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
