Health Risks Related to Cell Phone Use
Many people have raised the question: "Can cell phones cause brain damage?" The answer, well it depends on who you ask. There have been many studies that have all found various results. There have been studies on humans that were conducted by the Swedish, British, and Americans. There have also been tests conducted on animals.
In the U.S., cellular telephones operate in a frequency ranging from about 800 to 2100 megahertz (11). The radiation produced is higher than radios and cordless phones, but lower than that of microwave ovens and radar. The radiation emitted from cell phones is in the form of non-ionizing radio frequency (RF), which is different from ionizing radiation (11). Ionizing radiation can present a health risk, however it hasn't been proven if non-ionizing radiation presents a health risk. This is what many of the studies are trying to find.
The cell phone's main source of RF energy comes from the antenna (11). The antenna is usually along side the person's head while they speak on a cell phone. Some cell phones have antennas that extend out closer to the brain others have designed antennas that extend away from the head. According to the Federal Communications Commission, the Food and Drug Administration, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, cell phone radiation levels are well within the acceptable minimums for exposure (9). All of these are American administrations. There are other countries that have found other information.
The Swedish medical investigators say that cell phone users, especially of older analog phones, are at risk of developing brain tumors, which are most likely to appear on the side of the head where users hold their phones (9). Their report was based on a two-year evaluation of the cases of 233 patients with brain tumors. The Americans claim that everything is safe and the Swedish claim that cell phones can cause brain tumors, so whom do we listen to? We can only wait until there is solid evidence that RF radiation does or does not cause damage.
Cell phone signals were recently tested on rats and they were found to cause nerve damage. The study was on the web site of the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.
A reestablishment of the colony was attempted. It was decided that John White would be the governor. Unfortunately, Indians attacked the colonists numerous times and all their supplies ran out. They decided to send White to obtain supplies in England. He left behind his daughter and his granddaughter, Virginia Dare who was the first child of European decent born in America. When John White arrived in England, the country was involved with a war between Spain and themselves. When White finally was able to come back, 2 years later, there was no one to greet them on the shores of Roanoke Island. There was only an eerie silence. The entire colony was abandoned. As the ship's crew inspected the city they had called Raleigh, one man found "CROA" carved on a tree. To this day the whereabouts of this colony is a mystery.
Were the settlers attacked and “murdered? Did they die of natural causes? Or were they assimilated into Native American tribes?” The title of this documentary is Roanoke: The Lost Colony and directed by Brendan Greockel and Brian Leckey. This is an instructive documentary about the Roanoke settlers and how they suddenly disappear. “Croatoan” was the only clue left, carved on the trunk of a tree by the Roanoke Colony before they disappear. In the year 1587, over 100 English settlers came ashore Roanoke Island, NC, to establish the first English colony in America. Sir Walter Raleigh sent John
The next expedition to Roanoke was lead by “John White, a gifted amateur painter who kept a remarkable pictorial record of his experiences” (A Muse of Fire). Within six years this colony that was thought to be in a good location will have disappeared; “John White set off back to England for food and relief. On his return he blew a trumpet to announce his arrival. His men sang English songs, but there was no answer. The Roanoke colony was deserted”(A Muse of Fire). There are many different theories that many different people have compiled over the years including hostile Indians attacking the settlement. There is also the theory that comes from “scientists studying tree rings found that one of the worst droughts in eight hundred years took place during the settlement attempt” (Elvin 16).
The destiny of the Lost Colony of Roanoke is one of the biggest America unsolved mysteries. It is said that a group of 90 men, 17 women, and 9 children were set to arrive on a small island named Roanoke, just off of what now a days is North Carolina. The leader of this group was names John White. It is said that just a couple months after the arrival of this colony, John White had gone back to England to resupply. While on his way back he ran in to Queen Elizabeth who wanted every ship in sight to fight off the Spanish Armada. He was stuck there for three years. When he finally returned to Roanoke Island there was no evidence that there even was a colony once there. The only clue as to where they went was the letters “CROATAN” carved on a nearby tree. There are many theories as to just what happened to this colony. There is a theory that they all suffered starvation. Another one states that the Indians, who inhabited the island before, had captured and killed the colonists. One other theory is that they ran away with the Indians because John White had not returned in time. The most factual and most proven theory as to what happened to the lost colony of Roanoke is that they left their forts and resettled among the Indians.
When most people think of the early settlement they think of the first successful settlement, Jamestown, but this was not the first settlement in the New World. The settlement at Roanoke was the first attempt to colonize the New World. The settlement at Roanoke is often referred to as the “Lost Colony” because of its unusual disappearance. The reason people often do not know about the first settlement at Roanoke is because it was abandoned, forgotten, and lost. The Roanoke settlement was located on an island on the northern coast of what is now North Carolina. A few more than a hundred English men first settled the colony at Roanoke Island in 1584. The conditions were harsh and between the lack of supplies and the troubles with natives of the area the settlement was all but doomed from the start. Three years after the initial settlement was founded, in 1587, more English arrived this time there were one hundred and ten colonists that consisted not just of men, but of women and children as well. Women and children were brought to the New World so that the settlement could become a fully functioning society. Of course this idea obviously did not work out as planned. The war going on in Europe between the English and the Spanish caused a delay of more supplies and people. If there had not been a prolonged delay in the resupplying process the entire course of American history may not have been what we know it to be now. If the war had started any earlier or later then people might have known more about the original first settlement of the New World. All the evidence left when people returned to Roanoke following the war in Europe was the word “CROATOAN” carved into a tree. Historians believe these to be marks left by the Croatoan Indi...
The first settlement was built by the English and consisted of 117 men, women, and children on Roanoke Island; which is off the coast of North Carolina. Within three years all of the colonists had disappeared leaving no trace of what happened to them. Analysis of tree rings has shown that Roanoke Island had the worst three-year drought in the past 800 years during the time they settled and disappeared. This is just one of the many challenges that colonists faced.
Have you ever wondered what happened to the lost colony of Roanoke? This question has troubled archaeologists for decades. On August 18, 1590, also his granddaughter’s birthday, John White returned to the colony he had not seen in a long time. The place was deserted with the words “CRO” marked on the flag’s gatepost and “CROATOAN” engraved in the middle of a tree. There weren’t any bodies or sign of violence that had come upon them in the area. I strongly believe that the settlers of Roanoke were not killed, but merged into the nearby Croatoan tribe.
It is one of history’s greatest unsolved mysteries: what happened to the lost colony of Roanoke Island? Founded in August 1585 Sir Walter Ralegh, the first English settlement in the New World was found abandoned without a trace of the colonists in 1590; about a hundred years after Columbus “discovered” America, and a hundred years before Newton “discovered” gravity. Britain, at this time, is just dipping it’s baby toe into stealing America from the Native Americans, and Roanoke is the name of one of the first few of these permanent settlements. This occurrence is around 20 years prior to the first long standing settlement of Jamestown- meaning that this colony was a massive failure.
The colonists of Roanoke disappeared mysteriously around 1590. All the colonists were gone without a trace and without any exact way of letting anyone know what happened to them. When the governor of Roanoke, John White, arrived to Roanoke in 1590,there was only one clue about the disappearance that remained. The letters ''CRO''were written on a tree nearby. No one had knowledge of what happened to the colonists or where they might have gone. The question that is still being asked is,'' What happened in the time between when White left and returned?'' and , '' How did the events leading up to and after Roanoke affect the later colonies?'' There were eleven children, seventeen women, and ninety men that were supposed to be in Roanoke , but no remained. It is a mystery that hasn't been solved up to this day.
On the 26th day of April, 1607, three small ships - Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery - passed between Cape Charles and Cape Henry into the Chesapeake Bay for the purpose of founding a permanent colony in the land called Virginia. Captain Christopher Newport and the other voyagers took seventeen days to investigate the advantages and disadvantages of that region for such an undertaking(Carrier, 7).
Andrews, Charles M. The Colonial Period of American History Volume II: The Settlements. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1936.
Cell phones use radio frequencies to transmit signals. Radio Frequencies (RF) are a form of electrical waves similar to those used in radios, microwaves, radars or satellite stations. They are emitted from a transmitter, and received using an antenna. This telephony technology is restricted geographically to small zones called “Cells”. Every cell has a base station capable of sending and receiving radio waves. When a call is started a signal leaves the handheld unit headed to the closest base station. This station answers by allocating a specific channel to the unit. When this “channel” is established, modulated radio frequency signals are both received and transmitted. The head of the user is in the near field of use because the distance from the antenna to the head is a few centimeters. (Blettner & Berg 2000) If the antenna is inside the body of the phone, the exposure to Radio Frequencies is greater. The antenna might be requesting a stronger signal to contest with the interference of the battery or the actual shell of the phone’s body.
Rothman, K. (2008). “Epidemiological Evidence on Health Risks of Cellular Telephones.”. [online] Available at:http://www.controlyourimpact.com/2008/03/disadvantages-of-cell-phones/#_note-1[Accessed 8 May. 2014].
Brain tumors and eye cancer are two health concerns of cell phones that are currently under investigation. Many people have heard rumors about whether or not cell phones are responsible for these health problems, but answers never seem to be found.
To conclude i would like to say that regulatory agencies have concluded cell phones are safe, cell phone radiation is non-ionizing and studies indicate that there are long term risks but we need more data on intense sustained usage, and cell phones can be used more safely by only using them when signal strength is strong and the transmitter doesn’t have to transmit as much energy.