Share:
Federal Office warns against exposure to radiation from smartphones
Smartphones are an everyday part of everyday life nowadays. Like previous cell phones, they use high-frequency electromagnetic fields to transmit information. These fields can pose a health risk, which is why limits have been set for mobile stations and terminals, which should protect the population from the proven health effects of high-frequency fields of mobile communications, explains the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS). However, there are still "uncertainties in the risk assessment that could not be completely eliminated by scientific research, for example in the German mobile radio research program," the BfS continues. Therefore, according to the experts, the limits should be supplemented by appropriate precautionary measures.
Although according to the current state of science and technology in compliance with the limits of the smartphones and mobile phones no health risk, but for a final assessment of long-term effects, the technology is still too young, the BfR warns and strongly recommends the precaution not to ignore to let. The uncertainties are particularly evident in the possible health risks of long-term exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields from mobile phone calls in adults (more than 10 years of intensive use of mobile phones) and the health effects of using mobile phones on children. However, various simple tricks make it possible to significantly reduce the intensity (intensity) of the high-frequency fields and the duration of the radiation exposure (exposure).
The radiation exposure of smartphones should be minimized as much as possible. (Image: Trueffelpix / fotolia.com) Cell phone radiation is absorbed by the tissue
For the purposes of precaution, a device with as little radiation as possible should be selected at the time of purchase. An overview of radiation exposure has been compiled by the BfS in a list of more than 2,500 mobile phones. The specific absorption rate (SAR), which indicates how much radiation energy is transferred to the tissue, serves as the indicator for the load. For example, a part of the energy of the electromagnetic fields penetrates into the head when making a call. The energy is taken in each case from the body part near which the cell phone is currently located, explains the BfS.
Low-radiation smartphones prefer
To exclude the health effects of these high-frequency fields, the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) recommended a maximum of two watts per kilogram for the SAR as a limit. This limit does not exceed any of the mobile phones in the list of BfS. However, the Federal Office expressly points out that no separate audit took place here, but instead relied on the information provided by the manufacturers. Particularly low-radiation mobile phones are marked with the "Blue Angel" environmental label. You must not exceed a SAR value of 0.6 watts per kilogram. These increased requirements fulfilled in the current survey of the BfS more than half of the devices.
Minimize radiation exposure through simple tricks
According to the Federal Office for Radiation Protection, the "electromagnetic fields that occur when talking on mobile phones near the body, in general, much stronger than the fields that are exposed, for example by neighboring mobile base stations." Therefore, the recommendations of the BfS for precaution in the first place geared towards the use of cell phones. For example, the experts recommend that you always use the landline phone if you have the option to dial between landline and mobile. According to the BfS, telephone calls with the mobile phone should be as short as possible and "in case of poor reception, such as in a car without an external antenna", the BfS advises against giving up telephone calls. Because the worse the connection to the next base station, the higher the power with which the mobile sends. For example, if the car body catches a portion of the radiation, the intensity of the transmitted high frequency field is increased. The use of head sets while telephoning can reduce the load significantly, as with increasing distance between the head and antenna, the radiation absorption of the tissue quickly decline, reports the BfS.
It is particularly important to minimize the radiation exposure in children, as these are still in development and could therefore be more sensitive to health, the BfS pointed out. Cell phone calls to children should therefore, according to the experts, be restricted as much as possible. (Fp)