-Caveat Lector- From: Robert Weissman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: Multiple recipients of list CORP-FOCUS <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wednesday, November 03, 1999 11:18 PM Subject: Cell phone nightmare > Sorry for the delay in sending this out. It appears not to have been > delivered the first time it was forwarded to the list. > > Robert Weissman > Essential Information | Internet: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > CELL PHONE NIGHTMARE > By Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman > > Ready for a real scary Halloween story? > > Remember the Larry King Live show in 1993 on cell phones? David Reynard > was the guest. He had filed a lawsuit against NEC, a cell phone operator, > and other companies, alleging that his late wife's brain tumor was caused > in part by her use of a cell phone. > > The Reynard's lawsuit was dismissed in 1995, but Reynard's appearance on > the show created nationwide concern. At the time, there were 15 million > Americans using cell phones. > > The day after the Larry King Live show, the Cellular Telecommunications > Industry Association (CTIA) went on the offensive. Industry executives > said that there were thousands of studies that proved that wireless phones > were safe. In fact, there were no such studies about cell phone safety. > > But CTIA understood the basic reality of the situation, and so it decided > to spend $27 million over the next six years on health studies. > > They hired George Carlo, figuring he would be a perfect fit. Carlo is a > public health scientist, who had a good track record as an industry > researcher. Most of his clients over the years have been industry clients, > and few have been disappointed with his work. > > In 1994, Carlo began conducting studies to determine whether cell phones > pose a health risk to consumers. Four times a year, Carlo would trudge > over from his Dupont Circle office in Washington, D.C. to the offices of > CTIA to debrief the CEOs of the major telephone and electronics firms that > make up the $40 billion a year mobile phone industry. And things went > well, until 1995. > > In 1995, Carlo found that digital phones were interfering with cardiac > pacemakers. > > "We then conducted about $2.5 million worth of research to quantify that > problem, and as a result, I had somewhat of a falling out with the > industry," Carlo told us this week. "They didn't like that finding." The > industry cut off Carlo's funding. > > But through a process of negotiation, Carlo got back in. The industry > would again fund his studies, but only if he agreed not to research the > questions of defibrillators and digital phones, and of cell phones and > automobile safety, and he could no longer work on a very extensive program > to standardize the methodology for testing whether or not cell phones met > industry-defined standards. > > Carlo said that it took him two months to decide that he needed to > continue the work, even under CTIA's conditions, and so he did. > > What he found may prove to be the cell phone industry's worst nightmare. > > He found that the risk of acoustic neuroma, a benign tumor of the auditory > nerve that is well in range of the radiation coming from a phone's > antennae, was 50 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 tumor appeared to follow a dose-response > curve. > > He found that the risk of rare neuro epithelial tumors on the outside of > the brain was more than doubled, a statistically significant increase, in > cell phone users as compared to people who did not use cell phones. > > He found that there appeared to be some correlation between brain tumors > occurring on the right side of the head and use of the phone on the right > side of the head. > > And, most troubling, he found that laboratory studies looking at the > ability of radiation from a phone's antenna to cause functional genetic > damage were definitely positive, and were following a dose-response curve. > > Carlo said that he has repeatedly recommended that the industry take a > pro-active, public health approach on the issue, and inform consumers of > his findings. He says that he uses a cell phone, but only with a headset. > > "Alarmingly, indications are that some segments of the industry have > ignored the scientific findings suggesting potential health effects, have > repeatedly and falsely claimed that wireless phones are safe for all > consumers, including children, and have created an illusion of responsible > follow up by calling for and supporting more research," Carlo wrote in a > letter to top industry CEOs this month. "The most important measures of > consumer protection are missing: complete and honest factual information > to allow informed judgment by consumers about assumption of risk, the > direct tracking and monitoring of what happens to consumers who use > wireless phones, and the monitoring of changes in the technology that > could impact health." > > Carlo is also troubled by a recent agreement between Elizabeth Jacobson, > the person in charge of cell phone regulation at the Food and Drug > Administration, and Thomas Wheeler, executive director of the CTIA. Under > the agreement, CTIA will fund the FDA to do additional safety studies. > > Carlo says that in 1994, Jacobson refused such a cooperative research > agreement, because she didn't think she could both collaborate with the > industry and regulate it. (Jacobson, through a spokesperson, denies taking > this position.) > > "This arrangement is wrong, plain and simple," Carlo told us. "The FDA's > behavior is appalling to me. The FDA seems to be more than willing to jump > in bed with the industry. It is a blatantly arrogant attempt to join in a > relationship that is a conflict of interest on its face. The reason it has > not been criticized is that people don't know about it. Consumers are > being left out to dry." > > The FDA's Russell Owen says that the FDA has not regulated cell phones > because "we don't have sufficient evidence to determine that there might > be adverse health effects from cell phones." > > Sorry Mr. Owen, but in this instance, we agree with the industry's guy. > (That's a scary thought.) > > > Russell Mokhiber is editor of the Washington, D.C.-based Corporate Crime > Reporter. Robert Weissman is editor of the Washington, D.C.-based > Multinational Monitor. They are co-authors of Corporate Predators: The > Hunt for MegaProfits and the Attack on Democracy (Monroe, Maine: Common > Courage Press, 1999; http://www.corporatepredators.org) > > (c) Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman > > --------------------------------------------------- > > Focus on the Corporation is a weekly column written by Russell Mokhiber > and Robert Weissman. Please feel free to forward the column to friends or > repost the column on other lists. 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