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Protecting/enhancing your Energy — Unique Environmental Energy Products for the 21st Century from The Energy Store |
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Dangers of Cell phones 2 |
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From http://www.wave-guide.org/library/cellphones.html, with thanks:
Some Interesting Facts • That up to 60% of the radiation emitted by a typical cell phone, (enough to cause heating), will be absorbed by the user’s head? • That multiple independent tests have measured up to four times the radiation coming out of the earpiece of a cellular phone, than out of the antenna? • That a similar amount of radiation comes out from the keypad and the mouthpiece as well? • That recent studies are showing serious bio-effects at exposures far below the current exposure standard? • That many phones cannot even meet these arguably inadequate standards? • That manufacturers could make the phones so less radiation would escape into the user’s head, but most are unwilling to do so, apparently because to do so would decrease their profit, and acknowledge the potential risk? • That different brands and models of phones have widely different levels of emissions? • That Lloyd’s of London recently refused to underwrite cellular manufacturers against possible future claims of microwave health damage? Leakage, Standards, and Excessive Exposure
In another test, three times that much was measured, and the data for the following graph was collected: Unshielded maximum radiation level at the given latitude (in mW/cm2) vs. distance along the vertical axis of the phone (cm) [NOTE: the emissions from the body of the phone were highest near the midline, and in the antenna region they were highest, of course, over the antenna]:
Why all the leakage? It has been postulated that fundamentally, this is about keeping production costs low, that the source of the leakage is poorly matched transmitters, feeds and antennas. It is also related to the techniques used to measure the fields, and the protocols involved. Secondarily, it is about lack of shielding in the phone case. Because the FCC is primarily concerned with making sure Cellular Phones do not interfere with other devices, they are willing to ignore what is happening in the immediate vicinity of the phone, the so-called near-field, where your head is.
In a letter to FCC Chairman, Mr. William E. Kennard, Dr. David Nghiem, Ph.D, and CEO of USA Wireless, describes how none of the phones they tested met the Emissions Mask Requirements of the FCC specification.
Your Cellphone is licensed to operate at a certain frequency; however it also emits radiation at other frequencies as well. The FCC, probably due mostly to its focus on interference, sets a gain measured in decibels, for the harmonics. The third harmonic is supposed to be 1/10,000 of the fundamental frequency, but in testing, USA Wireless discovered none of the phones they tested met this Emissions Mask Requirement.
Because of all this leakage, and the proximity of the antenna, a disproportionate amount of radiation is absorbed directly into the user’s head.
In a test performed for the October 20, 1999 ABC News 20/20 segment on Cellphone Safety by IMST in Germany, they found that four out of five of the phones they tested exceeded the standard in at least one testing position. They determined that a phone would pass or fail the safety standard based upon what angle the phone was held at during the test. The standard was reportedly entirely ambiguous in this respect, allowing phone manufacurers to simply re-orient their phone until it passes the test. One popular model exceeded the standard in both positions tested, and would only pass when a remote earpice was used. In the ABC test, all phones were tested in Analog mode. They report testing in two positions; one, referred to as the "touch position" yielded lower SARs.
In a follow-up, ABC News says the FCC thinks the ABC test results "warrant closer scrutiny", and the FDA says the industry should design phones to minimize the radiation exposure to users.
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See also: Dangers of cell phones 1 |
