mobile devices amid the popularity of social networks and streaming video.
Now, some experts and wireless-safety advocates are calling for more research as the nation prepares to take the leap into a 5G world that promises to offer more and faster services. And they are reiterating advice — echoed by federal officials — about steps that concerned consumers can easily take to reduce their exposure to radiofrequency radiation, such as using a headset to keep the phone away from their heads.