Mary McBride led the Canadian component of a multinational, decade-long study – released in May of 2010 – that tracked the cell phone use and incidence of brain tumors of about 13,000 people over 13 countries. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and the Canadian Institutes for Health Research conducted the study. EarthSky originally published this interview on May 31, 2010. We release it again here in light of the World Health Organization listing of cell phones on its category 2B list of things possibly carcinogenic to humans.
How could cell phone use interact with the body to elevate cancer risk?
Cancer is considered a two-stage process. The first step is a change to the DNA, to the genetic material. That’s called the initiation step. And that can occur if there is a genetic mutation, for example, or if something like x-rays damages the DNA. The second type of step, what’s called the promoting step, there’s various mechanisms that can promote an already susceptible cell and change it further into a cancer cell. So the question of whether radio frequency fields could actually cause DNA damage was looked at extremely closely. It’s probably more likely that if these radio frequency fields cause cancer, it’ll be more at the later stages of development, at the promoting stages, which is why we think our information for users of ten years or less is definitely relevant to individuals and to the population.
What did your study find?
What we have found is that there doesn’t appear to be any large risk of brain tumors from cell phone use. And there doesn’t seem to be any short-term risk from cell phones. We know that there’s some uncertainty in our calculations. We looked to previous studies and the lab studies to be consistent with that. So I think that’s a very important conclusion.
Your study found that moderate cell phone use – defined in the study as under a half hour a day – was not linked to brain cancer. However, your study was less conclusive about heavier use of cell phones. Tell us about that.
It’s probably useful to point out that although more people are using them, and they’re probably using them for longer, cell phone technology has also changed, so that the newer technology phones, digital versus the older analog phones, produce lower emissions of radio frequency fields. Also, practices such as using a headset or texting reduce exposure to the individual for any individual call, given that the actual main source of exposure, the cell phone antenna, is farther away from the body.
Can using your cell phone give you brain cancer?
We don’t exactly know. We’re reassured that for the casual user, there is no conclusive evidence that cell phones do cause cancer. We still do not know about heavy users, long-term users, or children as users.
Where did Dr. McBride receive her Doctorate?
Mary McBride has participated in at least two important studies for Health Canada .
The Royal Society and the Interphone.In both studies the Canadian panel found no found
no problem with cell phones where other countries did find reason to take precautionary measures.
I question why Health Canada did not use a credible independent scientist so that we could get
the truth as this is a very serious matter to do with life and death.
As for Mary McBride I feel she should be preaching precaution rather than appearing for the wireless industry and the electric power companies saying there is no problem living near power lines or cell towers,being that she is with a
society that is supposed to find the cause for cancer and being that there are studies that
show that electromagnetic fields can cause childhood leukemia.
She is a fraud! She is not a Doctor! CTV just exposed this woman – just google her name DR. Mary McBride and you will learn all about the corruption of science to hide the truth about the dangers of EMF. All of her published papers list her as having a Doctorate degree! Just dreadful!
I am in disbelief to learn that E&S would publish the rantings of a charlatan. Couldn’t someone have vetted this woman? What a blow to science.
I hope that EarthSky will interview some of the many scientists such as Professor Magda Havas of Trent University or Dr. Olle Johannson of the Karolinska Institute in Sweden who can provide a more accurate view of the cellphone and microwave radiation issue. Ms. Havas has written an excellent critique of the Interphone study. Dr. Johannson said that the only safe level of microwave (cellphone) radiation is zero.
I do prefer their use of the precautionary principle to Ms. McBrides’s conjecture.
By the way, how meaningful is “it’s probably more likely that if…”? It sounds like Ms. McBride does not really know, doesn’t it?
While Mary McBride is Senior Scientist with the British Cancer Agency, I got her title wrong, as she holds a Master’s of Science and not a Doctorate. My apologies for the error, and thank you for alerting us to it.
Ms. McBride has obviously not spoken to me or any of the other EMR (electro magnetic radiation sufferers – and there are thousands all over the world and growing!) who have to live with emissions from cell towers and WIFI. It has changed our lives forever!
Ms. McBride’s ‘research’ has no credibility whatsoever. Her responses are lame and non-commital. She is taking this very serious problem lightly and has obviously not done the actual science as Prof. Magda Havas has and many scientists around the world.
The truth is willfully hidden from the public!
I find I respect designboom more for the insufficient comment obsession :)
Sehr interessanter Post den du da verfasst hast. Endlich hab ich das gefunden was ich gesucht hatte. Ich wuerde auch gerne den RSS Feed von deinem Webblog abonieren aber leider finde ich diesen nicht. Wo muss ich denn danach suchen?
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Mit freundlichen Grüßen – Jorge
None of the comments nor the interview address the main issue: How would low frequency EMF cause deleterious actions in the first place? Compared to the intensity of radiation from just the warmth of our our environment, the EMF has very little power. I mean how many proponents of EMF danger claim the ground underneath a power line is even 0.1 degree warmer? None I would guess.
You cannot comment on that about which you know nothing. Cell phones emit microwaves. Microwaves cook. Lowering the power just increases the cooking time. I find it impossible to believe that holding a microwave transmitter to your head does not damage tissue. “Low power” and other soothing terms do not mitigate the danger.
And yes, living under a high voltage power line is dangerous too. Power lines emit soft Xrays. What part of RADIATION do you not understand?
Very interesting reading.
This is the latest from WHO on cancer risks.