Derrick
ლ(ಠ_ಠ )ლ
- Joined
- Nov 22, 2010
- Messages
- 5,085
- Reaction score
- 5
The debate over the harmful effects of microwave radiation is about to heat up again. A report issued by the Environmental Working Group has linked cell phone radiation to a number of nasty health problems.
One might rightly ask who the EWG is to be issuing such reports. The EWG is an American non-profit research organisation founded in 1993, aimed at compiling research and presenting it to the general public and lobbying for environmentally safe policies on Capitol Hill.
The Report
The EWG report on cell phone radiation effects draws a number of unsettling conclusions such as: a 50 to 90 percent increase in risk for two types of brain tumours – glioma and acoustic neuroma; an increased risk of 50 to 60 percent for salivary gland tumours among frequent users.
A study of 13,159 Danish children showed 80 percent elevated risk for emotional and hyperactivity problems among young children who use cell phones and whose mothers also used cell phones during pregnancy. A study of 420,095 Danish adults showed that long-term cell phone users were 10 to 20 percent more likely to be hospitalised for migraines and vertigo than people who took up cell phones more recently.
The full report is quite extensive and can be downloaded from the EWG website.
Phone radiation levels
An interesting accompaniment is a chart of radiation output of all common cell phone models. The worst offenders on the list seemed to come from Motorola, whilst Nokia and Samsung generally reside in the lower end of the scale. A number of the popular smart phones were also pretty near to the upper limits, but then again, other popular smart phones weren’t.
The top 10 lists are as follows, according to TechRepublic:
Smart phones with highest radiation
1. T-Mobile MyTouch 3G (1.55 W/kg) – (also known as the HTC Magic)
2. Blackberry Curve 8330 (1.54 W/kg)
3. Palm Treo 600 (1.53 W/kg)
4. T-Mobile Shadow (1.53 W/kg) – (also known as the HTC Shadow)
5. Palm Treo 650 (1.51 W/kg)
6. Blackberry Curve 8300 (1.51 W/kg)
7. Blackberry Bold 9000 (1.51 W/kg)
8. Sony Ericsson P910a (1.50 W/kg)
9. HTC SMT 5800 (1.49 W/kg)
10. BlackBerry Pearl 8120/8130 (1.48 W/kg)
Smartphones with lowest radiation
1. Nokia 9300i (0.21 W/kg)
2. Nokia 7710 (0.22 W/kg)
3. T-Mobile MDA Wiza200 (0.28 W/kg)
4. Samsung Impression SGH-a877 (0.35 W/kg)
5. Nokia 9300 (0.44 W/kg)
6. Samsung Propel Pro SGH-i627 (0.47 W/kg)
7. Samsung Gravity SGH-t459 (0.49 W/kg)
8. BlackBerry Storm 9530 (0.57 W/kg)
9. Nokia E90 (0.59 W/kg)
10. Nokia N96 (0.68 W/kg)
The EWG chart seems to indicate that radiation levels vary from device to device, with trends between manufacturers being less obvious. EWG has also issued some safety guidelines aimed at reducing the amount of radiation that users are exposed to.
Safety regulations
The FCC in America seems rather disinterested in new reports, preferring to stick to 17 year old regulations. The American FDA isn’t much better, relying on outdated studies that only monitored the effects of 3 years of exposure, before issuing their verdict that cell phone emissions aren’t harmful.
The EU parliament has only recently issued an advisory to its members, suggesting they reduce the top end of the frequency spectrum available for use by cell phone operators. South Africa often takes safety regulation cues from America and Europe, so it will be crucial to monitor how this develops.
Other useful sources that will provide background information on the continuing debate can be found on the EPA website which provides a breakdown on the difference between ionizing and non-ionizing radiation, and on Waveguide which provides a summary of independent research conducted into effects of various levels of microwave/radio radiation frequencies.
One might rightly ask who the EWG is to be issuing such reports. The EWG is an American non-profit research organisation founded in 1993, aimed at compiling research and presenting it to the general public and lobbying for environmentally safe policies on Capitol Hill.
The Report
The EWG report on cell phone radiation effects draws a number of unsettling conclusions such as: a 50 to 90 percent increase in risk for two types of brain tumours – glioma and acoustic neuroma; an increased risk of 50 to 60 percent for salivary gland tumours among frequent users.
A study of 13,159 Danish children showed 80 percent elevated risk for emotional and hyperactivity problems among young children who use cell phones and whose mothers also used cell phones during pregnancy. A study of 420,095 Danish adults showed that long-term cell phone users were 10 to 20 percent more likely to be hospitalised for migraines and vertigo than people who took up cell phones more recently.
The full report is quite extensive and can be downloaded from the EWG website.
Phone radiation levels
An interesting accompaniment is a chart of radiation output of all common cell phone models. The worst offenders on the list seemed to come from Motorola, whilst Nokia and Samsung generally reside in the lower end of the scale. A number of the popular smart phones were also pretty near to the upper limits, but then again, other popular smart phones weren’t.
The top 10 lists are as follows, according to TechRepublic:
Smart phones with highest radiation
1. T-Mobile MyTouch 3G (1.55 W/kg) – (also known as the HTC Magic)
2. Blackberry Curve 8330 (1.54 W/kg)
3. Palm Treo 600 (1.53 W/kg)
4. T-Mobile Shadow (1.53 W/kg) – (also known as the HTC Shadow)
5. Palm Treo 650 (1.51 W/kg)
6. Blackberry Curve 8300 (1.51 W/kg)
7. Blackberry Bold 9000 (1.51 W/kg)
8. Sony Ericsson P910a (1.50 W/kg)
9. HTC SMT 5800 (1.49 W/kg)
10. BlackBerry Pearl 8120/8130 (1.48 W/kg)
Smartphones with lowest radiation
1. Nokia 9300i (0.21 W/kg)
2. Nokia 7710 (0.22 W/kg)
3. T-Mobile MDA Wiza200 (0.28 W/kg)
4. Samsung Impression SGH-a877 (0.35 W/kg)
5. Nokia 9300 (0.44 W/kg)
6. Samsung Propel Pro SGH-i627 (0.47 W/kg)
7. Samsung Gravity SGH-t459 (0.49 W/kg)
8. BlackBerry Storm 9530 (0.57 W/kg)
9. Nokia E90 (0.59 W/kg)
10. Nokia N96 (0.68 W/kg)
The EWG chart seems to indicate that radiation levels vary from device to device, with trends between manufacturers being less obvious. EWG has also issued some safety guidelines aimed at reducing the amount of radiation that users are exposed to.
Safety regulations
The FCC in America seems rather disinterested in new reports, preferring to stick to 17 year old regulations. The American FDA isn’t much better, relying on outdated studies that only monitored the effects of 3 years of exposure, before issuing their verdict that cell phone emissions aren’t harmful.
The EU parliament has only recently issued an advisory to its members, suggesting they reduce the top end of the frequency spectrum available for use by cell phone operators. South Africa often takes safety regulation cues from America and Europe, so it will be crucial to monitor how this develops.
Other useful sources that will provide background information on the continuing debate can be found on the EPA website which provides a breakdown on the difference between ionizing and non-ionizing radiation, and on Waveguide which provides a summary of independent research conducted into effects of various levels of microwave/radio radiation frequencies.