Facts about phone use
France recently discovered that the iPhone 12 had a specific absorption rate above 5.74 watts/ kilogram, when the European limit is 4.0 watts/ kilogram. Because of this, France has banned iPhone 12’s (Specific Absorption Rate is what is within safe exposure limits when low levels of radiation from electromagnetic field is absorbed into the human body)
The North American standard is
1.6 watts/ kilogram averaged over one gram of body tissue for head and trunk
4 watts/ kilogram averaged over one gram of body tissue for limb.
2 watts/ kilogram is considered safe by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection.
60% of radiation emitted by a typical cell phone will be absorbed into the user’s head. 60% is enough to cause heating, which is linked to causing abnormalities in the brain, such as cancerous tumors, brain tissue damage, and nerve cell damage.
Research has identified that even cellphones that produce low energy can still heat the brain.
The closer your phone is to your head, limb, or body, the more electromagnetic field radiation you will absorb.
Talking on a voice call releases significantly more radiation.
Children
70% of parents let the children use their cellphone so that they could do chores
65% used them to keep their child calm in a public place
58% used them while running errands
29% used them to put their child to sleep
75% of households with children under the age of 5 own tablets.
44% of children under the age of 1 use mobile devices every day. By the age of 2, that jumps to
77% of children under the age of 2 use mobile devices every day
Children under the age of 5, this also includes during pregnancy, are a lot more susceptible to and at risk of significant health effects from electromagnetic fields of the phone.
A very common health effect of electromagnetic fields of the phone on kids is neuroblastoma, a cancer of the neuroblast cells in the brain. A study identified that three 10-minute sessions for two days have significant health impacts on neuroblastoma. This is because children absorb more radiation than adults due to brain tissues being more conductive, immature cell development, and smaller heads size.
Ways to limit exposure
Limit calls to a few minutes, longer durations are directly related to biological effects.
Avoid using cellphones in areas where signal is weak as cellphone increases power to a maximum as it tries to grab nearby signals.
Keep the cell phone away from your body. Two feet away the electromagnetic field is one fourth strength and 3 feet is 50 times less.
References
Christopher, B., Mary Y, S., Khandaker, M. U., & Jojo, P. J. (2021). Empirical study on specific absorption rate of head tissues due to induced heating of 4G cell phone radiation. Radiation Physics and Chemistry (Oxford, England : 1993), 178, 108910–. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radphyschem.2020.108910
Mejía, D. (2023, April 13). Four out of five households with children owned tablets. Census.gov. https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2023/04/tablets-more-common-in-households-with-children.html#:~:text=Impact%20of%20Children’s%20Age&text=In%202021%2C%2057%25%20of%20households,5%20to%2017%20%E2%80%94%20owned%20tablets.
Rahman, M. M. (2013). Mobile Phone-A Technical Evaluation On Electromagnetic Exposure And Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) For Human Safety. International journal of technology enhancements and emerging engineering research, 1(4), 106-115