Wireless Technologies and the National Information Infrastructure.
Chapter 11 - Health Issues:
Finding

Over the past several years, concerns have been raised about the potential health risks of portable cellular telephones and emissions from radio antennas. These concerns are rapidly becoming one of the most controversial issues surrounding the widespread use of wireless technologies. Although some research on possible adverse health effects has been conducted, it has not been conclusive--government, industry, and academic researchers agree that it is not yet possible to say with certainty whether the devices or the antennas do or do not pose a risk to human health or how serious any risk may be. As a result, the long-term issues surrounding the health and safety effects of cellular telephones and other wireless devices remain unresolved. In the face of this uncertainty, the debate over the safety of wireless devices and systems is likely to become an important public policy problem as concerned citizens take their concerns to state and federal policymakers and regulators.

OTA did not conduct an indepth assessment of the possible health effects associated with radio communication devices and systems. Nor did it exhaustively review and critique the health effects research conducted to date. Such an endeavor is properly the focus of an additional, more narrowly focused study. Rather, this chapter presents only a general overview of the research performed to date, and discusses the controversy that surrounds these issues.

FINDINGS

The debate over the safety of wireless systems is characterized by high emotion and heated rhetoric--on all sides. Picking through the rhetoric and separating fact from fiction will be extremely difficult for lawmakers and regulators as the controversy continues. The findings presented below are based on the general state of research as it exists in early 1995. As more studies are completed, issues may become clearer; although evidence gathered to date and the experiences of other public health-related issues--including the controversies over electric power lines and tobacco--indicate that resolution of these issues could be years or even decades away.

o Scientific research to date has found no conclusive evidence that low power microwave radio communication signals adversely affect human health. However, currently available scientific information is insufficient to conclude that there are no long-term adverse health effects--either from hand-held wireless communication devices or from towers. (see footnote 1) Because of the paucity of data on biological and health effects, and the ambiguity in the results of research conducted so far, neither public interest advocates nor industry have made a clear and convincing argument sufficient to prove their case. All parties agree that more research is needed to determine whether there could be any health effects from long-term exposure to radio frequency (RF) radiation at the power levels used by wireless communications devices, what they might be, and how serious a risk they could pose. Specifically, additional research will be required as new technologies are developed that use different frequencies, power levels, and transmission formats.

o Public concern persists over many forms of radiation, including nonionizing electromagnetic radiation. (see footnote 2) The willingness of the public to give credence to anecdotal reports of radiation-induced human health risks is an enduring phenomenon. Maintaining the public's trust and confidence in technologies associated with radio waves demands extraordinarily high levels of responsible scientific work and policy development. Given the character of public concern over many types of hazards in the environment, the technical complexity of new wireless systems, the difficulty the public has in understanding the complex results of scientific research, and the likelihood of many more radio devices working at new frequencies and with new technologies, it may be prudent for the federal government, including Congress, to continue to monitor technology and industry developments and the ongoing research into wireless health issues.

Industry has taken some steps to address public concerns, and is making substantial funds available for research. However, especially in health- related areas, it may be difficult for the public or policymakers to trust that industry-funded research will always be conducted in an objective manner. Some continuing federal role--as an overseer of industry-funded work, as a participant in the research and testing process, or in mounting its own research program--may be desirable to assure research integrity and to maintain high levels of public trust and confidence in these technologies.

A vigorous federal government role is particularly important given the difficulties in evaluating technologies that have not yet reached large-scale deployments. As wireless technologies become more ubiquitous, unanticipated interactions or consequences may appear. What appears to be a negligible or unknown problem in the lab or at reduced scale may turn out to have significant effects when widely deployed, as was the case with lead paint and asbestos. (see footnote 3) Long-term monitoring of the effects of radio frequency exposure on humans may be necessary to avoid surprises and persistent public uncertainty.