Are Mobile Phones Safe?

Are mobile phones “safe?” Yes, but It is a question that seems to recur. The issue is non-ionizing radiation, electromagnetic energy in the radio regions used by AM and FM radio, TV broadcasts, generated around power lines, Wi-Fi, cable TV, which uses radio waves in the copper portions of plant, and cell phones. 

Also, keep in mind that power levels for cell phones and even cell towers are low. Even a relatively strong cell tower signal is quite weak in comparison to other radio frequency transmitters, and mobile phones transmit at powers far below even cell towers. 

Consider that a cell tower radio emits energy 100 to 5,000 times lower than a TV transmitter, for example. Some liken the power level from a cell site radio to that of a light bulb. It’s actually quite low. 

Radio signals weaken (attenuate) logarithmically, by powers of 10, so the power levels decay quite rapidly.

Basically, doubling the distance of a receiver from a transmitter means that the strength of the signal at that new location is 50 percent of its previous value. Just three meters from the antenna, a cell tower radio’s power density has dropped by an order of magnitude (10 times).

At 10 meters--perhaps to the base of the tower, power density is down two orders of magnitude. At 500 meters, a distance a human is using the signals, power density has dropped six orders of magnitude.

The weight of evidence suggests that if radio-frequency emissions have any effect on humans at all, it is, according to the World Health Organization, about on par with other possibly carcinogenic items including coffee, mate tea,  glass containers, some pickled vegetables. 

To date, no adverse health effects have been established as being caused by mobile phone use, WHO says.  

Also, so far, “research does not suggest any consistent evidence of adverse health effects from exposure to radiofrequency fields at levels below those that cause tissue heating.” 

The amount of human tissue warming from mobile phone use is quite negligible, if detectable at all.

So far, “research has not been able to provide support for a causal relationship between exposure to electromagnetic fields and self-reported symptoms, or ‘electromagnetic hypersensitivity’,” WHO notes.

“Results of animal studies consistently show no increased cancer risk for long-term exposure to radiofrequency fields,” WHO says. 

Some activities also might be carcinogenic, WHO says, including carpentry, dry cleaning, hair dressing and frying.  

source: World Health Organization

Still, if you really are concerned about the possible health effects of using mobile phones, use them less. Text instead of holding the phone against your head and talking.