Tightrope: Are cellphones safe? Entrepreneurs need to know
— -- When Ronald Herberman, director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute and UPMC Cancer Centers, issued an advisory to the faculty and staff about the health risks from use of cellphones, I got worried.
Every entrepreneur I know uses a cellphone. In fact most of us have allowed cellphones to become our office away from the office. And we don't want to run the risk of sickness in the name of doing business. So, what do we do?
I called on a top physician that I personally know and use, Valerie Donaldson, an expert on anti-aging issues, to ask what she thought of Dr. Herberman's advisory and what we could do to protect ourselves.
She said that she agrees with Herberman's advisory. "I see the cellphone as the modern-day Trojan Horse," she said.
She continued with her example. "In the beginning of the Grecian Era, the Trojan Horse, while appearing to be a gift, in reality carried soldiers that invaded the city. The cellphone is today's Trojan Horse. It appears to be a wonderful gift, while inside lurks a dangerous enemy; invisible, harmful, electromagnetic radiation."
Dr. Donaldson went on to say that there are those who continue to deny the harmful effects of what's technically called electromagnetic field radiation (EMF), just as cigarette manufacturers denied the harmful effects of tobacco, while the literature is rich with research showing the contrary.
Feeling a need to bring some sort of answer to my many entrepreneurial colleagues and friends I asked her if she thought that Bluetooth technology was a safer bet. Her response was, "There is research that shows Bluetooth devices may be as harmful as the cellphone itself — you now have a microwave transmitter living in your ear, right next to your brain. While the power level may be lower from the Bluetooth, it is constantly transmitting. It's like sticking your head into the microwave oven, but (hoping) it's OK, because you are setting the power level low."
She said that the safest thing is text messaging or using speaker phones. Neither of those things will work long-term for a business person. If I need to communicate right away with a client or vender and I am away from the office, I can't imagine sending a text over the cellphone. And speaker phones are fine when there is no one present but you. But, how often does that occur?
