Cell Phone Radio Frequency Radiation
Status: Completed Substances: Cell Phone Radiation: GSM Cell Phone Radiation: CDMA Nominated: May 1999
Cell phones are currently used by 95% of American adults. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) nominated radio frequency radiation (RFR) used by cell phones for an NTP study because of widespread public use of cell phones and limited knowledge about potential health effects from long-term exposure.
NTP conducted two-year toxicology studies in rats and mice to help clarify potential health hazards, including cancer risk, from exposure to RFR like that used in 2G and 3G cell phones which operate within a range of frequencies from about 700–2700 megahertz (MHz). These were published as Technical Reports in November 2018.
NTP uses a standard scale (graphic of NTP’s Level of Evidence Rating System for Cancer Studies) to determine the strength of the evidence for an association between the exposure and findings in the tissues or organs studied. The scale ranges from the highest rating of “clear evidence,” followed by “some evidence,” then “equivocal evidence,” and finally “no evidence.” Different organs or tissues can have different conclusions.
