Mobile Phone Use Does Not Raise Cancer Risk in Children and Adolescents

August 9, 2011

The first-ever study of mobile phone use by children and adolescents carried out in four European countries found no increased risk of brain cancer, according to a report published online July 27 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI).

Investigators in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Switzerland conducted a multicenter case-control study involving children and adolescents 7 to 19 years of age who were diagnosed with a brain tumor between 2004 and 2008. The investigators, led by Dr. Denis Aydin of the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute in Basel, conducted interviews with 352 brain tumor case patients, 646 healthy control subjects, and their parents.

The children who regularly used mobile phones were not statistically significantly more likely to have been diagnosed with brain tumors than nonusers, the researchers reported. In addition, those who used mobile phones for at least 5 years did not have a statistically significantly higher risk of developing brain tumors. Moreover, the investigators found no increased risk of brain tumors in the parts of the brain that typically receive the highest levels of mobile-phone radiation exposure.

For some of the children, the investigators were also able to obtain data from mobile phone service providers. In these children, brain tumor risk rose with the amount of time since the family began its mobile phone subscription but not with the amount of mobile phone use as recorded by the service providers, the researchers added.

Previous epidemiologic studies among adult users have found no overall increased risk of brain cancer from mobile phone use. This study addressed concerns that the developing brains and nervous systems of children and adolescents might be more vulnerable to the potential adverse health effects of mobile phone use.

“Researchers continue to monitor trends in brain cancer and mobile phone use,” commented Dr. Martha Linet, chief of the Radiation Epidemiology Branch in NCI’s Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics. “Other ongoing research includes a large study of rodents exposed to mobile phone frequencies that is being conducted by the National Toxicology Program; a prospective study recruiting 250,000 mobile phone users in five European countries; and a case-control study comparing 2,000 young people between the ages of 10 and 24 who were diagnosed with brain tumors and an equal number of control subjects from 13 countries.”

Further reading: “A Conversation with Dr. Martha Linet on Cell Phone Use and Cancer Risk”

Mad as a Hatter

Mercury and Other Occupational Hazards at the Movies

By day, I conduct occupational safety and health research at NIOSH. But on Tuesday nights, I join my friends from NIOSH and the outside world as we head for one of Cincinnati's local art cinema houses to watch and then discuss movies. Most the time we seek out smaller foreign or independent films. But we made an exception when we recently saw Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland. We were drawn, not only to the promise of sumptuously creative visuals and evaporating cats, but also, in a small way, a reference to our vocation in the movie.

Why is the Mad Hatter mad? His erratic agitated behavior in this classic story refers to a real industrial hazard in Lewis Carroll's Britain of 1865 (hat-making was the main trade in Stockport, near where Carroll grew up). In those days, hatters commonly exhibited slurred speech, tremors, irritability, shyness, depression, and other neurological symptoms; ergo the expression "mad as a hatter." (Clearly, Carroll's Mad Hatter does not express all these symptoms; he is not shy.) The symptoms were caused by chronic occupational exposure to mercury. Hatters toiled in poorly ventilated rooms, using hot solutions of mercuric nitrate to shape and convert fur into felt hats. (More...)

Installation of thermal system insulation

In a change not specifically related to public employee health and safety, the Department of Commerce authority for regulation of thermal system insulation installation under s. 101.136, Wis. Stats. was repealed in the recently signed FY2011-13 biennial budget.

Background [http://legis.wisconsin.gov/lfb/2011-13%20Budget/Budget%20Papers/246.pdf]: Under 2009 Act 16, the Department of Commerce was required to regulate the business of installing and maintaining thermal system insulation installation under s. 101.136 of the statutes. Proponents of the legislation said that the legislation established uniform standards for the industry, established licensure and education requirements for persons who install thermal system insulation, and protected consumers from problems that could arise from improper installation of heat and frost insulation such as health threats from mold and mildew. Opponents of the rule suggested regulation of the industry is not needed, the license fee is too high, and the program would be a burden on the industry.

Commerce promulgated administrative rules to establish license and registration fees for thermal system mechanics, apprentices and helpers, but they did not implement the requirements. The Thermal System Insulation Council was not fully appointed (three of seven members were appointed) so there was no quorum, the Council never met to make recommendations to Commerce regarding proposed administrative rules, and Commerce did not hire a thermal system insulation inspector.

In the Executive Budget Book, the Walker administration indicated the program was recommended for deletion because there are no significant safety issues related to the profession of thermal system insulation mechanics, and the licensing requirements presented a significant barrier and cost to individuals entering the profession.

Budget bill and public employee safety regulation

The FY2011-13 biennial budget was passed and signed into law, and as indicated months ago the only change to regulation of public sector safety brought about by statutory changes will be a rebranding of the regulators from the Department of Commerce to the Department of Safety and Professional Services.

New substances added to HHS Report on Carcinogens

From NIH News

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services today added eight substances to its Report on Carcinogens, a science-based document that identifies chemicals and biological agents that may put people at increased risk for cancer.

The industrial chemical formaldehyde and a botanical known as aristolochic acids are listed as known human carcinogens. Six other substances — captafol, cobalt-tungsten carbide (in powder or hard metal form), certain inhalable glass wool fibers, o-nitrotoluene, riddelliine, and styrene — are added as substances that are reasonably anticipated to be human carcinogens. With these additions, the 12th Report on Carcinogens now includes 240 listings. (More...)

Yale death, PRL fire prompt new machine shop rules

Friday, April 29th, 2011 By Kurt Chirbas

Officials from Stanford’s Department of Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S) met with University leadership Monday to present newly drafted, institution-wide machine shop safety guidelines. The move, a departure from the University’s hands-off policy, was prompted by the April 11 death of a Yale senior Michele Dufault and Saturday’s after-hours fire at the Product Realization Lab (PRL).

Dufault died from accidental asphyxia after her hair caught in a metal lathe. No one was hurt in the PRL fire.

According to EH&S Associate Vice Provost Larry Gibbs, the change aims to create a common safety standard for machine shops across campus and to increase student accountability. (More...)

Not to be confused with other coming apocalypses

Found this tidbit in a recent CSHEMA post. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has finally released its overdue guidance on how to survive the coming zombie apocalypse. The tips may also apply to other minor disasters such as tornadoes and hurricanes.