There is growing consensus that cell phone antennas may
be harmful to humans due to the huge volume of
electromagnetic waves that get concentrated around it during
the receipt and placing of calls. This danger is even
further aggravated by cellular manufacturers who place the
internal antennas close to the earpiece.
Mobile phones are basically radio sets and therefore emit
energy radio signals that can penetrate the body and cause
harm.
There have been several commissions on the study of the
effect of mobile phone on the human body and the most
pronounced has been The Stewart Report which suggested that
radio waves indeed penetrate human bodies from mobile phone
antennas and specially recommended that children who
obviously have softer skulls be extra careful and use the
device sparingly. The report further went on to state that
the brain cells of children are not as fully developed as
those of adults and can therefore be at greater risk as they
absorb the radiation more than fully hardened adult skulls.
These hazards may exist but cell phones have become part
of everyday living like cars and cannot be dispensed with.
In the light of this fact, doing away with our phones may
not be a practical approach to solving the health hazards
issue. Rather we can adopt some habits to mitigate the
effects of the radiation.
Children should not use cell phones for long calls. They
should sue land lines instead so as to minimize the length
of contact with the radiation emitted by the device.
Consumers should buy phones with low specific absorption
rate (SAR). Mobile phones should be kept away from the body
as much as possible. They can be put in the purse or bag and
only brought into contact with the body when there is the
need to make or receive a call.
Users should try to keep their conversations short.
If possible, SMS messages can be sent instead of calls so
that there is less contact with the body especially around
the skull area.
Keep switching between both ears so that one particular
ear does not absorb the full brunt of the radiation all the
time.
Radiation emission is at the highest when the phone is
trying to connect so keep the phone away from the skull till
you see the call fully connected.
Weak signal results in higher radiation so avoid making
calls in areas where reception is poor as the device will
try to boost its power to get you a connection and
resultantly bombard you with more radiation.
We cannot do away with cellular devices looking at the
convenience they have ushered consumers in. Nevertheless, we
can adopt some helpful attitudes to minimize the harmful
effects this technology is bringing to mankind.
This article was posted on August 17, 2005
