Evidence #1
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1969732-1,00.html
This article from TIME Magazine uses both expertise and observation to make it's point. The experts would be the National Cancer Institute and The World Health Organization, and the observers would be other scientists. I feel that other scientists are observers because they can not prove anything yet. They FEEL as though cell phones emit radiation, yet they have no evidence proving exactly that statement. On the other hand, cancer societies are saying that there is no direct threat through studies, making them experts on the situation as they have conducted many studies.
It is hard to apply criteria to the experts as they are whole groups. Both of these groups have done significant research on many medical things, including cancer, and can be trusted as health organizations do not publish findings without being certain of them. They are nationally known and both have pristine reputations, and can always be trusted as they provide strong evidence for the claims they make. The other scientists, though, do not make as strong of a case. They can only speculate as they do not have enough information, but are also helpful in swaying the population to believe that cell phones are harmful to health. They are experts in what they are studying (cell phones in a health context) and can assess the situation, but still do not have a solid answer on how dangerous cell phones really are.
Both experts and observers are reliable. Not only is the article from Time, which is very well known and respected, the experts are large organizations that have always been trusted. We feel this is a great source of information.
Evidence #2
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/devra-davis-phd/cell-phones-and-brain-can_b_585992.html
This article, written by Dr. Devra Davis, discusses perfectly brain tumors and their connection to cell phone use. It is completely done through expert testimony, as Dr. Davis is very passionate about her studies and findings.
Education: B.S. in physiological psychology and a M.A. in sociology from the University of Pittsburgh, a Ph.D. in science studies from the University of Chicago, and a M.P.H. in epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins University.
Experience: Opened the first Center for Environmental Oncology at the University of Pittsburgh. This center houses some of the top scientists in locating where tumors and other cancers come from, which is directly related to our topic. She also worked for President Clinton on the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation board for five years.
Publications and Accomplishments: Over 170 scientific journal publications, and 11 books written, two making it to the bestseller lists. The list of awards is much to long to copy down, but the most prominent is the fact that she was was honored by the Betty Ford Comprehensive Cancer Center and the American Cancer Society with the Breast Cancer Awareness Award, and was commended by the Director of the National Cancer Institute for Outstanding Service.
Positions: She has been working in the field of cancer research since the early eighties. All of the jobs she has had were pertaining directly to cancer and how it is caused. Her most recent employment is at the University of Pittsburgh where she head the Environmental Oncology Center, and as a guest professor at Georgetown University.
Reputation: Perfect. Not one bad article is written about her online, and she has achieved so many wonderful things in her field including all of the awards received.
Assessment: In our opinions, Dr. Davis is an extremely good source to use in our analysis of the claim that cell phones cause cancer. In this specific blog posting Davis did on May 22, 2010, she gives us strong reason to believe that there is not enough evidence to be certain that cell phones increase the risk of a brain tumor, specifically, in humans. She also points out the flaws in many case studies that have been going on for about a decade; that they are never able to use teens, as they have not developed any tumors yet even though they are the most prominent users of the electronic devices. This particular post seems to disprove our claim, but at the very end changes it's mind and provides clear evidence as to why our claim is relevant and close to the truth. She states that although there is not a lot of evidence on the subject, the population should still be wary. This quote sums up Dr. Davis' complete thoughts on the subject of cell phones and brain tumors:
"After ten years of use, increased risks from tobacco and asbestos were not clearly evident, yet nobody today doubts that we waited far too long before addressing these important health hazards. For the sake of our children and grandchildren, we should promote simple precautions to reduce direct exposure to the brain by using headsets, speaker phones and texting. This will protect us from whatever health hazards may emerge decades later and also encourage safer development of this revolutionary technology in the meantime."
Evidence #3
http://www.medpagetoday.com/Neurology/BrainCancer/17308
http://www.smartwords.biz/resume/index.htm
http://www.medpagetoday.com/reviewer.cfm?reviewerid=512
John Grever, the author of this article, is a well qualified medical journalist who has more than 16 years of experience. Dori F. Zaleznik MD, reviewed this article provided her extensive knowledge and experience in the medical field. Dori F. Zalznik MD has a plethora of knowledge regarding infectious diseases, and has participated in many medical fields related to internal medicine.
European researchers have collected the data from the national registries of Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden to analyze the relationship of cellular phones and brain tumors. The data that was collected and analyzed from 1974 to 2003 conclude that there has been a slight increase in cases of Glioma and Meningioma. Researchers noted that cellular phones did not become widely popular until the 1990's, correlating with the increase in cases of brain tumors.
Evidence #4
"Dr. George Carlo Dr. George Carlo, Ph.D, M.S., J.D, is a public health scientist, epidemiologist, lawyer, and the founder of the Science and Public Policy Institute. Dr. Carlo headed the $28.5 million research program funded by the cell phone industry from 1993 to 1999. Dr. Carlo has appeared on 20/20, 60 Minutes, World News Tonight, CBS News with Dan Rather and The Today's Show, as well as on CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC." (emf-health.com)
According to this interview, Dr. Carlo found that there were in fact increased cases of brain tumors and eye cancer... he estimates that in our current year, 2010, that there will be about 500,000 cases of brain tumors and eye cancer that can be attributed to cell phone usage and radiation.
In a letter he wrote to the chairman of AT&T in 1999 he states that:
"The risk of acoustic neuroma, a benign tumour of the auditory nerve that is well in range of the radiation coming from a phone's antenna, was fifty percent higher in people who reported using cell phones for six years or more, moreover, that relationship between the amount of cell phone use and this tumour appeared to follow a dose-response curve; The risk of rare neuroepithelial tumours on the outside of the brain was more than doubled, a statistically significant risk increase, in cell phone users as compared to people who did not use cell phones; There appeared to be some correlation between brain tumours occurring on the right side of the head and the use of the phone on the right side of the head..." (emf-health.com)
Dr. Carlo is revered as an expert in his field and has served as a consultant for groups such as U.S. Congress, World Health Organization, National Institutes of Health, Food and Drug Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, Centers for Disease Control, and Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. He has published over 100 articles, headed a research project that studied the effects of cellular phone usage (as referenced above) and is often called on to speak for interviews and programs that pertain to his area of expertise.
We feel that Dr. Carlo is a very qualified expert in the area of cell phone radiation and the effects it has on the human body over extended periods of time.
Evidence #5
1) http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/cellphones
2) http://www.rfcom.ca/programs/interphone.shtml
3) http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/publications/idi/2010/Material/MIS_2010_Summary_E.pdf
4) http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/popclockworld.html
This article [1] posted by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) dissects the concern regarding cellular phone use causing cancer.
They first recognize that cellular phones DO emit radio frequency (RF) energy due to the technology of cellular communication, confirming then, that the user would be exposed to radiation. However, according to their research, the specific type of radiation emitted (low-frequency v.s. the high frequency of, say, an X-ray machine) has not been conclusively proven to have any effect on the tissues in the body. Although, they do admit that more research needs to be conducted to completely prove this.
The article then goes into great depth on the research done recently to link brain, neck and other head tumors to cellular phone usage. The most recent, and large-scale study, was completed this year and was a case-controlled study, labeled the Interphone study [2]. The study was conducted amongst 13 countries, and over 13000 participants, approximately half of them had been diagnosed with various types of cancer, and the control group had not. Their method of using a case study was appropriate for the topic as there isn't any other way to gather the information they need. They had many participants and included them from all over the world so that they'd be a good representation of the masses, however, it can be called to question the many other environmental, and biological factors that could cause cancer and overall 13,000 people is an infinitesimally small percentage of the number of cellular phone subscriptions worldwide, 4.6 billion [3], and even less of the earth's entire population, approximately 700 billion [4]. They are also relying on individual testimony regarding cell phone habits which could very easily be exaggerated or misrepresented.
They state that their findings were inconclusive, however we noticed in the writing of this article that the author used words such as: "overall," "small," "some," "slight increase;" slanters used to minimize the findings or to give the reader a sense of insignificance for the results.
In 2001, NCI published their own study and their results were similar to those of the more recent Interphone study. They published the article under the title, "No Association Found Between Cellular Phone Use and Risk of Brain Tumors."
As an organization that makes up one of the 11 comprising the Department of Health and Human Services, we have to conclude that they are a good source for accurate and thorough information. They don't endorse the use of any specific commercial products (according to their website) so we can assume that they have no affiliation one way or another with any special interest groups.
