Cell Phones

Cell phones are mobile communication devices that have grown in popularity as technology has advanced. As usage of cell phones has increased globally, so has concern over their potential harm to environmental health and to human health. Future trends in research for cell phone manufacturing and usage are starting to address the issues of impending harm. Current mobile telephonic communication evolved from radio transmission dated from the 1920s to two-way radios and walkie-talkies, to mobile telephone systems (MTA and MTB), to analogue and digital. During the 1980s and 1990s, rapid changes in cellular communication included physical characteristics of cell phones, functionality of cell phones, and radio/cellular network communication. Decades of cellular technology are referred to as first generation, second generation, third generation, and fourth generation (1G, 2G, 3G, and 4G). The 1980s generation of analog devices is represented by 1G, 2G denotes the movement during the 1990s into digital network signaling, and 3G is correlated with the technology of increased data transfer seen in the 2000s. The forward movement into research and development for the 2010s introduced the 4G network, which focuses mostly on speed of data transfer.

When mobile phones were first introduced into the market, they were quite costly to purchase and to service. However, during the later 1980s and through the 1990s into the 2000s, cell phone usage and availability became market competitive and pervasive. In 2008, there were over 1.1 billion cellular phones and cellular devices sold in the global market.

From a green health standpoint, cellular phones have become a concern due to the sheer volume of phones in global circulation, the materials involved with cellular communication, their short life span, and their end-of-life product disposal. Concerns include both human health effects from usage and damage to the environment from manufacturing and discarding.

The sheer volume of cellular phones in global circulation contributes to negative human health effects and damages the environment. Toxic metals used in the manufacture of these phones include arsenic, antimony, beryllium, cadmium, copper, lead, mercury, nickel, selenium, and thallium.

Toxic metals identified in the process of making these phones include arsenic, antimony, beryllium, cadmium, copper, lead, mercury, nickel, selenium, and thallium. These metals are mined almost exclusively in a manner that is devastating to the environment. Additionally, most of these metals have toxic properties and are suspected carcinogens. Plastic parts of a mobile phone initiate apprehension when addressing negative impacts on the environment. Cell phones are disposed of by rudimentary recycling methods in third world countries with the practice of incineration of plastics and other phone components. [Page 92]Incineration can introduce hazardous volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into the atmosphere. These compounds include hundreds of congeners of polychlorinated/brominated dioxins, furans (PCDDs/PBDDs, PCDFs/PBDFs), and biphenyls (PCBs/PBBs). The congener species variation depends on how many chlorine or bromine atoms are attached to the molecule and the location of their attachment.

Dioxins, furans, and biphenyls are characterized as persistent organic pollutants (POPs). They are toxic, can travel long distances, bioaccumulate in the food chain, and persist in the environment. Through both epidemiological and animal studies, these compounds are thought to be endocrine disruptors, hepatotoxic, teratogenic, immunotoxic, and carcinogenic. The level of toxicity and damage as a result of exposure to these compounds varies greatly, depending on which species or congener was exposed; 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), which is emitted during electronic waste (eWaste) incineration, is considered the most toxic organic compound and is classified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a group 1 carcinogen.

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