Researchers Say Cell Phone Exposure Is Unlikely To Cause Cancer

BOSTON (CBS) - There's been a lot of concern over the years about whether cell phones cause cancer. Now two new large government studies find there may be a risk but it's probably small.

Researchers exposed rats and mice to radiofrequency radiation for roughly nine hours a day for up to two years.

They found a higher incidence of malignant heart tumors in the male rats but not in female rats nor in any of the mice.

The rodents with tumors were exposed to radiation levels higher than those with heavy cell phone use, and the risk of cancer appeared pretty small, but more research needs to be done to further evaluate the risk in humans.

In the meantime, there are things you can do to minimize your radiation exposure:

Text instead of talking, keep the phone away from your head and body when streaming or downloading files, carry your phone in a purse or backpack instead of in your pocket, bra or holster, don't sleep with the phone close to your head, and tell young kids to keep cell phones away from their heads and use the speaker instead.