Bad connection

Published: 05 July 2011

Are radiofrequency electromagnetic fields, including those caused by mobile phones,  carcinogenic to humans?

In July Lancet Oncology  published a précis from a meeting of the  International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) which classified radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF), including those caused by mobile phones,as “possibly” carcinogenic to humans (division 2B in the IARC classification).

This evaluation was supported by a large majority of the Working Group membership that included 30 scientists from 14 countries. The group conceded that the evidence surrounding RF-EMF and cancer was “limited” and there was some dissent saying that the evidence was inadequate.

The news was met with some criticism in the popular press, the best of which, to my mind, can be found in a blog from Scientific American.

-Dion Smyth