All cell phones, once turned on, emit certain amounts of electromagnetic radiation in the microwave radio frequency range. During the last 15 years, when the use of mobile phones has become extraordinarily prevalent throughout the world, the effects of this radiation on human health have been the subject of intense study and have been the subject of numerous heated debates. In recent years, we have seen report after report linking prolonged cell phone use and exposure to varying amounts of cell phone radiation to brain tumors, cancer, stress, headaches, cognitive problems, and sleep disorders.
However, most of these studies have been disputed by other scientists or considered biased by other groups that also produced evidence to the contrary. As such, there is no definitive and indisputable conclusion, as of yet, about the dangers of cell phones. Scientists correctly warn that there is much we do not know about the effects of mobile phone radiation, and that the full impact may be known years from now, when it will be too late to reverse any damage.
“The latency between exposure and brain cancer could be 20 or 30 years,” notes Professor Devra Davis of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute. By using mobile devices without a clear understanding of the dangers, “we are basically treating ourselves like lab rats in an experiment without any controls.”
To mitigate the potential dangers of cell phones, experts recommend certain safe practices in the use of wireless devices. Some of the most common recommendations are: Keep your cell phone away from your body, text more and talk less, use the headset or speakerphone function, use your landline phone, turn off your mobile phone while charging, keep phones Keep cell phones out of the reach of children and buy or use phones that have been certified or tested to emit the least amount of radiation.
It is with the intention of educating the public about the dangers of mobile phone radiation that the Environmental Working Group (EWG) has conducted a comprehensive study, covering over a thousand mobile phone models on the market, detailing the amount of radiation that each mobile phone emits. The EWG is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, founded in 1993 by Ken Cook and Richard Wiles, whose goal is “to use the power of public information to protect public health and the environment.”
These are the 10 mobile phones that emit the least radiation, according to the EWG report:
1. Samsung Impression (SGH-a877) [AT&T]
2. Motorola RAZR V8 [CellularONE]
3 Samsung SGH-t229 [T-Mobile]
4. Samsung Rugby (SGH-a837) [AT&T]
5.Samsung Propel Pro (SGH-i627) [AT&T]
6. Samsung Gravity (SGH-t459) [CellularONE, T-Mobile]
7. T-Mobile Companion [T-Mobile]
8. LG Xenon (GR500) [AT&T]
9. Motorola karma QA1 [AT&T]
10. Sanyo Katana II [Kajeet]
Visit ewg.org/cellphone-radiation/ to view the report and full list.
As the CTIA, the wireless industry’s lobby group, pointed out, there is still no conclusive, fully substantiated study on the dangers of cell phones. However, it’s no secret that government agencies in some countries have started posting warnings and ordering cell phone manufacturers to clearly state the amount of radiation emitted by each model they sell to the public.
Until we can finally close that gap in our knowledge about the dangers of cell phone radiation, we can only take precautionary steps to protect ourselves. An important way to protect our health, is by buying or purchasing mobile phone models that have the least amount of radiation.