Following the World Health Organization's announcement that radio frequency emissions from cell rings may increase the risk of some kinds of brain cancer, what do you require to know about the radiation coming from your phone?
How are you able to protect yourself? And ought to RF emission information be listed on cell phone packaging, and in stores?
, there is some facts indicating a feasible connection -- and while not conclusive, it warrants further study.
First things first: The WHO study did not say "cell rings cause brain cancer."
Consequently, WHO has now categorized radio frequency electromagnetic fields as a "group 2B" feasible human carcinogen. Here's how Ed Yong, head of health information at Cancer Research UK, explained it in his detailed analysis of the WHO announcement:
"Group 2B means that there is some facts for a risk but it is not that convincing. This group ends up being a tiny bit of a catch-all section, and includes everything from carpentry to chloroform."
So it is worth being aware of this classification -- as you ought to be mindful of your intake of coffee, another group 2B carcinogen. But this announcement is not a reason to panic.
Dr. Gupta: Cell rings, brain tumors
San Francisco has been wrestling with whether to require cell rings to be labelled for their RF emissions.
Would labels help?
Last year, the city tried to mandate cell phone radiation labeling in stores, originally to take effect February 2011. But according to the San Francisco Chronicle, "implementation was delayed until May one, then June 15. There now is no proposed start date."
The city backtracked on this partly out of concern over a lawsuit filed by the Cellular Telecommunications and Web Association -- but also because officials didn't know how to make definite the accuracy of the labels.
Cancer
Cellular Rings
Radiation Exposure
World Health Organization
Scientists are not definite what is the most realistic, intuitive way to communicate cell phone RF emissions to consumers.
Dr. Gupta explores cell phone safety
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WHO: Cell rings might cause cancer
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But Joel Moskowitz, director of the Middle for Relatives and Community Health at University of Los angeles, Berkeley, told the Chronicle that "specific absorption rate is not a useful measure because it is the peak reading on a variety of tests conducted on cell rings to measure their radiation, but doesn't indicate the average amount of radiation a user would usually be exposed to."
Specific absorption rate, a measure of the rate of RF energy that your body absorbs from the phone, is the most often cited benchmark. For a phone to be certified by the FCC and sold in the U.S., for example, its maximum SAR level must be less than one.6 watts per kilogram.
They likened it to a car's gas mileage being reported only based on driving it up a steep hill. Such a measurement could actually make a automobile shopper avoid a hybrid because it doesn't perform well on hills, although it would usually consume less gas.
CNET recently updated its guide to cell phone radiation levels, which ranks rings according to SAR.
Cell rings and radiation: The ten highest- and lowest-emitting models
What cell phone users can do
In the event you are concerned that cell rings might increase your cancer risk, probably the best way to put the WHO announcement to nice use is to minimize how much you hold your cell phone next to your head.
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