Marvels & Marbles

After a meeting with scientists from around the world, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced this morning that it has now categorized mobile phone radiation as a “possible carcinogenic hazard.” This is a label that the WHO has also placed on lead, engine exhaust, and chloroform. This new warning is “based on an increased risk for glioma, a malignant type of brain cancer, associated with wireless phone use.”

A team of 31 scientists from 14 countries made the decision after reviewing peer-reviewed studies on mobile phone safety. Though there are no long-range studies that offer irrefutable proof that there is a link between mobile use and cancer, WHO scientists believe there is enough evidence of a link that the public should be warned, and urged not to hold cell phones close to their bodies. The WHO recommends using “hands free devices” like headsets to talk on the phone, or texting rather than calling, both of which can help reduce risks for glioma.

Source: <http://io9.com/5807050/world-health-organization-cell-phones-as-big-a-cancer-risk-as-lead-engine-exhaust-and-chloroform> Original text by the fantastic Annalee Newitz