LG AX4270 User Manual

Page 74

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AX4270

73

source. The so-called “cordless phones,” which have a

base unit connected to the telephone wiring in a house,

typically operate at far lower power levels, and thus

produce RF exposures far below the FCC safety limits.

4. What are the results of the research done already?

The research done thus far has produced conflicting

results, and many studies have suffered from flaws in their

research methods. Animal experiments investigating the

effects of Radio Frequency (RF) energy exposures

characteristic of wireless phones have yielded conflicting

results that often cannot be repeated in other laboratories.

A few animal studies, however, have suggested that low

levels of RF could accelerate the development of cancer in

laboratory animals. However, many of the studies that

showed increased tumor development used animals that

had been genetically engineered or treated with cancer-

causing chemicals so as to be pre-disposed to develop

cancer in the absence of RF exposure. Other studies

exposed the animals to RF for up to 22 hours per day. These

conditions are not similar to the conditions under which

people use wireless phones, so we don’t know with

certainty what the results of such studies mean for human

health. Three large epidemiology studies have been

published since December 2000. Between them, the

studies investigated any possible association between the

use of wireless phones and primary brain cancer, glioma,

meningioma, or acoustic neuroma, tumors of the brain or

salivary gland, leukemia, or other cancers. None of the

studies demonstrated the existence of any harmful health

effects from wireless phone RF exposures. However, none

of the studies can answer questions about long-term

exposures, since the average period of phone use in these

studies was around three years.

5. What research is needed to decide whether RF
exposure from wireless phones poses a health risk?

A combination of laboratory studies and epidemiological
studies of people actually using wireless phones would
provide some of the data that are needed. Lifetime animal
exposure studies could be completed in a few years.
However, very large numbers of animals would be needed
to provide reliable proof of a cancer promoting effect if one
exists. Epidemiological studies can provide data that is
directly applicable to human populations, but 10 or more
years follow-up may be needed to provide answers about
some health effects, such as cancer. This is because the
interval between the time of exposure to a cancer-causing

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