eBob’s Blog

Handphone safety and health effect May 17, 2008

Posted by ebobmuse in Health.
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Many people considered handphone as dangerous item, as they believe it can cause cancer or abnormality. But the phone companies, WHO and many independent organization state that the cellular phone are safe. 

 What you should know

- Phone radiation is known to not have an effect on cell mutation (there is no scientific evidence), but the danger is it can create heating on the tissue when exposed. I think cellphone is as dangerous as hot summer sun (but without ultra violet light), exposed too much can make your skin burn.

- Phone radiation shield is useless, WHO state this on Fact Sheet 193 (revised June 2000): Scientific evidence does not indicate any need for RF-absorbing covers or other absorbing device on mobile phones. They cannot be justified on health grounds and the effectiveness of many such devices in reducing RF exposure is unproven. Wireless phones conform with strict safety guidelines required by the Federal Communications Commission and endorsed by other federal agencies responsible for protecting the nation’s public health. Given compliance with these requirements, use of any of these products would not make any material difference in the safe use of the phone.

- Using phone in gas station is safe, but it may interfere with the gas station device operation.

- Don’t use your handphone near a pacemaker device, it may interfere.

- Maximum limit of cellular phone SAR standard is 1/50 hazard limit. At 100W/Kg cellular frequency can create tissue heating (that is no cell mutation happened).

- Base station emit radiation greater than phone but the received radiation for people from any normal location is a lot less.

- Lower SAR do not means safer phone. There is no need to get any special precautions to use mobile phones.

- EGPRS has lower SAR Than GPRS, in Pocket PC Phone HSTNH-H06C, FCC ID NM8HHH06C, SAR Report:

EGPRS mode was not measured, because maximum averaged output power is more than 2 dB lower in EGPRS mode

than in GPRS mode.

Real life SAR is lower than indicated on manual book

- Phone do not have high SAR level all the time, it increase power level just enough to reach the cellular network.

- The provided value on manual corresponds to tests at the highest possible output power. In real life, the phone is only using the power that is needed to reach a base station.

- The phone is further reducing the transmitted power when the user is listening and not talking.

- SAR varies with the different frequency channels and bands that the phone uses. The provided value corresponds to the frequency giving the maximum SAR, usually at 800/850/900. If you subscribe to network that has different frequency that measured, you will have lower SAR.

- Different ways of holding the phone give different SAR. The maximum value corresponds to a holding position giving a conservative test result.

- Real life SAR can have value as small as few percent of maximum indicated.

 

 

 

Look at my SAR page, SAR rating when worn on body do not necessarily lower than when use at the ear, even with original accessory.

Don’t use your phone in your car

- When used in isolated environment, phone will have difficulty in reaching the network, so it will increase the power level to reach it. Your phone will have power level higher in the car than in the outside. So, if you are really affraid of phone radiation don’t use it on car or isolated metal area (plane, ship). Car Metal body create faraday effect, that make radiation bounce back in the room, make itaccumulate into greater radiation (just like speaker box, no box will make speaker sound softer).

- Greater risk of accident.

- Some contry make it illegal.

 

Don’t use fake batteries

Lithium ion are explosive item, poor manufacturing can make the batteries easily exploded on bend or drop.

Signal Booster

Signal booster can increase phone signal strength greatly. It can also make the phone do not comform to FCC certification anymore, because the signal emitted by phone using signal strength device can have SAR Rating biggerthan FCC safety limits.

Using a passive signal booster (the one without electronics) is considerably safe, because it works just like extendable antenna do, and the phone it self still have control over signal gain strength. When using active signal booster, the phone do not have control on how much power to emit in order to reach the network adequately. When the signal booster emit the signal too strong the phone will emit greater radiation than standard, also this will hampering cellular network, making other user hard to connect to network.

Things to consider

 - Buy handphone with speakerphone capability, use it if you affraid of radiation.

- Every cellphone is safe, use SAR rating as guidance to find phone with good reception, don’t use it to consider radiation level.

- If you think about light frequency band, you usually use anti UV cream or sunglasses to avoid radiation of ultra violet light which can damage your skin. But many people use high intensity infra red to make their skin tan. Handphone frequency is well bellow infra red frequency, so, direct expose will not damage your skin even with high intensity base station antenna.