{"id":2725,"date":"2011-05-31T06:00:53","date_gmt":"2011-05-31T13:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/?p=2725"},"modified":"2012-06-01T11:31:24","modified_gmt":"2012-06-01T18:31:24","slug":"iarc-classifies-radiofrequency-electromagnetic-fields-as-possibly-carcinogenic-to-humans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/?p=2725","title":{"rendered":"IARC CLASSIFIES RADIOFREQUENCY ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS AS POSSIBLY CARCINOGENIC TO HUMANS"},"content":{"rendered":"

The WHO International Agency for Research on Cancer has just issued<\/em><\/p>\n

it’s decision that non-ionizing radiofrequency radiation is classified <\/em>as a 2B (Possible) Carcinogen.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n

This mirrors the 2001 IARC finding that extremely low frequency (ELF-EMF) that<\/em><\/p>\n

classified as a 2B (Possible) Carcinogen.\u00a0 This pertained to power frequency (power line<\/em><\/p>\n

and appliance) non-ionizing radiation.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n

These two findings confirm that non-ionizing radiation should be considered as a possible<\/em><\/p>\n

risk factor for cancers; and that new, biologically-based public safety standards are urgently <\/em>needed.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

PRESS RELEASE N\u00b0 208<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

IARC CLASSIFIES RADIOFREQUENCY ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS AS POSSIBLY CARCINOGENIC TO HUMANS<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lyon, France, May 31, 2011 \u2010\u2010 The WHO\/International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified radiofrequency electromagnetic fields as possibly carcinogenic to humans (Group 2B)<\/strong>, based on an increased risk for glioma<\/strong>, a malignant type of brain cancer1, associated with wireless phone use.<\/p>\n

Background<\/strong><\/p>\n

Over the last few years, there has been mounting concern about the possibility of adverse health effects resulting from exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields, such as those emitted by wireless communication devices. The number of mobile phone subscriptions is estimated at 5 billion globally<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

From May 24\u201331 2011, a Working Group of 31 scientists from 14 countries has been meeting at IARC in Lyon, France, to assess the potential carcinogenic hazards from exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields<\/strong>. These assessments will be published as Volume 102 of the IARC Monographs<\/em>, which will be the fifth volume in this series to focus on physical agents, after Volume 55 <\/strong>(Solar Radiation), Volume 75 <\/strong>and Volume 78 <\/strong>on ionizing radiation (X\u2010rays, gamma\u2010rays, neutrons, radio\u2010nuclides), and Volume 80 on non\u2010ionizing radiation (extremely low\u2010frequency electromagnetic fields)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The IARC Monograph Working Group discussed the possibility that these exposures might induce long\u2010term health effects, in particular an increased risk for cancer. This has relevance for public health, particularly for users of mobile phones, as the number of users is large and growing, particularly among young adults and children.<\/p>\n

The IARC Monograph Working Group discussed and evaluated the available literature on the following exposure categories involving radiofrequency electromagnetic fields:<\/p>\n

\u2423 occupational exposures to radar and to microwaves; \u2423 environmental exposures associated with transmission of signals for radio, television and wireless telecommunication; and \u2423 personal exposures associated with the use of wireless telephones.<\/p>\n

International experts shared the complex task of tackling the exposure data<\/strong>, the studies of cancer in humans<\/strong>, the studies of cancer in experimental animals<\/strong>, and the mechanistic and other relevant data<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

1 237 913 new cases of brain cancers <\/strong>(all types combined) occurred around the world in 2008 (gliomas represent 2\/3 of these). Source: Globocan 2008<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Results<\/strong><\/p>\n

The evidence was reviewed critically, and overall evaluated as being limited<\/em>2 among users of wireless telephones for glioma and acoustic neuroma, and inadequate<\/em>3 to draw conclusions for other types of cancers. The evidence from the occupational and environmental exposures mentioned above was similarly judged inadequate. The Working Group did not quantitate the risk; however, one study of past cell phone use (up to the year 2004), showed a 40% increased risk for gliomas in the highest category of heavy users (reported average: 30 minutes per day over a 10\u2010year period).<\/p>\n

Conclusions<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dr Jonathan Samet (University of Southern California, USA), overall Chairman of the Working Group, indicated that “the evidence, while still accumulating, is strong enough to support a conclusion and the 2B classification<\/strong>. The conclusion means that there could be some risk, and therefore we need to keep a close watch for a link between cell phones and cancer risk.”<\/p>\n

“Given the potential consequences for public health of this classification and findings,” said IARC Director Christopher Wild, “it is important that additional research be conducted into the long\u2010 term, heavy use of mobile phones. Pending the availability of such information, it is important to take pragmatic measures to reduce exposure such as hands\u2010free devices or texting. ”<\/p>\n

The Working Group considered hundreds of scientific articles; the complete list will be published in the Monograph. It is noteworthy to mention that several recent in\u2010press scientific articles4 resulting from the Interphone study <\/strong>were made available to the working group shortly before it was due to convene, reflecting their acceptance for publication at that time, and were included in the evaluation.<\/p>\n

A concise report summarizing the main conclusions of the IARC Working Group and the evaluations of the carcinogenic hazard from radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (including the use of mobile telephones) will be published in The Lancet Oncology in its July 1 issue, and in a few days online<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

2 ‘Limited evidence of carcinogenicity’<\/em><\/strong>: A positive association has been observed between exposure to the agent and cancer for which a causal interpretation is considered by the Working Group to be credible, but chance, bias or confounding could not be ruled out with reasonable confidence.<\/p>\n

3 ‘Inadequate evidence of carcinogenicity’<\/em><\/strong>: The available studies are of insufficient quality, consistency or statistical power to permit a conclusion regarding the presence or absence of a causal association between exposure and cancer, or no data on cancer in humans are available.<\/p>\n

4 a. ‘Acoustic neuroma risk in relation to mobile telephone use: results of the INTERPHONE international case\u2010 control study’ (the Interphone Study Group, in Cancer Epidemiology, in press<\/em>) b. ‘Estimation of RF energy absorbed in the brain from mobile phones in the Interphone study’ (Cardis et al., Occupational and Environmental Medicine, in press<\/em>)<\/p>\n

c. ‘Risk of brain tumours in relation to estimated RF dose from mobile phones \u2013 results from five Interphone countries’ (Cardis et al., Occupational and Environmental Medicine, in press<\/em>)<\/p>\n

IARC, 150 Cours Albert Thomas, 69372 Lyon CEDEX 08, France – Tel: +33 (0)4 72 73 84 85 – Fax: +33 (0)4 72 73 85 75 \u00a9 IARC 2011 – All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n

d. ‘Location of Gliomas in Relation to Mobile Telephone Use: A Case\u2010Case and Case\u2010Specular Analysis‘ (<\/strong>American<\/p>\n

Journal of Epidemiology, May 24, 2011. [Epub ahead of print].<\/p>\n

For more information<\/strong>, please contact Dr Kurt Straif<\/strong>, IARC Monographs Section<\/strong>, at +33 472 738 511, or straif@iarc.fr<\/strong><\/a>; Dr Robert Baan<\/strong>, IARC Monographs Section<\/strong>, at +33 472 738 659, or baan@iarc.fr<\/strong><\/a>; or Nicolas Gaudin<\/strong>, IARC Communications Group<\/strong>, at com@iarc.fr<\/strong><\/a> <\/strong>(+33 472 738 478) Link to the audio file <\/strong>posted shortly after the briefing: http:\/\/terrance.who.int\/mediacentre\/audio\/press_briefings\/<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

About IARC<\/strong><\/p>\n

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) is part of the World Health Organization<\/strong>. Its mission is to coordinate and conduct research on the causes of human cancer, the mechanisms of carcinogenesis, and to develop scientific strategies for cancer control. The Agency is involved in both epidemiological and laboratory research <\/strong>and disseminates scientific information through publications<\/strong>, meetings<\/strong>, courses, and fellowships<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

If you wish your name to be removed from our press release e\u2010mailing list, please write to com@iarc.fr<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Nicolas Gaudin, Ph.D. Head, IARC Communications International Agency for Research on Cancer <\/strong>World Health Organization 150, cours Albert\u2010Thomas 69008 Lyon France<\/p>\n

Email com@iarc.fr<\/strong><\/a> <\/strong>http:\/\/www.iarc.fr\/<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Download PDF<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n


\n<\/strong><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The WHO International Agency for Research on Cancer has just issued it’s decision that non-ionizing radiofrequency radiation is classified as a 2B (Possible) Carcinogen. This mirrors the 2001 IARC finding that extremely low frequency (ELF-EMF) that classified as a 2B (Possible) Carcinogen.\u00a0 This pertained to power frequency (power line and appliance) non-ionizing radiation. These two […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[151,71],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2725","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-iarc","category-who"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2725","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2725"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2725\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4107,"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2725\/revisions\/4107"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2725"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2725"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2725"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}