An Open Letter to Prof. Markowsky | Cell Phones are Not Like Light Bulbs or Television Sets and Should Have Warning Labels | by Lloyd Morgan, March 7, 2010

Dear Professor Markowsky,
My name is Lloyd Morgan.  I testified in support of LD 1706.  I have attached a fully referenced Report, Cellphones and Brain Tumors: 15 Reasons for Concern.  This report has gone out to over 150,000 media outlets around the world.  It has received substantial media converage but has not had one statement challenged either by industry, the media, or by individuals.  As you can see it has been endorsed by a large group of scientist from around the world.  I would ask you to challenge anything you find incorrect in the report and I would be glad to respond.
 
Your Guest Column makes many assertions that are incorrect.
1)  You write, "Can openers, microwave ovens, television sets, fluorescent lights, light bulbs, fax machines, computers, video monitors, computer wireless cards, refrigerators, radio-TV towers and stoves are just some of the devices that emit electromagnetic radiation. Some of this radiation is significantly more energetic than that emitted by cell phones."
As you must know electromagnetic fields (EMFs) decrease as the square of the distance from the source (e.g., 4 times further away 1/16 the strenght; 100 times further away 1/10.000 the strength, etc).  While it is quite true that radio and TV transmitters radiate enormously more power than cellphones, because of the distance of a cellphone transmitter from the head is very close when held to the ear, and the distance of any radio or TV transmitter is enormously larger distance, the radiation energy absorbed by the head is many orders of magnitude (factors of 10) compared to the radio or TV radiation energy absorbed by the head.
 
2)  You write, "The energy of all electromagnetic radiation is carried by particles called photons. The energy of a photon depends only on its frequency: the higher the frequency the higher the energy."
The physics paradigm you are using in your discussion assumes that only ionizing radiation can cause cancer because only ionizing radiation has sufficient energy to break DNA bonds.  While it is true that the non-ionizing radiation from cellphones does not have the energy to directly break DNA bonds it has been shown that cellphone radiation both creates free radicals and increases the lifetime of free radicals (see www.bioinitiative.org <http://www.bioinitiative.org/> ) and free radical can break DNA bonds.  There are also multiple studies showing both in animal studies (in-vivo) and in cell studies (in-vitro) DNA mutations resulting from cellphone radiation (see attached report).
 
3)  You write, "In addition, our bodies receive a constant stream of electromagnetic radiation in the form of cell phone, radio and TV signals whether we are using any devices or not. Simply not using a cell phone will not spare you from electromagnetic radiation."
This is quite true.  But the point you miss is the intensity of the absorbed radiation when a cellphone is held directly to the head [see 1) above].  This is why the warning labels says, "It is recommended that children and pregnant women keep this device away from their head and body."
 
4) You write, "People allege that cell phone radiation is harmful because of some studies that show a correlation between cell phone usage and various types of brain cancers. Many of these studies are not a basis for policy because they involve small numbers of people and are statistically flawed."
Both the Telecom-funded Interphone Study and the independently-funded Swedish Study by Dr. Hardell's team have thousands of cases and controls.  Both studies find statistically signicant risk of brain tumors from 10 or more years of cellphone use (see the attached report).  Indeed these 2 studies are the 2 largest case-control studies ever done for the risk of brain tumors.
 
5) You write, "There have been attacks on devices emitting electromagnetic radiation for many decades. At one time or another, people worried about the “deleterious health effects” of electric power lines ..."
Both the U.S. Government and the World Health Organization have declared that electrical power fields are a "possible human carcingen" mostly based on a multitude of studies showing a risk of childhood leukemia (acute lymphoblastic leukemia), and to a lesser extent, brain tumors.
 
I would be pleased to either meet with you and the Bangor Daily News editorial staff for an active discussion, or at minimum for your response to this email.
 
Respectfully,
Lloyd Morgan