Radiation: are mobile phones unsafe? Mobiles use electromagnetic radiation in order to send and receive information. Electromagnetic radiation comes from the electromagnetic spectrum.

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Contents……………………………………………………………………………..2

Introduction & background science………………………………………..……...3

How mobile phones work…………………………………………………………..4

Arguments for (Mobile phones are unsafe)………….………………….……4 – 8

Arguments against (Mobile phones are safe)………………………..……...8 –13

Conclusion………………………………………………………………………….14

References.………………………………………………………………………...15

Mobile phones have dramatically changed the way we live and work and are becoming increasingly popular as the years are going by. Approximately 85% of the adult population in the UK own a mobile phone – many of which are not aware of any risks towards using this type of communication. Many people are not prepared to put a stop to using mobiles since these devices are such a popular means of communication, and so well endured by the public. People are able to send out phone calls, text messages, pictures, videos, access the internet and email. Some apparent risk factors are that mobile phones can kill brain cells and sperm and can cause leukaemia or brain tumors. Some scientists believe that microwaves which come from mobile phones have a link to cancer, however this has not been proven. Mobile phones havn’t been around for a very long time, they’ve only been a part of people’s everyday lives for around 20 years. This means that evidence whether mobiles are bad for your health or not is not completely clear yet. A considerable amount of people are for the idea that mobile phones are unsafe, however many people are also against this. The answer to the question ‘are mobile phones unsafe?’ is debatable.

Background science

Mobiles use electromagnetic radiation in order to send and receive information. Electromagnetic radiation comes from the electromagnetic spectrum - the range of all possible frequencies of electromagnetic radiation. This includes Gamma rays, X-rays, Ultraviolet, Visible, Infrared, Microwave and Radiowave. Gamma having the highest energy level, and radiowave the lowest. Gamma, X-Rays and UV radiation are all ionising. The more energy per photon, the more ionising the radiation. Ionising radiation consists of subatomic particles or electromagnetic waves that are energetic enough to detatch electrons from atoms or molecules, ionizing them. It can cause chemical reactions in the body, which can lead to cell changes and can then develop into cancerous cells/cancer. Electromagnetic waves are described by any one of the following 3 physical properties: frequency, wavelength and photon energy. Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit time. Wavelength is the distance between repeating units of a given frequency. Photon Energy is a packet of electromagnetic energy. The type of electromagnetic radiation mobile phones use is Microwaves. This has one of the lowest energy levels and is not ionising - however, this does not necessarily mean it is almost harmless.

How mobile phones work

A mobile phone network operates with two communicating elements - the handset and the base station. Without base stations mobile phones wouldn’t work. Base stations are often called phone masts or antennas. These stations are smaller versions of transmitter towers that you will see around in almost any place and serve as the electronic bridge between two mobile phones. The mobile phone handset transmits radiowaves to the base station, which carry the call of the phone user. The base station transmits radiowaves to the mobile phone and this carries the call of the person the phone user is listening to. They send signals to and from the phone network by the base station.

Arguments for

  1. The heating effect – cancer and brain tumors

The use of radio waves and magnetic fields in relation to mobile phones and base stations has become a safety concern for some people.

“A well known fact is that if you talk on a mobile phone more than 20 minutes your brain temperature raises up to 2 degrees.” 

This is a clear piece of evidence for microwave radiation performing “the heating effect”. Mobile phones can cause biological damage through this heating effect, causing effects such as headaches, earaches, short-term memory loss, tingling and burning sensations, blurring of vision, numbing and disturbed sleep.

“Dr Henry Lai and Dr N. P. Singh tested in labs that radiation changed brain cell membranes in the rats and the effects are so severe that it could affect humans, too.” -

This testing on the rats showed that radiation caused the brain cell membranes to change, which gives us evidence that radiation does infact cause some type of change as an effect of being exposed to it. It gives us evidence that microwave radiation is not completely safe.

How does this heating cause brain tumors/cancer?

If the cells are heated, it may cause them to become damaged. Cancer is caused by genetic damage that happens inside an individual cell. This damage can be cause by the microwaves given off while you are on a mobile phone. These cells then divide at an accelerated rate, causing the tumor. This tumor is then fed by the nutrients which diffuse through the neighbouring blood vessels.

Here is a diagram (taken from the same website - ) to help illustrate this process:

Reports have alleged that radio waves from mobile phones can affect the human brain.” -

The report from the bbc goes on to say how excessive use of a mobile phone can be damaging towards the human brain, especially children and youths because their thinner skulls make them prone to absorbing radiation. The bbc also carried out a survey to see how long people spend on the phone in a day and to see the effects on them as a result of this…

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“We have just carried out a survey of 500 users that shows that 12% of users use their phones for more than 20 minutes a day, and that 1.8% use them for more than two hours a day. It is that 1.8% that we are worried about - that is about 250,000 people who are being put at risk of serious ill health.”

The effects of this were quite shocking. Some information which was found out from this survey was that many users complain about sufferring from headaches, tiredness and in the long term - leukaemia.

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