Although cell phones are simply electrical devices, their portability and ubiquity contributes to the radiation around us. Cell phones emit non-ionizing radiation as opposed to the ionizing radiation that poses more immediate harm. But while the FDA and the EPA have proclaimed cell phones safe, the verdict in the scientific community is not conclusive, and if not for the Telecommunications Act of 1996, more rigorous studies might have been pursued. By contrast, the World Health Organization does believe that cell phone radiation presents a risk. Filmmaker Sabine El Gemayel speaks with doctors and subjects who believe that cell phone usage causes adverse health effects, the latter including Donna Jaynes, who developed breast cancer in the exact spot where she used to store her cell phone, and Alan Marks, whose brain cancer appeared where he used to hold his cell phone. The surgical oncologist who treated Donna confirms that he had never seen a pattern of tumors like hers before. Alan and his wife, Ellie, formed the California Brain Tumor Association in order to share information and to affect legislation. Subjects with electro-sensitivity like Jaime (no last name provided) also claim that electromagnetic fields cause illness. With 215,000 cell phone towers nationwide, avoidance is difficult, so Jaime and his wife, Amber, have made efforts to reduce the radiation in their surroundings, including at their children’s school. El Gemayel ends her sobering cautionary documentary with practical solutions to reduce exposure. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (K. Fennessy)
Generation Zapped
(2018) 74 min. DVD: $30 ($125 w/PPR): public libraries; $295 w/PPR: colleges & universities. DRA. Collective Eye Films. Closed captioned. Volume 33, Issue 3
Generation Zapped
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