Which are the Best and Worst Cell Phones in Terms of Radiation; Why EWG is Suspending Its Phone Radiation Rating Database

Measuring radiation risks of cell phones - Which phones are safer or worse? - WiFi Safety Tips

So, the Specific Absorption Rate (S.A.R.) rating is supposed to tell us about the radiation levels that a cell phone emits. We are still in the guinea pig phase, the generations by which future medicine will determine how cell phone radiation affects us.

The factor with which scientists and activists are concerned is are the electromagnetic fields from the cell phones. Still the greatest concern is for children, as their brains are still developing, and do so until age 25. Ultimately, the cell phone skeptics are concerned with the risk of developing brain cancer. The root of the trouble is seen as being the electromagnetic fields, as presented in this webpage by Dr. Joseph Mercola, "Radiation from Cell Phones and WiFi Are Making People Sick -- Are You at Risk?" In this article Mercola linked to an Alternet article, "Radiation From Cell Phones and WiFi Are Making People Sick -- Are We All at Risk?," whose author contended that with 24/4 exposure to electromagnetic radio frequencies, we are in "the largest human experiment ever."

Here are tips Dr. Mercola offers to be safe from cell phone and wifi radiation:

Children Should Never Use Cell Phones: Barring a life-threatening emergency, children should not use a cell phone, or a wireless device of any type. Children are far more vulnerable to cell phone radiation than adults, because of their thinner skull bones, and still developing immune and neurological systems.
[Read this article on children's brains and microwave radiation. The article includes citations to scientific studies.] 

Reduce Your Cell Phone Use: Turn your cell phone off more often. Reserve it for emergencies or important matters. As long as your cell phone is on, it emits radiation intermittently, even when you are not actually making a call.

Leave an outgoing message on your phone stating your cell phone policy so others know not to call you on it except in emergencies.

Use a Land Line at Home and at Work: Although more and more people are switching to using cell phones as their exclusive phone contact, it is a dangerous trend and you can choose to opt out of the madness.

Reduce or Eliminate Your Use of Other Wireless Devices: You would be wise to cut down your use of these devices. Just as with cell phones, it is important to ask yourself whether or not you really need to use them every single time.

If you must use a portable home phone, use the older kind that operates at 900 MHz. They are no safer during calls, but at least some of them do not broadcast constantly even when no call is being made. Note the only way to truly be sure if there is an exposure from your cordless phone is to measure with an electrosmog meter, and it must be one that goes up to the frequency of your portable phone (so old meters won't help much). As many portable phones are 5.8 Gigahertz, we recommend you look for RF meters that go up to 8 Gigahertz, the highest range now available in a meter suitable for consumers.

Alternatively you can be very careful with the base station placement as that causes the bulk of the problem since it transmits signals 24/7, even when you aren't talking. So if you can keep the base station at least three rooms away from where you spend most of your time, and especially your bedroom, it may not be as damaging to your health.

Ideally it would be helpful to turn off or disconnect your base station every night before you go to bed. Levels of microwave radiation from portable phones can be extraordinarily high.

You can find RF meters at www.emfsafetystore.com. But you can pretty much be sure your portable phone is a problem if the technology is labeled DECT, or digitally enhanced cordless technology.

Limit Your Cell Phone Use to Where Reception is Good: The weaker the reception, the more power your phone must use to transmit, and the more power it uses, the more radiation it emits, and the deeper the dangerous radio waves penetrate into your body. Ideally, you should only use your phone with full bars and good reception.

Also seek to avoid carrying your phone on your body as that merely maximizes any potential exposure. Ideally put it in your purse or carrying bag. Placing a cell phone in a shirt pocket over the heart is asking for trouble, as is placing it in a man's pocket if he seeks to preserve his fertility.

Don't Assume One Cell Phone is Safer than Another. There's no such thing as a "safe" cell phone, and do not rely on the SAR value to evaluate the safety of your phone. Always seek CDMA carriers over GSM as they have far lower radiation in their signaling technology. And remember, eliminating cell phone use, or greatly lowering cell phone use from phones of all kinds, is where true prevention begins.

Keep Your Cell Phone Away From Your Body When it is On: The most dangerous place to be, in terms of radiation exposure, is within about six inches of the emitting antenna. You do not want any part of your body within that area.

Respect Others Who are More Sensitive: Some people who have become sensitive can feel the effects of others' cell phones in the same room, even when it is on but not being used. If you are in a meeting, on public transportation, in a courtroom or other public places, such as a doctor's office, keep your cell phone turned off out of consideration for the 'second hand radiation' effects. Children are also more vulnerable, so please avoid using your cell phone near children.

Use Safer Headset Technology: Wired headsets will certainly allow you to keep the cell phone farther away from your body. However, if a wired headset is not well-shielded the wire itself acts as an antenna attracting ambient information carrying radio waves and transmitting radiation directly to your brain. Make sure that the wire used to transmit the signal to your ear is shielded.

The best kind of headset to use is a combination shielded wire and air-tube headset. These operate like a stethoscope, transmitting the information to your head as an actual sound wave; although there are wires that still must be shielded, there is no wire that goes all the way up to your head.

In recent years I have presented links to thorough lists of ratings on cell phones, according to their SAR rating. Today, I continue this, and also present other resources. One site that presents itself as that of an independent researcher is EMFacts Consultancy. This site also provides a link to an e-brochure on WiFi safety, "Wireless Networks (Wi-Fi) Consumer Health and Safety Advice."


Here is a site that is listing phones and their SAR ratings. There is no year, but I'd estimate that it is 2013 or 2014, judging from the cellphone models listed.
It is provided by a company that is vending what it calls a SAR Shield.

Here is another handy page of cellphones and their SAR ratings. It is from March 5, 2014 and it can be sorted by manufacturer and by SAR rating (whether SAR EU or SAR US).

Two more sites, with late model phones' ratings: phonearena.com and phonerated.com.

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has suspended their site giving the rating of phones, by SAR ratings, because it believes that publication of such ratings is ignoring the other ways of gauging how much threat that cellphones can pass onto users. The EWG is contending, and we agree, that the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is not doing a sufficient job of requiring cellphone manufacturers to divulge certain information. For one thing, the FCC dropped a cell phone cautionary statement that had been opposed by the wireless industry. As the EWG notes in "EWG's Guide to Safer Cell Phone Use: Where is EWG's Cellphone Database?",

In addition to SAR, other factors that could affect the intensity and duration of emissions to which a person is exposed include frequency at which the phone operates, connection strength and distance between cell phone and the user's body. Yet FCC does not require cell phone manufacturers to conduct real-life SAR measurements and to disclose this information. Consequently, cell phone users and independent researchers do not have reliable information about cell phone radiation under specific conditions of use.

Industry research that has belatedly become public has shown that a consumer using the same phone on two different 2G (second generation) network technologies – GSM (Global System for Mobile Communication) vs. CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) – could be subjected to radiation levels differing by a factor of 30 or even 300 (Kelsh 2011). This study, conducted by the cell phone industry in 2005 and 2006 but released only in 2010, demonstrated that network differences were the key factor determining the user's exposure to cell phone radiation.

Aside from brain risks, new concerns are cited. Researchers are now claiming that the phones cause risks to males' sperm. It is estimated that radiation from cell phones can reduce sperm counts by 30 percent. Some research, e.g., "A possible association between fetal/neonatal exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation and the increased incidence of autism spectrum disorders (ASD)" is contending that electromagnetic radiation could be behind the increased incidence of Autism spectrum disorders in recent years. As reported earlier this month by Carolyn Jones at the SF Gate site, Berkeley, California is attempting to mandate new warning labels, after a similar proposal failed in San Francisco. A researcher at the University of California at Berkeley was strong with his concern for the health impacts of cell phone radiation:

Joel Moskowitz, head of UC Berkeley's Center for Family and Community Health, has no such indecision. He's been studying the issue since 2009, and has concluded that cell phones are "one of the top emerging public health risks."

Studies cited by the cell phone industry are outdated, he said. Newer and more complex wireless technology, coupled with people spending increasing amounts of time on their phones, is almost certain to lead to an uptick in brain cancer, he said.

"It's just a matter of time," he said. "The evidence is a lot more compelling than it has been."

Radiation from cell phones penetrates the skin and skull and absorbs into the brain tissue, having an adverse affect on cells, he said. Phone radiation can also affect sperm count among men who carry phones in their pockets, he said.

Consumers should wear headsets, use the speaker feature and otherwise keep phones away from their bodies, he said.

"With cell phones, distance is your friend," he said.

The most vulnerable

Pregnant women and children are particularly vulnerable, he said.

A warning sticker should advise consumers that some studies link cell phones to rare but serious cancers, and they should take precautions, he said.

Your Cellphone Could Be a Major Health Risk, and the Industry Could Be a Lot More Upfront About It

(AlterNet article on cellphone EMF risks follows these links re proposed legislation or regulations.)
There have been attempts in U.S. cities and states to protect against cellphone radiation. But there have been ups and downs with these attempts.
Legislation has passed in Maine, but in a March 2014 legislation review, key Democrats switched sides after the bill passed both houses and killed the bill.
Yet legislation was passed and later killed in San Francisco in May 2013.
(Of related interest: FCC finally opens review of cell phone safety standards Nine months after the FCC said it would take a closer look at its standards for cell phone safety to see if the agency needs to revise the 15-year-old guidelines, it finally opened the official inquiry. CNet, March 29, 2013)  
CNN Anderson Cooper report:


From Cellphone Radiation Digest  

Call for Action to Reduce Harm from Mobile Phone Radiation, January 24, 2013

Europe has issued a warning that users globally should heed.

The European Environment Agency published a major report today to alert governments about the need to attend to early warning signs about technology health risks, including mobile phones.

The 750-page volume, “Late Lessons from Early Warnings,” includes twenty new case studies and has major implications for policy, science and society.  Although the report was prepared by the European Environment Agency to provide guidance to the EU nations, its implications are global. 

 . . . .

Martin Blank, Aternet.com

Your Cellphone Could Be a Major Health Risk, and the Industry Could Be a Lot More Upfront About It

The science is becoming clearer: Sustained EMF exposure is dangerous.

The following is an excerpt from  “Overpowered: What Science Tells Us About the Dangers of Cell Phones and Other Wifi-age Devices” by Martin Blank, PhD. Published by Seven Stories Press, March 2014. ISBN 978-1-60980-509-8. All rights reserved

Key excepts, but read the valuable book:

You may not realize it, but you are participating in an unauthorized experiment—“the largest biological experiment ever,” in the words of Swedish neuro-oncologist Leif Salford. For the first time, many of us are holding high-powered microwave transmitters—in the form of cell phones—directly against our heads on a daily basis.

Cell phones generate electromagnetic fields (EMF), and emit electromagnetic radiation (EMR). They share this feature with all modern electronics that run on alternating current (AC) power (from the power grid and the outlets in your walls) or that utilize wireless communication. Different devices radiate different levels of EMF, with different characteristics.

What health effects do these exposures have?

Therein lies the experiment.

 . . . .

What we know

The science to date about the bioeffects (biological and health outcomes) resulting from exposure to EM radiation is still in its early stages. We cannot yet predict that a specific type of EMF exposure (such as 20 minutes of cell phone use each day for 10 years) will lead to a specific health outcome (such as cancer). Nor are scientists able to define what constitutes a “safe” level of EMF exposure.

However, while science has not yet answered all of our questions, it has determined one fact very clearly—all electromagnetic radiation impacts living beings. As I will discuss, science demonstrates a wide range of bioeffects linked to EMF exposure. For instance, numerous studies have found that EMF damages and causes mutations in DNA—the genetic material that defines us as individuals and collectively as a species. Mutations in DNA are believed to be the initiating steps in the development of cancers, and it is the association of cancers with exposure to EMF that has led to calls for revising safety standards. This type of DNA damage is seen at levels of EMF exposure equivalent to those resulting from typical cell phone use.

The damage to DNA caused by EMF exposure is believed to be one of the mechanisms by which EMF exposure leads to negative health effects. Multiple separate studies indicate significantly increased risk (up to two and three times normal risk) of developing certain types of brain tumors following EMF exposure from cell phones over a period of many years. One review that averaged the data across 16 studies found that the risk of developing a tumor on the same side of the head as the cell phone is used is elevated 240% for those who regularly use cell phones for 10 years or more. An Israeli study found that people who use cell phones at least 22 hours a month are 50% more likely to develop cancers of the salivary gland (and there has been a four-fold increase in the incidence of these types of tumors in Israel between 1970 and 2006). And individuals who lived within 400 meters of a cell phone transmission tower for 10 years or more were found to have a rate of cancer three times higher than those living at a greater distance. Indeed, the World Health Organization (WHO) designated EMF—including power frequencies and radio frequencies—as a possible cause of cancer.

At Powells.com: Overpowered: What Science Tells Us About the Dangers of Cell Phones and Other Wifi-age Devices

At Alibris.com: Overpowered: What Science Tells Us About the Dangers of Cell Phones and Other Wifi-age Devices

Cell phones and wifi: Is Your Health on the Line? -Women's Health

Is Your Health on the Line?
-by Sascha de Gersdorff, Women's Health, Nov 10, 2010.

The new communication devices (cell phones, SmartPhones, iPhones, Blackberries, Androids) are pretty hard to resist.

But the safety of these devices is not yet assured. De Gersdorff offers practical advice on reducing electromagnetic exposure or radiation exposure for those of us who have a hard time abandoning the devices altogether.

The post I wrote, in reference to an article by Dr. Hyla Cass, cites two recent books on the subject. De Gersdorff in this article draws our attention to another book, by Kerry Crofton, Wireless Radiation Rescue: Safeguarding Your Family from the Risks of Electro-Pollution, 2010.

Dr. Hyla Cass on recent studies on cell phone radiation and related medical risks

Both Cell phones and electromagnetic fields are more dangerous than widely assumed, as growing numbers of news reports and academic studies are pointing out.
Hyla Cass, M.D., "Are Cell Phones and Wi-Fi Hazardous to Your Health?," Huffington Post, October 13, 2010.
She cites two recent books, Ann Louise Gittleman's "Zapped: Why Your Cell Phone Shouldn't Be Your Alarm Clock and 1,268 Ways to Outsmart the Hazards of Electronic Pollution." and
Devra Davis' "Disconnect: The Truth About Cell Phone Radiation, What the Industry Has Done to Hide It, and How to Protect Your Family."
Key excerpts in Dr. Cass' Huffington Post article:

The UK's BioInitiative Report of July 2007 (updated in 2009) describes hundreds of studies that link EMF exposure to Alzheimer's disease, ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease), brain fog, cardiovascular disease, miscarriage, infertility, insomnia, learning impairment, as well as anxiety and depression. Wireless technologies -- like cell and cordless phones -- produce microwaves that increase the permeability of the blood-brain barrier, leading to changes in brain chemistry. Even low-level EMFs can cause brain cells to leak.

That's not all: Although actual tissue heating does not occur, EMFs also cause breaks in DNA, speed up cell division, disrupting the orderly process of chromosome matching and detaching, and activate stress protein or heat shock proteins. And as Anne Louise Gittleman writes in Zapped:

"Most disturbing of all, the Swedish National Institute for Working Life found that people using cell phones for 2,000 hours -- a total most of us could easily rack up over the years -- had a 240 percent increased risk for malignant brain tumors on the side of the head where they usually held their phone."

A related study from the Mercury News:
Chris O'Brien, "Why cell phones may be more dangerous than we think": updated, October 10, 2010:
An excerpt from this article reads,

Several players at the heart of this debate converged on San Francisco last week. CTIA-The Wireless Association had
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its annual trade show, which it promised would be the last in the city because of the new disclosure law. Marks organized several protests outside the event. And noted epidemiologist Devra Davis, a visiting professor at Harvard University, arrived for several speaking engagements about her recently published book, "Disconnect: The Truth About Cell Phone Radiation, What the Industry Has Done to Hide It, and How To Protect Your Family."

"When I first heard that there could be problems with cell phones, I didn't believe it," Davis said. "I wrote the book because I was stunned to find out I was wrong to assume that these things had to be safe."

For many years it was believed the low levels of radiation generated by cell phones and towers had no effect on human biology. Now a small but growing number of scientists and health activists are challenging those findings.

UK-US study: cell phones AND cordless phones users risk brain tumors

"Cellphones Cause Brain Tumors, Says New Report By International EMF Collaborative"
August 26, 2009, from MedicalNewsToday.com
*Cell phones do pose dangers to users
*Children and young adults are at greater risk from use of these phones
*Telecom industry-funded studies paint too sanguine a picture of the health risks

A new report, "Cellphones and Brain Tumors: 15 Reasons for Concern, Science, Spin and the Truth Behind Interphone," was released today by a collaborative of international EMF activists. Groups affiliated with the report include Powerwatch and the Radiation Research Trust in the U.K., and in the U.S., EMR Policy Institute, ElectromagenticHealth.org and The Peoples Initiative Foundation. Download the report.

The exposé discusses research on cellphones and brain tumors and concludes:

- There is a risk of brain tumors from cellphone use;
- Telecom funded studies underestimate the risk of brain tumors, and;
- Children have larger risks than adults for brain tumors.

This report, sent to government leaders and media today, details eleven design flaws of the 13-country, Telecom-funded Interphone study. The Interphone study, begun in 1999, was intended to determine the risks of brain tumors, but its full publication has been held up for years. Components of this study published to date reveal what the authors call a 'systemic-skew', greatly underestimating brain tumor risk.

The design flaws include categorizing subjects who used portable phones (which emit the same microwave radiation as cellphones,) as 'unexposed'; exclusion of many types of brain tumors; exclusion of people who had died, or were too ill to be interviewed, as a consequence of their brain tumor; and exclusion of children and young adults, who are more vulnerable.

Lloyd Morgan, lead author and member of the Bioelectromagnetics Society says, "Exposure to cellphone radiation is the largest human health experiment ever undertaken, without informed consent, and has some 4 billion participants enrolled. Science has shown increased risk of brain tumors from use of cellphones, as well as increased risk of eye cancer, salivary gland tumors, testicular cancer, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and leukemia. The public must be informed."

International scientists endorsing "Cellphones and Brain Tumors: 15 Reasons for Concern" include Ronald B. Herberman, MD, Director Emeritus, University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute; David Carpenter, MD, Director, Institute for Health and the Environment, University at Albany; Martin Blank, PhD, Associate Professor of Physiology and Cellular Biophysics, Columbia University; Professor Yury Grigoriev, Chairman of Russian National Committee on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection, and many others.

Source
Radiation Research Trust

Now, did cell phone use contribute to Senator Edward (Ted) Kennedy's brain cancer?