Monday, February 4, 2013

Is the U.S. in Denial? Italian Supreme Court Says Cell Phones Can Cause Cancer


Italian Supreme Court Rules Cell Phones Can Cause Cancer

This significant ruling may change everything you thought you knew about the safety of wireless.




What are the implications of this ruling for the United States?

Contrary to the denials of many heath agencies in the U.S. and in some other countries, the Italian Supreme Court has recognized a “causal” link between heavy mobile phone use and brain tumor risk in a worker’s compensation case.
The Italian courts dismissed research co-financed by the mobile phone industry including the WHO Interphone study due to concerns about conflict of interest.  Instead, the courts relied on independent research conducted by Lennart Hardell and his colleagues in Sweden which showed consistent evidence of increased brain tumor risk associated with long term mobile phone use. 

The business executive had used a cell phone for business, holding it on the same side of his head for 5-7 hours per day, for many years, before learning he had a brain tumor.  He had very few other risk factors and no family history of cancer.  He filed a Worker's Compensation Claim.  It was denied.  He sued and won.  And now, the Supreme Court has upheld the decision made by the lower court.  

On May 31, 2011, just after the DeKalb School Board had announced their intentions to put cell phone towers at 12 school campuses, but before they actually took a vote, the World Health Organization (WHO) classified radiofrequency energy, including cell phone radiation, as “possibly carcinogenic” in humans.  The 31 researchers convened by the WHO, considered to be among the very best in the world, relied heavily upon the Hardell research as well.

Are they hiding the truth from us?
It has been noted by many experts that research co-financed by the telecom industry over the past decade has been unlikely to report evidence of tumor risk.  In addition, industry-funded research has been reported to use methodology that is substandard compared to independently-funded research. Moreover, in more recently published research, authors of studies co-financed by the industry have dismissed the evidence of increased brain tumor risk they found in children as well as adults.
This issue raises concerns that conflicts of interest may have affected the conduct of the research and biased the reporting of it. Governments need to find a way to fund cell phone radiation research that is independent of the telecom industry in order to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest.

Why Can't We Find a Way?
Since there are now more than 330 million cell phone subscribers in the U.S., an annual fee of only 50 cents on each cell phone would generate sufficient resources to fund high quality, independent research.  Then, the government and the industry could work together to promote safer technology development and fund community education programs about safer cell phone use.
Although 12 nations and the European Union have issued precautionary health warnings regarding mobile phone use, the U.S. has been in denial. The Telecom industry has blocked numerous attempts to pass cell phone warning legislation at the Federal, state, and city level. The industry even refused to support a bill in the California legislature by Senator Mark Leno that would simply remind consumers to read the safety information that is currently printed in their cell phone user manuals.
Only one city has been able to overcome intense lobbying by the Telecom industry. San Francisco adopted cell phone “right to know” legislation two years ago, but the Telecom industry (i.e., CTIA-The Wireless Association) blocked implementation of this law by filing a lawsuit claiming that the court-approved fact sheet violates the industry’s First Amendment rights. The CTIA also moved its annual conference from San Francisco to punish the city.

The Victims Will Have Their Day in Court
The evidence of harm from cell phone radiation has been increasing so it is only a matter of time before lawsuits filed in U.S. courts by cell phone radiation victims will be successful. The Insurance industry will not provide product liability insurance due to concerns that juries will find that the Telecom industry has behaved much like the Tobacco and Asbestos industries. So the Telecom industry could be faced with paying huge damages to individuals and governments.

What the Telecom Industry Could Do ...
The Telecom industry could become good corporate citizens, reduce potential product liability and protect consumers’ health by allowing the FCC to adopt stronger regulations, by promoting precautionary safety warnings and by encouraging government to support independent research to promote safer wireless technologies.
Otherwise taxpayers may be forced to bail out yet another industry too big to fail.

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