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Every invention has its negative effects on the environment. Technological advancements in telecommunications are also presenting hazards for the surroundings. Cell phones have been one of the fastest growing industries in modern history. Started with the introduction of personal paging systems in the 1970s, the electronic communication devices are linking people in convenient ways. According to the CIA factbook, a number of countries now have more mobile phones than people. This useful invention for communication poses health problems for its regulars users also. A study by the International Agency for Research on Cancer of 4,500 users pointed out a statistically important connection between tumor frequency and mobile phone use. Cell phones contain cadmium, the seventh most harmful known chemical, and other hazardous substances like lead, nickel and mercury. These substances can cause cancer, liver damage, neurological development problems etc. As far as environment is concerned, it is unclear how radio frequencies affect it. Not only the usable cell phones, but their incorrect disposal can also damage environment. All cell phones have persistent metals which fail to degrade in the environment. Not only this, they have bioaccumulative metals which become toxic after a certain period of time. If cell phones are not disposed of properly, its metals can leak into the environment through the process of corrosion and lead to a number of significant problems in the environment. If Lithium accumulates on one place, it can just burn with water exposure and can also ignite underground fire. It could be imagined that how these hazardous substances can contaminate local water supplies and pose danger to the food chain. It is to be noted that if waste fails to break down properly, it leads to the formation of methane gas. Methane gas is very dangerous and has major impact on global warming. The number of mobile users is increasing, and so the negative effects of this technology on environment. Albeit its hard to reject this technology now, it is important to work on to reduce its negative impacts. More and more emphasis should also be given on its proper way of disposal.

Learn more about this author, Kamna Arora.
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