EMF Health-effects Research

Spontaneous and nitrosourea-induced primary tumors in the central nervous system of rats exposed to 836MHz.

Adey WR, Byus CV, Cain CD, Higgins RJ, Keau CJ, Kuster N, MacMurray A, Stagg RB, Zimmerman G, Phillips JL, Haggren W

Radiation Research 152:293-302 1999


Motorola-funded

Contractors: University of Calif, Riverside; University of Calif, Davis; Pettis Memorial VA Medical Centre, Loma Linda, CA; Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich; Loma Linda University School of Allied Health Professions.


Fisher 244 rats were chronically-exposed to 836MHz modulated microwaves.

This lifetime animal experiment explored possible tumor initiation or promotion in rats exposed to digital (NADC/TDMA) RF signals comparable to those used in cellular telephony.

Exposure over a two-year period resulted in no evidence of increased tumorogenic effects. The researchers reported a trend towards reduced tumor incidence among the exposed vs. unexposed animals that was not significant for the overall animal population, but was reported to be significant among the 32 ENU-treated animals that died before the end of the study.

Additional Web Notes

This is the famous Adey study which found a slight supression of tumors by pulsed RF exposures, and was therefore promoted by the industry around the world as having 'proved safety'. In fact, as Adey points out, it proves the opposite -- that RF can have a significant biomedical effect on cells. If this effect is strong enough to kill cells (rather than just increase their rate of division) then it will surpress tumor formation, rather than promote it.

See also Dr Adey's overview of the evidence of R/F effects on the brain and nervous system.

Readers should, in general, be wary of Motorola- or Nokia-funded research, but some has clearly been done by top biomedical researchers, as is the case above. However the abstracts from these studies are often written by Motorola's PR department, and the contracts sometimes place limitations on reporting.

Some company-funded studies are difficult to judge in terms of credibility, and some are clearly dubious.





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