Cell Phone Safety Tips for Limiting Radiation - Healthy Building Science (2024)

There are many safety tips that focus on immediate life and safety.

Here are some examples of common cell phone safety tips:

• Don’t drive while using a cell phone
• Don’t cross the street while engaged in conversation on a cell phone
• If a police officer tells you to lower your weapon – drop or slowly put down your cell phone!

These cell phone safety tips seem pretty obvious and boring to me… although the last one does conjure up an action scene.

Our clients are more concerned about the longer-term health implications of prolonged exposure to radiation from cell phones. A group of prominent doctors and public health researchers issued a letter of caution on cell phone use in 2008. One of the leading signatories was Dr. Ronald Herberman, who was then the head of the University of Pittsburg Cancer Institute. Dr. Devra Lee Davis, founding director of the Center for Environmental Oncology at U of Pittsburg, also played apivotalrole in drafting the letter of warning about mobile phone use.Devra Lee Davis founded theEnvironmental Health Trustin 2007.

When the letter came out it caused quite a stir. I was fortunate to save a copy to my hard drive before it mysteriouslydisappearedfrom public view and vanished from the University of Pittsburg website. (Some speculate industry pressure from major cell phone donors.) Now it’s actually quite hard to find the letter. So I’ve decided to share a redlined copy of the letter here:

MEMORANDUM

TO: UPCI Faculty and Staff

FROM: Ronald B. Herberman, MD

SUBJECT: Important Precautionary Advice Regarding Cell Phone Use

Recently I have become aware of the growing body of literature linking long-termcell phone use to possible adverse health effects including cancer. Although theevidence is still controversial, I am convinced that there are sufficient data towarrant issuing an advisory to share some precautionary advice on cell phoneuse.

An international expert panel of pathologists, oncologists, and public healthspecialists, recently declared that electromagnetic fields emitted by cell phonesshould be considered a potential human health risk. To date, a number ofcountries including France, Germany, and India have issued recommendationsthat exposure to electromagnetic fields should be limited. In addition, Toronto’sDepartment of Public Health is advising teenagers and young children to limittheir use of cell phones, to avoid potential health risks.

More definitive data that cover the health effects from prolonged cell phone usehave been compiled by the World Health Organization, International Agency forResearch on Cancer. However, publication has been delayed for two years. Inanticipation of release of the WHO report, the following prudent and simpleprecautions, intended to promote precautionary efforts to reduce exposures tocell phone electromagnetic radiation, have been reviewed by UPCI experts inneuro-oncology, epidemiology, neurosurgery and the Center for EnvironmentalOncology.

Practical Advice to Limit Exposure to Electromagnetic RadiationEmitted from Cell Phones

1. Do not allow children to use a cell phone, except for emergencies. Thedeveloping organs of a fetus or child are the most likely to be sensitive to anypossible effects of exposure to electromagnetic fields.

Alex Stadtner note: children’s skulls are less dense and their brains are smaller resulting in higher penetration rates to a larger portion of the brain.

2. While communicating using your cell phone, try to keep the cell phone away fromthe body as much as possible. The amplitude of the electromagnetic field is onefourth the strength at a distance of two inches and fifty times lower at three feet.Whenever possible, use the speaker-phone mode or a wireless Bluetoothheadset, which has less than 1/100th of the electromagnetic emission of a normalcell phone. Use of a hands-free ear piece attachment may also reduceexposures.

Alex Stadtner note: We’ve measured some “Bluetooth” handsfree devices that have pretty high readings, so personally I prefer a plugged-in headset. The “BlueTube” type seems to be the best for minimizing exposure.

3. Avoid using your cell phone in places, like a bus, where you can passivelyexpose others to your phone’s electromagnetic fields.

Alex Stadtner note: I’m glad they thought to include this conscious concept of not polluting other’s environment!

4. Avoid carrying your cell phone on your body at all times. Do not keep it near yourbody at night such as under the pillow or on a bedside table, particularly ifpregnant. You can also put it on “flight” or “off-line” mode, which stopselectromagnetic emissions.

Alex Stadtner note: On the iPhone it’s called “airplane mode” and accessed from the primary “settings” icon that looks like gears. Putting it in airplane mode will stop RF (radio frequency) transmission, but there are still lower frequency magnetic fields emitted from the phone while it is on.

5. If you must carry your cell phone on you, make sure that the keypad is positionedtoward your body and the back is positioned toward the outside so that thetransmitted electromagnetic fields move away from your rather than through you.

Alex Stadtner note: On the phones we’ve tested this does appear to be true because of intentional shielding or the strategic location of the phone’s antenna in a location less likely to be obstructed (by your head).

6. Only use your cell phone to establish contact or for conversations lasting a fewminutes, as the biological effects are directly related to the duration of exposure.For longer conversations, use a land line with a corded phone, not a cordlessphone, which uses electromagnetic emitting technology similar to that of cellphones.

7. Switch sides regularly while communicating on your cell phone to spread outyour exposure. Before putting your cell phone to the ear, wait until yourcorrespondent has picked up. This limits the power of the electromagnetic fieldemitted near your ear and the duration of your exposure.

Alex Stadtner note: Some studies have shown acorrelationbetween which side of the head a cell phone user holds the phone and wheretumors develop.

8. Avoid using your cell phone when the signal is weak or when moving at highspeed, such as in a car or train, as this automatically increases power to amaximum as the phone repeatedly attempts to connect to a new relay antenna.

Alex Stadtner note: Another great reason not to use your cell phone in the car is you’re inside a metal box! RF travels like a bullet – but is easilyricochetedwhenever it hits metal. Transmitting RF in a metal cage leads to RF bouncing around several times before exiting the vehicle and increasing overall exposure levels. We did an interesting test using a plug-in cell phone cradle connected to an external car antenna and found reductions of RF inside the car above 50%.

9. When possible, communicate via text messaging rather than making a call,limiting the duration of exposure and the proximity to the body.

10. Choose a device with the lowest SAR possible (SAR = Specific Absorption Rate,which is a measure of the strength of the magnetic field absorbed by the body).SAR ratings of contemporary phones by different manufacturers are available bysearching for “sar ratings cell phones” on the internet.

Alex Stadtner note: This final suggestion only really addresses heat (thermal) effects, and therefore is a very limited way of evaluating a phone’s overall EMF impact. However, if given the option, let the industry know we prefer low-SAR phones and hopefully, they’ll start to listen to our other concerns.

Ultimately it’s a personal decision whether or not to own a mobile phone. Convenience versus the unknown health effects? Only in the past 10 years have they become soprevalentin our society, yet people cannot imagine life without a cell phone!

As a small business owner who is on the road a lot, I do have a cell phone. I currently use the (Verizon) iPhone 4s primarily as an answering and call-forwarding machine, but sometimes I do find myself making a call… and when I do… I follow the above cell phone safety guidelines as part of a precautionary approach to surviving my oh-so-convenient life.