Yesterday the WHO (World Health Organization) reported that cell phones are "possibly carcinogenic to humans." The phones themselves aren't necessarily harmful. It's the radiation emitted by the phones -- and absorbed by the human body -- that troubles some doctors.
CNN Health reported yesterday that the researchers "found some evidence of increase in glioma and acoustic neuroma brain cancer for mobile phone users, but have not been able to draw conclusions for other types of cancers.
Manufacturers of many popular cell phones already warn consumers to keep their device away from their body and medical experts say there other ways to minimize cell phone radiation. It stands to reason then that the further you move your mobile phone away from your head then you will absorb or expose yourself to less radiation.
It is noted in many articles that mobile phone users may be wise to use a speakerphone or earpiece to get the phone away from your body. And as many high school or college students will affirm, you can text instead of talk!
"Finally, cell phones emit the most radiation when they are attempting to connect to cellular towers. A moving phone, or a phone in an area with a weak signal, has to work harder, giving of more radiation. So users can avoid using their cell phones in elevators, buildings and rural areas if they want to reduce their exposure, experts say."
Today on CNN Tech, Brandon Briggs provided a list of the ten highest and ten lowest mobile phone models, in terms of emitting the potentially harmful radiation. NOTE: The complete list is available from the Environmental Working Group on their article: Get A Safer Phone
Here is the short list - Current Phones with Lowest Radiation Levels:
1. LG Quantum (AT&T): 0.35 watts per kilogram
2. Casio EXILIM (Verizon Wireless): 0.53 W/kg
3. Pantech Breeze II (AT&T, AT&T GoPhone): 0.55 W/kg
4. Sanyo Katana II (Kajeet): 0.55 W/kg
5. Samsung Fascinate (Verizon Wireless): 0.57 W/kg
6. Samsung Mesmerize (CellularONE, U.S. Cellular): 0.57 W/kg
7. Samsung SGH-a197 (AT&T GoPhone): 0.59 W/kg
8. Samsung Contour (MetroPCS): 0.60 W/kg
9. Samsung Gravity T (T-Mobile): 0.62 W/kg
10. (tie) Motorola i890 (Sprint); Samsung SGH-T249 (T-Mobile): 0.63 W/kg
Current Phones with Highest Radiation Levels:
1. Motorola Bravo (AT&T): 1.59 W/kg
2. Motorola Droid 2 (Verizon Wireless): 1.58 W/kg
3. Palm Pixi (Sprint): 1.56 W/kg
4. Motorola Boost (Boost Mobile): 1.55 W/kg
5. Blackberry Bold (AT&T, T-Mobile): 1.55 W/kg
6. Motorola i335 (Sprint): 1.55 W/kg
7. HTC Magic (T-Mobile): 1.55 W/kg
8. Motorola W385 (Boost Mobile, U.S. Cellular, Verizon Wireless): 1.54 W/kg
9. Motorola Boost i290 (Boost Mobile): 1.54 W/kg
10. (tie) Motorola DEFY (T-Mobile); Motorola Quantico (U.S. Cellular, MetroPCS); Motorola Charm (T-Mobile): 1.53 W/kg
Some other high-profile phones fared somewhere in the middle on the rankings. The SAR level of the Apple iPhone 4 was 1.17 W/kg (for the AT&T model; the Verizon model wasn't listed).
You can read the entire article on CNN Tech here: Cell phones and radiation: The 10 highest- and lowest-emitting models
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