Smartphones may be leaking more radiation than we think
Smartphones may be leaking more radiation than we think
An investigation by the Chicago Tribune
suggests iPhones and Galaxy models may exceed radio frequency radiation safety
limits.
BY JACKSON
RYAN AUGUST 21, 2019 11:00 PM PDT
Apple and Samsung phones released over the last three years
may be producing radio frequency radiation at levels higher than current
Federal Communications Commission limits allow, according to a report by the Chicago Tribune. Scientists and
consumers have shown increasing concern that radio frequency radiation from
our devices may have adverse effects on human
health, especially with 5G rolling out across the globe.
The new report demonstrates that older phone models, operating in the 3G and 4G
bands, have the potential to exceed the FCC's safe limits by up to as much as
five times.
Smartphone manufacturers are
required to abide by the FCC guidelines in regard to radio frequency
radiation absorption by the body. The current measure used to determine the
safety limit is known as the "specific absorption rate," or SAR, and
the FCC set this at 1.6 watts per kilogram (1.6W/kg), averaged over 1 gram of
tissue. The FCC states that this limit is
"well below that at which laboratory testing indicates ... adverse health
effects could occur."
For a phone to receive approval, the FCC states that any device
will never exceed the maximum SAR level,
but the Tribune's investigation shows a handful of older models do.
The Tribune's extensive investigation tested
11 different models: Four iPhone models (the iPhone 7, 8, 8 Plus and X), three Samsung Galaxys (the
S8, S9 and J3), three Motorolas (the e5, e5 Play and g6 Play) and a BLU
Vivo 5 Mini. The phones were tested by RF Exposure Lab, an FCC
accredited laboratory in San Marcos, California. The investigators placed
smartphones within 2, 5, 10 or 15 millimeters of a "simulated body"
-- a mix of sugar, water and salt -- and measured levels of exposure with a
series of probes.
The results show that iPhone 7 radio frequency absorption levels
were among the worst offenders, with a SAR almost two to four times higher than
the safety limit when tested 2 mm from the body. The three Samsung Galaxy models also showed higher
absorption at the same distance, with the Galaxy S8 topping out with a reading of
8.22W/kg, five times higher than the current standard.
The report states that the FCC will now conduct its own tests over
the coming months but they told the Tribune the testing was "not as
comprehensive" as those usually filed for official compliance reports.
The Tribune writes that the test "was essentially a worst-case scenario in
terms of radio frequency radiation exposure" with consumers not
experiencing the levels of exposure seen during testing. However, lab owner Jay
Moulton did say this type of exposure "could happen in limited
situations."
Where does that leave us?
There's no way to know if the readings from the investigation
correlate with adverse human health effects. Currently, there is no strong
scientific evidence that shows this level of exposure to be harmful. The
investigation is only able to show that in these particular phones the SAR
levels exceed the FCC's current limits. It is a small sample size.
There is some suggestion that the closer the phone is to the body,
the higher the readings. But for a single test, every measurement at 2 mm from
the simulated body was higher than from 5 or 10 mm. That does raise questions
about the distance that manufacturers choose before a phone makes it to market.
The FCC also builds in a protective "buffer" for
exposure limits. Although the tests exceed the current safety limit of 1.6W/kg,
adverse effects are seen at levels on the order of 50 times more than the
standard, according to the FCC.
As the investigation points out, phones often go into a low-power
state when brought close to the skin due to in-built sensors. The Tribune team
did account for this in the Apple and Motorola phones, but not the Samsung
Galaxy phones, including the S8 which provided the highest reading.
The FCC has been investigating whether this limit should revised
in the wake of 5G phones coming to market, but on Aug. 8 declared the limit
would not be changing. "The available scientific
evidence to date does not support adverse health effects in humans due to
exposures at or under the current limits," Jeffrey Shuren, director of the
FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health, wrote to the FCC at the time.
A Samsung spokesperson told CNET "Samsung devices sold in the
United States comply with FCC regulations. Our devices are tested according to
the same test protocols that are used across the industry."
Apple and the FCC did not immediately respond to a request for
comment.
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