RSSCell phone radiation data
Sep 27
I’ve finally run across some data on cell phone radiation: Limit Your Exposure To Cell Phone Radiation
They list current phone models and rank their level of radiation output. They also have data on wireless headsets. Surprisingly (to me, anyways) they highly recommend wireless headsets, even though there’s no clear winner between wired and wireless. There seems to be a lack of data on wired headsets. But, wireless headsets showed radiation absorption levels up to 34 times lower than the lowest emitting cell phone.
I’m still left with questions:
- What is the radiation level when the phone is idle? I realize a smartphone is never truly idle, but it’s not transferring constantly when in standby mode in a holster on my belt. Is the radiation level of this high enough to be concerned about?
- I’d like firm data on wired headsets.
- I realize it’ll be a long time coming, but I obviously want to find out what real effects this type of radiation exposure causes. It seems there has been mounting evidence of increased cancer risk but I’m curious how strong the evidence is so far.
Sep 27, 2009 @ 19:10:58
ZOMG THE RADIATION WILL KILLZ US ALL!
You absorb more dangerous radiation every time you walk through the x-ray scanner at the airport or get your teeth scanned (there’s a reason the doctor/dentist stands behind a shield – if they were exposed to high levels of x-rays daily, even their high-paying jobs wouldn’t keep them alive that long). Microwave and radio frequency radiation cannot affect the structure of DNA/cells. The most that can happen under high intensity (like really high – think sticking your head inside your microwave oven and turning it on), is minor heating of the water/tissue (and then by only a degree or two Celsius). http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs304/en/index.html
The process that causes this is that microwaves excite rotational modes in water – it basically shakes the water molecules around, heating them up. Higher frequency radiation (x-rays, cosmic rays etc.) can reach higher vibrational modes which can tear molecules apart – destroying DNA, which can lead to cancer. So if you lived in space with no shielding the sun and other extra-solar sources would cook you alive with high frequency radiation (from which our ozone layer and magnetic fields protect us from).
Sep 27, 2009 @ 19:13:13
Also see: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs304/en/index.html
Sep 27, 2009 @ 20:10:06
That all sounds reasonable, so If it’s that cut and dry why does this persist as an issue?
Sep 28, 2009 @ 08:35:33
“…the body absorbs up to five times more of the signal from FM radio and television than from base stations. This is because the frequencies used in FM radio (around 100 MHz) and in TV broadcasting (around 300 to 400 MHz) are lower than those employed in mobile telephony (900 MHz and 1800 MHz) and because a person’s height makes the body an efficient receiving antenna.”
Over the air radio and TV cause cancer! EVERYBODY PANIC!!! Stay crouched down low so your bodies don’t act as antennae!
Sep 28, 2009 @ 08:54:15
@Randy: If you regularly put your head beside a large FM transmitter, maybe you would have a cause for concern.
The problem I find with this topic is that nobody seems to know what’s going on. There are small bits of evidence that there may be increased risk and everyone seems to say “more long-term data is needed.” Well, that’s not truly comforting. It’s not something I’m overly concerned about, but until there’s more data it may be wise to keep it in mind. It’s not hard for me to “limit exposure” because I don’t talk on the phone a lot anyways, and for a long call I’d much prefer a wired headset.
For example, here’s a quote from http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/risk/cellphones: “some, but not all, long-term studies have suggested slightly increased risks for certain types of brain tumors. Further evaluation of long-term exposures (more than 10 years) is needed.”
Oct 07, 2009 @ 02:15:40
Your quest for the impact of cell phone on the human brain is reasonable. Please go through the site – http://www.cancer-health.org/