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Some Interesting Facts about Cell Phones
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On July 18, 2005, CNN’s popular show Anderson
Cooper 360 Degrees aired a segment in which the daughter of famed attorney
Johnnie Cochran claimed cell phone usage played a part in her father’s early
death. During the segment, Dr. Keith Black, Chief of Neurosurgery at Los
Angeles’ Cedars Sinai Hospital affirmed his belief in the carcinogenic effects
of cell phones. Dr. Black was quoted as saying, “My own belief is that there
probably is a correlation between the use of cell phones and brain cancer, even
though there’s no scientific proof…You know, this is a microwave antenna, so
you’re essentially cooking the brain when you hold the receiver right next to
your brain.
Although many research groups and doctors disagree with Dr. Black’s position,
they acknowledge that there is no conclusive evidence to support either side of
the issue and additional research must be done. A recent review of 26 leading
reports on cell phone danger, found that, “Overall the reports acknowledge that
exposure to low level RF [radiofrequency] fields may cause a variety of subtle
biological effects on cells, animals and humans, particularly on brain activity
during sleep, but the possibility of exposure causing adverse health effects
remains unproven. Nevertheless, these reports suggest additional well-targeted,
high quality research would be valuable to explore remaining uncertainties
further.”3
Leading researcher Stefan Lonn, PhD in the spring 2005 National Brain Tumor
Foundation newsletter, echoes this cautious sentiment. Dr. Lonn writes,
“…concerns have been raised that use of [cell phone] technology has increased
dramatically without sufficient understanding of potential adverse health
effects.”4 The uncertainty of the health risks associated with cell phone
emissions is troubling because of the vast number of people who use cell phones
each day. Market analysts estimate that 175 million Americans own cell phones
and a recent study by Scarborough Research found that 69 percent of New York
households own at least one cell phone.5 As the World Health Organization
warned, “Given the immense numbers of users of mobile phones, even small adverse
effects on health could have major public health implications.”6 In the absence
of conclusive evidence either way it is important that consumers can easily find
information on the levels of emissions from their cell phones. This information
allows them to make calculated risks and educated decisions about which phones
to purchase and use.
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What can I use to
protect myself from cell phone radiation





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Cell Phone SAR Levels listed by
Manufacturer
What is the SAR Level
Back in 1996, in an effort to address growing
concerns about cell phone emissions, the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) established radio frequency exposure guidelines for cell
phones. They developed the term “SAR” or Specific Absorption Rate as a
way of measuring the absorption of cell phone emissions into the body. The
maximum legal SAR level in the United States is 1.6W/kg (watts per kilogram).
SAR levels for cell phones typically range from .2W/kg and 1.58W/kg.
Troublingly, information on SAR levels of popular cell phone models is not
widely known or readily available. The FCC and the FDA joined forces to produce
a website with links to cell phone manufacturers’ websites so consumers can look
up the emission level of their cell phone. But the joint FCC/FDA website does
not have a comprehensive list of SAR levels, and it is quite a tedious task to
visit dozens of websites to compare SAR levels of different phones before
purchasing one. There are non-governmental websites that list SAR levels for
different phones, but most people don’t know about these sites, or do not trust
the information because it does not come directly from the joint FCC/FDA
website.
The following information was
compiled from the websites of each major cell phone manufacturer and the
information on SAR levels from the FCC and FDA-sponsored links. The SAR ratings
for the most popular phone models, as of May 2005, listed by Manufacturer.
|
COMPANY MODEL # |
IN THE EAR |
ON THE BODY |
|
Alcatel
One Touch 153 |
0.77 |
n/a |
|
Alcatel
One Touch 155 |
0.65
|
n/a |
|
Alcatel
One Touch 156 |
0.65
|
n/a |
|
Alcatel
One Touch 300/301 |
1.02 |
1.48 |
|
Alcatel
One Touch 310/311 |
0.6 |
0.9 |
|
Alcatel
One Touch 320 |
0.77
|
1.12 |
|
Alcatel
One Touch 331 |
0.49 |
0.72 |
|
Alcatel
One Touch 332 |
0.43
|
0.63 |
|
Alcatel
One Touch 355 |
0.59
|
0.88 |
|
Alcatel
One Touch 500 Series |
0.71 |
1.04 |
|
Alcatel
One Touch 511 |
0.30 |
0.53 |
|
Alcatel
One Touch 512 |
0.30 |
0.53 |
|
Alcatel
One Touch 525 |
0.6 |
0.9 |
|
Alcatel
One Touch 531 |
0.86 |
0.81 |
|
Alcatel
One Touch 556 |
0.40 |
0.60 |
|
Alcatel
One Touch 557 |
0.43 |
0.66 |
|
Alcatel
One Touch 565 |
0.43
|
0.66 |
|
Alcatel
One Touch 700 |
0.77
|
1.04 |
|
Alcatel
One Touch 715 |
0.35 |
0.56 |
|
Alcatel
One Touch 735/735i |
0.57 |
0.81 |
|
Alcatel
One Touch 756 |
0.5 |
0.8 |
|
Alcatel
One Touch 757 |
0.5 |
0.8 |
|
Alcatel
One Touch 835 |
0.75 |
1.20 |
|
Alcatel
One Touch Club |
1.25
|
0.87 |
|
Alcatel
One Touch Easy |
1.25
|
0.87 |
|
Alcatel
One Touch Gum |
1.25 |
0.87 |
|
Alcatel
One Touch Max |
1.25
|
0.87 |
|
Alcatel
One Touch View |
1.35 |
0.96 |
|
AlcatelOne
Touch302/303/304 |
1.0 |
1.45 |
|
Kyocera
SE44 |
1.49
|
n/a |
|
LG
4NE1 |
1.28
|
n/a |
|
LG
A7110 |
0.71
|
n/a |
|
LG
C1300 |
0.71
|
n/a |
|
LG
C330W |
0.6698 |
n/a |
|
LG
F9100 |
0.72 |
n/a |
|
LG
G4010 |
0.714 |
n/a |
|
LG
G4011 |
0.7 |
n/a |
|
LG
G4015 |
0.71
|
n/a |
|
LG
G4050 |
0.71 |
n/a |
|
LG
L1150 |
1.45
|
n/a |
|
LG
L1200 |
0.71 |
n/a |
|
LG
LX1200 |
0.83
|
n/a |
|
LG
LX5350 |
1.38
|
n/a |
|
LG
LX5450 |
1.1 |
n/a |
|
LG
LX5550 |
1.21 |
n/a |
|
LG
MM-535 |
0.36
|
n/a |
|
LG
PM-225 |
0.90 |
n/a |
|
LG
PM-325 |
0.95
|
n/a |
|
LG
TM510 |
0.998 |
n/a |
|
LG
TP1100 |
1.39
|
n/a |
|
LG
TP2110 |
1.2 |
n/a |
|
LG
TP3000 |
1.41 |
n/a |
|
LG
TP5200 |
0.73
|
n/a |
|
LG
TP5250 |
0.839 |
n/a |
|
LG
V111 |
1.243
|
n/a |
|
LG
VI-125 |
0.99 |
n/a |
|
LG
VI5225 |
0.6 |
n/a |
|
LG
VX1 |
1.24
|
n/a |
|
LG
VX10 |
1.24
|
n/a |
|
LG
VX2000 |
1.28
|
n/a |
|
LG
VX3100 |
1.27
|
n/a |
|
LG
VX3100L |
1.27 |
n/a |
|
LG
VX3200 |
1.17 |
n/a |
|
LG
VX3300 |
1.1 |
n/a |
|
LG
VX4400 |
1.0 |
n/a |
|
LG
VX4500 |
1.17
|
n/a |
|
LG
VX4600 |
1.22
|
n/a |
|
LG
VX4700 |
1.14 |
n/a |
|
LG
VX6000 |
1.32 |
n/a |
|
LG
VX6100 |
0.93 |
n/a |
|
LG
VX7000 |
1.27 |
n/a |
|
LG
VX8000 |
0.865
|
n/a |
|
LG
VX8100 |
1.16 |
n/a |
|
LG
VX9000 |
1.33
|
n/a |
|
Mitsubishi
A008 |
0.74 |
n/a |
|
Mitsubishi
A1000 |
0.74 |
n/a |
|
Mitsubishi
A760 |
0.96
|
n/a |
|
Mitsubishi
A768 |
0.96 |
n/a |
|
Mitsubishi
A780 |
0.74
|
n/a |
|
Mitsubishi
A830 |
0.69 |
n/a |
|
Mitsubishi
A835 |
0.55 |
n/a |
|
Mitsubishi
A840 |
0.93
|
n/a |
|
Mitsubishi
A860 |
0.93 |
n/a |
|
Mitsubishi
A920 |
0.75 |
n/a |
|
Mitsubishi
A925 |
0.65 |
n/a |
|
Mitsubishi
C155 |
0.82 |
n/a |
|
Mitsubishi
C156 |
0.82 |
n/a |
|
Mitsubishi
C200 |
0.78 |
n/a |
|
Mitsubishi
C250 |
0.83 |
n/a |
|
Mitsubishi
C300 |
0.83
|
n/a |
|
Mitsubishi
C331 |
0.81
|
n/a |
|
Mitsubishi
C332 |
0.81
|
n/a |
|
Mitsubishi
C333 |
0.81
|
n/a |
|
Mitsubishi
C336 |
0.81
|
n/a |
|
Mitsubishi
C350 |
0.81 |
n/a |
|
Mitsubishi
C380 |
0.73
|
n/a |
|
Mitsubishi
C381p |
1.01 |
n/a |
|
Mitsubishi
C385 |
0.73
|
n/a |
|
Mitsubishi
C450 |
0.92 |
n/a |
|
Mitsubishi
C550 |
0.71
|
n/a |
|
Mitsubishi
C650 |
0.87 |
n/a |
|
Mitsubishi
C975 |
1.02
|
n/a |
|
Mitsubishi
C980 |
1.02 |
n/a |
|
Mitsubishi
E1000 |
0.88 |
n/a |
|
Mitsubishi
E375 |
0.62
|
n/a |
|
Mitsubishi
E375i |
0.51
|
n/a |
|
Mitsubishi
E380 |
0.73 |
n/a |
|
Mitsubishi
E385 |
0.88
|
n/a |
|
Mitsubishi
E398 |
1.01
|
n/a |
|
Mitsubishi
E550 |
0.93
|
n/a |
|
Mitsubishi
E815 |
0.8 |
n/a |
|
Mitsubishi
L7089 |
0.93 |
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