Radiation Exposure and Probable Links Between Cell Phones and Cancer
There are a number of ways in which someone can be exposed to radiation, and a number of ways to deal with radiation exposure, depending on the circumstances of the exposure. When someone is exposed to radiation, he or she is in an area where radiation is present, which could cause a risk of contamination. In contamination, someone actually comes into contact with radioactive material. External contamination involves the presence of radioactive material on clothing, personal possessions, and the outside of the body, while internal contamination requires the ingestion of radioactive material. The most important thing to remember when one is exposed to radiation in an emergency situation is that he/she/they should remain calm, because panic will not help the situation, and they should seek medical attention as quickly as possible. It is important to differentiate between exposure and contamination.
The most common way for someone to be exposed to radiation is through his or her occupation. Occupational exposure is much less dangerous than other forms, because people are aware of the risks and they can take steps to reduce the problems associated with radiation exposure. If you are exposed to radiation as part of your work, you should wear appropriate shielding material, along with a badge which monitors radiation exposure, and you should report any known safety violations immediately to ensure that your workplace remains safe.
People can also be exposed to radiation in a medical context, as radioactive materials are used in some treatment and diagnosis. In the event of a medical exposure, the medical team which cares for you will discuss the protocol you should follow, along with any risks. It is important to follow directions and warnings carefully when radiation is used in medical treatment, especially if the treatment is extended, as is the case with some cancers. When people think about being exposed to radiation, however, they usually are not thinking of controlled environments like a hospital or the workplace; they are imagining a situation in which radiation is released into the general environment, either accidentally or on purpose. In these emergency situations, there are a number of ways to deal with radiation exposure.
If you are in the presence of a nuclear explosion or accident, the best thing to do is to get as far away from the area as quickly as possible. You want to reduce the amount of radiation you are exposed to, and this is the most effective way to do it. Because there is a possibility of external contamination, it is a good idea to dispose of any clothing worn at the time of the event, and to wash your body and hair thoroughly with lukewarm water and soap. Clothing should be carefully bagged for future disposal by emergency personnel. You should also receive a medical evaluation. If internal contamination is suspected, there are some drugs which can be taken to mitigate the effects of exposure to radiation, and to reduce the potential for damage. These drugs can be administered by a doctor or emergency response official, who may test you for internal contamination and question you about your proximity to the event first. You may also be asked to undergo long-term monitoring for lingering health problems.
The effects of radiation on living cells vary, depending on the type of radiation, the intensity of the exposure, and the cell. For our purposes, 'radiation' refers to an emission of ionizing energy, such as neutrons, photons, and high energy charged particles like gamma rays. There are a number of different types of radiation, including cosmic radiation from space, terrestrial radiation which is emitted by radioactive elements in the ground, and man-make radiation such as that released by the detonation of an atomic bomb.
At low levels, radiation damage can be repaired by living cells with no ill effects. Higher doses can cause a cell to become sterile, or they can interfere with a cell's ability to reproduce it properly, causing mutations. Many cancers, for example, are linked with radiation exposure which confuses cells, causing them to mutate and rapidly reproduce. At extremely high doses, radiation causes cell death, through a process called thermalization, which basically cooks a cell from the inside out.
Radiation exposure can cause cell damage in two different ways. In the first sense, direct radiation action, radiation harms a molecule directly; as for example when radiation interferes with a molecule of DNA, causing cell damage. Radiation can also cause indirect damage, by ionizing molecules, turning them into potentially toxic compounds which interact with healthy molecules and cause damage. At very high doses, radiation will cause massive organ and tissue damage which is too extensive for the body to repair. This causes acute radiation syndrome, also known as radiation sickness. Radiation sickness is often extremely painful and unpleasant, and it leads to death. At lower doses, radiation may cause damage on a more subtle level, and the damage may manifest as cancer or through birth defects caused by damage to reproductive tissues later in life. Some cells are especially vulnerable to radiation damage, especially cells which multiply rapidly; this is why pregnant women need to be careful around sources of radiation, as it can damage the developing fetus.
One of the more dangerous causes of radiation is radioactive isotopes, because these isotopes will accumulate in the body and emit radiation, in contrast with one-time exposure to radioactive particles like those emitted in an x-ray. For this reason, people who work around radioactive isotopes must be very careful, and those used in procedures like medical imaging have very short half lives, meaning that they quickly decay and are expressed by the body.
So far, there have been many studies on possible connections between cell phones and cancer. For example, in one study involved over a large number of participants who all used cell phones for many years, researchers were unable to find evidence that cell phones cause cancer. Nevertheless, sometimes, research studies do seem to provide evidence that cell phones contribute to cancer, but the evidence is conflicting. For example, one study did produce some evidence of a connection between cell phones and cancer involving the salivary glands but only a small number of the study's participants actually developed it. One of the major problems with this study is that many of the participants used tobacco products which are well identified carcinogens. Hence it is difficult to determine whether or not the cancer developed as a result of cell phone use or as a result of the tobacco.
Since most studies involving cell phones and cancer have been inconclusive and it is not certain whether or not cell phones can cause cancer, sensible and informed people choose to take precautions for obvious reasons and intentions. Accordingly they use their cell phones only when absolutely necessary and that too for very short calls durations. Nevertheless, there is no dearth of such people who use headsets for their cell phones in spite of knowing the fact that the radiation exposure when a person has a cell phone antenna close to his or her head may be an important factor in brain tumors. However, many people choose to limit the amount of time their children spend on cell phones keeping in view the information that developing tissues are more vulnerable to radiation.
Whereas the link between cell phones and cancer hasn't been proven yet, some scientists are of the opinion that it is just a matter of time as happened with establishing connections between cigarette smoking and lung cancer that took years to discover the link between the two. As such, they worry that it will take a similar amount of years for people to discover the link between cell phones and cancer but it would have been too late for them who would have become The Late by that time. Unfortunately those who believe that cell phones cause cancer and are concerned with the well-being of the masses, often find it difficult to emphasize their points due to imperfect studies as inconclusive findings. However, the users of cell phones in general and those of the individuals who have intoxicated themselves to the abuse of this indispensable blessing should retrospect and try to make good use of the wisdom, they have been blessed with.
About the Author:
Dr.Badruddin Khan teaches Chemistry in the University of Kashmir, Srinagar, India.