There are as many studies showing that cellphones lead to brain tumours as there are studies which show that they are harmless, so this leaves us pretty much in the position of guinea pig!
We are taking part in the largest (+5.981 billion subscriptions worldwide) bio-dynamic experiment in history, exposing
ourselves, our children, our environment to a constantly buzzing web of electromagnetic
signals. Are you excited yet?
There is much debate about the disruption and massive reduction in numbers of bee colonies and radiation from phones and other electronic devices.
In October last year
an Italian court ruled that a businessman developed a benign brain tumour
as a result of being on cell phone for hours on end and deserves worker’s
compensation. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified
mobile phone radiation on the IARC scale into ‘Group 2B - possibly
carcinogenic. Deeming it necessary to conduct further tests.
The most obvious cause for concern is that, the longer you
chat on your phone, the warmer your head feels. This is due to dielectric
heating, an effect of microwave radiation. Dielectric material/living tissue is
heated by rotations of polar molecules
induced by an electromagnetic field. When on your phone, most of the heating
effect will occur at the surface of the head by your ear, causing its
temperature to increase. The body will increase blood flow to that area to
reduce heat but the cornea of the eye can’t heat regulate. Even though no tests
show increase in cataract due to microwave radiation exposure from cell phones,
I don’t find this information too encouraging!
Baring all this in mind, our contracts expired recently and we embarked on an info
seeking spree. The manufacturers of the phones I was interested in did not seem
to have answers regarding the radiation levels of their products so we had to glean
info from independent sites, comparing data to try to filter bogus information!
These are the sites that we found informative:
Cell phone radiation levels have a SAR
rating which stands for Specific Absorption Rate, which is the unit of
measurement for the amount of RF energy absorbed by the body when using a
mobile phone. The lower it is, the better off you are. Simple!
Tips for basic phone survival:
- Distance makes the brain last longer. Many cell phone manuals actually recommend keeping your mobile phone at least 10 mm away from your ear at all times. Consider
talking on speaker or a hands-free device. Experts cannot agree on whether a
wireless or wired version is better, but as they all emit low level radiation,
it’s best to take it off your ear when you’re not on a call.
- No conclusive tests have been done on the
lasting effects of radiation on kids, but most authorities recommend limited
use. My kids speak on speaker for a minute or less, no exceptions. I’m not
waiting around for the results! They also don't play games on phones without switching to flight mode.
- - SMSing is your friend. Phones emit less
radiation when texting and it keeps the radiation away from your head!
- - Research shows that calling and receiving calls when
the signal is strong dramatically reduces exposure to radiation as the phone
doesn’t have to try so hard to broadcast its signal to the nearest tower.
-
- Dial with your phone on speaker as this is when
the radiation levels go up.
- Remember to change hands during phone calls.
It's a mine field of information out there, but after quite a long search we chose what we felt was right for us, even though we originally had something else in mind! This is important stuff, but just how important, only our children will be able to know for sure.
So how did you choose your new phones and what were they? That's what I expected to read about...
ReplyDeleteHello Mandy thanks for taking the time to comment. I prefer not to get into Phone promoting, which is way I omit the name of the phone I chose in the end. I decided on my phone by checking all the websites mentioned above for the radiation levels of all the phones that I was interested in. If I couldn't find specs on the phone, then it wasn't an option. I compared info on the different sites to make sure there wasn't anything amiss and then chose the contract that suited me. When you go onto the sites you'll see that the radiation levels are measured in SAR, which is why i discuss it a little as they don't explain what that means! I hope that answers your question?
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