Cell Phones Today
...n 800 MHz and 1900 MHz. This frequency range falls into the middle of the microwave territory. Remember when you were little, and your mother told you not to stand in front of the microwave because it was bad for you? Essentially every time you talk on the phone, the transmitter inside the phone is acting almost like a microwave attached to your head. It is unknown exactly how this radiation affects the user. As long time researcher Dr. Ross Adey states, the information coming in is fairly new. "This is the first generation that has put a relatively high-powered transmitter against the head, day after day." Without concrete proof, researchers are forced to speculate about what happens to the radiation. Most scientists believe that the radiation emitted by a cell phone is absorbed "by the soft tissue of the head, typically the brain." This absorption is known as a phone's SAR, specific absorption rate. The phone manufacturers have responded to these claims by stating that their phones are safe under the government's radiation safety limits. According to the tests run by the major phone companies, the radiation emitted by your phone poses no threat to your health. Also “according to three separate U.S. government agencies, (the Federal Communications Commission, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration) and one independent standards organization (the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), cell phone radiation levels are well within the acceptable minimums for exposure” Even so, starting very soon, the cell phone manufacturers will have to disclose the radiation levels emitted by their products. “The actual radiation measurement won’t be printed on the box of new cell phones, but consumers will be shown how to access the information from the FCC”, said Jo-Anne Basile an official in the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association. A cell phone does have many benefits that make it one of the most useful inventions in recent years. Many of these benefits are related to convenience. First of all there is the fact that with most cell phones you can call anywhere around the country free of charge. This base feature enables people that live far away from each other to still remain in contact through a more immediate source than letters or e-mail. Second by having the ability to make a call from pretty much anywhere in the nation the level of safety for the average person has increased. A cell phone nowadays are so common on outdoor trips that one might even say that they are almost a necessity. By having the phone people who are lost or who are in trouble can now relay for help. Third has become cost. The cost of owning a cell phone has gotten so small that there is little stopping people from buying a cell phone and using it as their phone. They now even have Cricket, which enables you to have unlimited local calls for less than some land line phones. Lastly is the most obvious reason of the owner’s ability to make calls while they are on the run or out and about. As a cell phone owner I am forced to make a decision. Do I agree with the studies and stop my cell phone usage or do I ignore them? Personally I agree with both, but I do have an opinion based on the data and my experiences. When cell phones were first released into the market, they were assumed to be safe to use. No one thought to test them for health risks. According to studies done by Dr. George Carlo “when held to the ear up to 60% of the cell phone's EMF emissions penetrate the skull and are absorbed by the user's brain.” As an EMF scientist and one of the industry’s chief researchers Carlo was in charge of a six year study commissioned and funded by the industry itself. In an interview done by 20/20 Carlo stated that “cell phone technology, can no longer be considered completely safe.” Based on his research Carlo concluded that there was a direct link between cell phones and brain tumors and genetic damage. As I look at the graph presented by ABC News, it is without a doubt that radiation is emitted from a cell phone. The graph shows that the emissions range from 836-881mHz, which supports the data in Gordon Bass's article in Smart Business. The interesting part is that microwaves, pagers, some TVs, and some cordless phones emit more radiation than cell phones. Every household owns at least one TV, microwave, or cordless phone. The problem I find with connecting cell phones to health hazards is that the data is too flimsy. Is the radiation coming from the phone, the TV, the microwave, or the radio? Or is it coming from all of them? As stated in the ABC News article "the federal government cannot measure cumulative effects of using more than one device.” This is due to the before mentioned fact that the devices are used in different ways. Another fact is that out of the numerous studies done, none were able to make a conclusion based on fact. All of the studies have “educated guesses” made by the scientists as to what their study shows. What makes it even harder to believe is that the studies sometimes contradict themselves. Take for example a study done by the University of Bristol. They actually found that cell phone radiation sped up human thought processes. I’m not saying that talking on my cell phone will make me smarter, or make my brain run faste...