ABSTRACT
CONTENTS 7.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 265 7.2 Epidemiology .................................................................................................................... 266 7.3 Exposure Sources.............................................................................................................. 267 7.4 Cancer ................................................................................................................................. 267
7.4.1 Brain Tumors and Mobile Telephony ............................................................... 267 7.4.2 Acoustic Neuroma and Cancers Outside the Brain........................................ 269 7.4.3 RF Exposure from Transmitters ......................................................................... 269 7.4.4 Occupational Studies ........................................................................................... 270 7.4.5 RF Exposure and Cancer-Conclusions ........................................................... 271
7.5 Subjective Symptoms ....................................................................................................... 272 7.6 Pregnancy Outcomes........................................................................................................ 272 7.7 Discussion and Conclusions ........................................................................................... 273 References ................................................................................................................................... 273
Historically, exposures to more than minimal radio frequency (RF) fields have been rare andmostly limited to occupational settings. In the general population the exposure sources were distant radio and television transmitters, with fields far below exposure guidelines. With the introduction and widespread use of mobile phone technology, the number of people in the general population exposed to low level RF fields has increased tremendously, not only through the use of the phone itself but also through the exposure frombase stations, although fields from base stations are considerably lower than from the phones. The rapid increase in mobile phone use has led to a growing concern among the public about potential harmful effects of these exposures. Current exposure guidelines are based on acute effects from heating of tissue. For
exposure levels below these guidelines there is no known mechanism by which extremely low frequency (ELF) or RF fields might cause health effects such as cancer or different types of symptoms. This chapter will review the epidemiological evidence regarding potential health effects of exposure to RF fields below current guidelines that cannot cause substantial heating of tissue.
