As reported in this Wired article, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) has analyzed almost 1,300 models of cellphones to determine how much radiation each handset emits. They’ve created a helpful database of their findings, and you can query that data via the widget displayed at right.
What you won’t know after looking up your phone is whether the radiation level is good or bad, because, apparently, no one else knows. The assumption is that any radiation is worse than no radiation, and while the FCC sets guidelines for acceptable levels for cellphones, the EWG doesn’t put much stock in those guidelines.
For the record, my iPhone 3GS emits radiation in a range of 0.52 – 1.19 W/kg*. By comparison, the best phone in the study, the Samsung Impression, emits a maximum of only 0.35 W/kg, or one-third the iPhone’s level. (I’m sure that has something to do with the Impression’s impressive five pound weight; those lead cases aren’t light, you know. OK, just kidding.)
*watts/Kilogram – This is a measure of the rate at which a mass of tissue (that’s you) absorbs energy (that’s radiation)
Eric, the following observation is printed in Bottom Line Personal: David O. Carpeter, MD warns that a recent finding from Israel showed that holding a cell phone to one’s head for more than 22 hours a month increased risk for cancer of the salivary gland by 50%. To protect yourself: Avoid using your cell phone. When you do, use an earpiece–and do not wear the cell phone at your belt, which exposes other parts of your body to radiation.
Dr. Carpenter is director of Institute for Health and the Environment, State University of New York, Albany.
I take studies like that with a grain of salt. For example, since there’s such a wide variation in the amount of radiation generated by various models of phones, we don’t know whether the Israeli study used a high or low generating model.
I agree that Bluetooth headsets are a good idea (of course, they also emit radiation, albeit at a much lower rate) but they’re not always practical.
I am getting tons of radiation at work everyday. Occupational hazard. When 4G comes out, it will probably tip me over the scale.
But think of the money you’ll save on night lights! 😉