EON

Boston (EON) – Implanted RFID microchips may cause cancer in humans and animals, according to media reports Tuesday.

The RFID chips which are currently being injected in American soldiers, have been causing cancer in lab mice, reported CNN.

Experts argue that it’s easier to cause cancer in a lab animal than it is a human, but say more long term controlled studies are needed.

The devices used in humans are made by VeriChip which has installed 2,000 chips worldwide.

The company wants to implant 45-million Americans with the chips for medical monitoring.

VeriChip chairman Scott Silverman said that he didn’t know about any studies that “resulted in malignant tumors in laboratory rats, mice and certainly not dogs or cats.”

As well as humans, many pets are also implanted with the RFID chips. Silverman says that there have been no confirmed reports that the chips have been causing cancer in pets.

However, in 1996 and 1997, there were two studies which linked the RFID chips to causing cancer in animals.

When the Associated Press asked if the FDA had considered these or other studies before it approved the use of implanatable chips, the agency declined repeated requests to specify what studies it had reviewed for its decision.