Cell Phone Radiation May Cause Visual Damage 

In a recent scientific study conducted by a team of researchers from the Technion, a possible link between 
microwave radiation, similar to the type found in cellular phones, and different kinds of damage to the visual system 
was found. At least one kind of damage seems to accumulate over time and not heal, challenging the common view 
and leading the researchers to the assertion that the duration of exposure is not less important than the intensity of 
the irradiation. The researchers also emphasized that existing exposure guidelines for microwave radiation might 
have to change.

The effects of exposure to electromagnetic radiation have long been a subject for debate among scientists. The 
technological developments of the last twenty years such as cell and cordless phones, wireless communications, 
monitors and even high voltage lines have all been studied as potential risk factors for cancer and other diseases. 
Less known to the public, but still a matter of some extensive research, is the study of the effect of microwave 
radiation on the visual system and especially on the lens of the eye. The basic motivation for this research came 
after World War II when it was suspected that radar operators suffered a greater risk of developing cataracts (a 
condition characterized by clouding in the natural lens of the eye). Although these particular suspicions were 
eventually shown to be debatable, they were the trigger for the first guidelines for exposure to electromagnetic 
radiation. Moreover, the eye as our natural radiation detector is the obvious choice for investigating the effects of 
electromagnetic radiation upon the human body.

In more recent studies on animals the effects of microwave radiation as a risk factor for cataracts have been 
established and have helped determine the guidelines put forth by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing 
Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) in 1998. A common measure for microwave radiation is the Specific Absorption Rate 
(SAR) which is the average power density absorbed in a given volume per average weight density (Watt/Kg). This is
the standard used by cell phone companies, among others, to measure levels of radiation. When microwave energy
impinges upon body tissue, part of it is absorbed and converted to heat due to ionic conduction. This heat 
manifests itself as a temperature increase inside the tissue. Past studies in animals have shown that even a slight 
increase in temperature close to the lens (as low as 3 degrees Celsius) can increase the risk of developing a 
cataract. With a low enough SAR the local temperature in the lens might never increase to that level. A less 
common measure is called Specific Energy Absorption (SA), and is defined as the energy density absorbed in the
tissue divided by its weight density. While SAR is the measure of the rate microwave radiation is absorbed by a 
tissue, SA is the measure of the total energy absorbed. This difference played a significant role in a recently 
published study on the effects of microwave radiation on the visual system. 

Microscope photographs of lenses incubated in organ culture conditions for 12 days. Right frame shows Control 
lens with no damage. Bottom frame demonstrates the effect of microwave radiation on bovine lens sutures for a 
total exposure of 192 cycles (1.1GHz, 2.22mW).Each cycle lasts 50min followed by 10 min pause. In the absence of
microwave radiation, the bubbles are generated by temperature increase to 39.5 8C during 4 h; see left frame.

In the study conducted by researchers in the Rappaport Faculty of Medicine at the Technion, and published in the 
journal Bioelectromagnetics, a new link has been found between microwave radiation and the development of 
cataracts. Eye lenses of one-year-old male calves obtained from a slaughterhouse were exposed to microwave 
radiation - one eye from each pair used for control. Each exposure session lasted about two weeks. Both control 
and exposed lens were kept in an incubator at a constant temperature. During this period each exposed lens had 
experienced up to 2mW of 1.1GHz radiation virtually around the clock, and each hour it was exposed for a 50 
minute session followed by a 10 minute break. During one of these breaks, every 24 hours, it was tested optically 
and compared to the control lens. During the short (5 minutes) optical test, the lens was not exposed to radiation, 
but when exposed, its average temperature was maintained constant in an incubator.

The experiment yielded a number of interesting results:

1. Exposing the lens for a prolonged time to microwave radiation (in the frequency and intensity described above) 
caused macroscopic damage affecting the optical quality of the lens. This damage increased as the experiment and
irradiation continued and reached a maximum level after a number of days. When the exposure stopped the optical 
damage began to heal gradually. Interestingly enough, a similar maximum level was observed when the irradiation 
intensity was reduced to one-half the original, except that it took twice the time.

2. On the microscopic level a different kind of damage occurred. Tiny "bubbles" were created on the surface of the 
lens. The bubbles were formed by irradiation with microwave and were not the result of a heat created throughout 
the lens. The researchers have speculated that the mechanism responsible for the creation of the bubbles is 
microscopic friction between particular cells exposed to electromagnetic radiation. Contrary to the macroscopic 
damage, the microscopic damage did not show any signs of healing and continued to accumulate during the course
of the experiment.

Although the researchers are cautious about interpreting the results of the experiment and its possible implications 
to public health, it seems that prolonged exposure to microwave radiation similar to that used by cellular phones 
can lead to both macroscopic and microscopic damage to the lens and that at least part of this damage seems to 
accumulate over time and does not seem to heal. Professor Levi Schächter, who worked on the research, told 
IsraCast that attention should be paid not only to the Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) but also to the total energy 
absorbed by the tissue (SA), which is not currently under supervision by the appropriate regulative authorities. 
Implying that the duration of exposure is not less important than the intensity of the irradiation.

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