NTP May Test Cell Phones.

At its 30 June 2000 meeting, the Executive Committee of the National Toxicology Program (NTP) approved a recommendation for the NTP to study radio frequency radiation emissions from wireless communication devices, which include cellular phones. The NTP is currently evaluating the need, feasibility, and scope of a possible testing program.

The recommendation came from the Food and Drug Administration, which regulates electronic products that emit radiation. The administration noted in its nomination that in the United States alone over 80 million people currently use portable communication devices, with about 25,000 new users daily.

Cell phones use low-level microwave radiation to communicate between the caller and a base station. If tissues are exposed to strong enough microwave fields, the rise in tissue temperature can cause well-documented thermal effects such as cataracts, deep-tissue burns, and heat stroke. Cell phones are currently required to meet exposure guidelines established by the Federal Communications Commission to protect against acute injury from thermal effects. However, nonthermal effects, which occur at much lower levels of exposures, are neither well established nor, consequently, protected against through regulation. Some research has suggested that such microwave radiation may influence DNA synthesis and tumor growth through unspecified ways.

It is widely agreed by scientists that more research is needed before any firm conclusions can be drawn regarding the human health effects of cell phone use. Scott Masten, head of the Office of Chemical Nomination and Selection, which coordinates and reviews nominations for NTP studies, says, "The public health concern and public health awareness about potential hazards of cell phone use is very clear. There's also a great deal of research effort globally on the health effects of radio frequency radiation emissions from wireless communication devices. Just the number of people exposed worldwide would make it a potential public health problem if any adverse effects were to be identified."