Ok, this might be a wake-up call to drive home the ironical point!
Everyone knows that excessive cellphone usage is harmful. Also, as always, everyone is a resident expert on how it harms, though no one knows how it actually harms, beyond the two-minute cellphone-you-know-what-radiation-cancer spiel. Here is a report, with references and credentials on how radiation from phones and towers really cook you. To whet your thinking
SAR (Specific absorption rate) - Rate at which radiation is absorbed by human body, measured in units of watts per kg (W/kg) of tissue. In USA, SAR limit for cell phones is 1.6W/Kg which is actually for 6 minutes. It has a safety margin of 3 to 4, so a person should not use cell phone for more than 18 to 24 minutes per day.
This information is not commonly known to people in India.
There is quite a bit of theory, empirical data from research, and analysis stuff that Electrical Engineers might decode better (the author is a Professor from IIT-B). And there's quite a bit on the Medical stuff as well. But to cut the conversation short, the cancer theory might not just be theoretical.
Please do take the effort to go through this document. If you can't access it, please let me know and I will be glad to forward it to you.
Userid: praveen.prabhakaran@gmail.com
Password: Radiationhazard9
I have always had an innate dislike for cellphones. I am also notorious in my office for not picking up any cell calls on time. Communication has never been my forte and my body could never establish a chemistry with any instrument of communication so much so that when my boss forced upon me to make myself available 24/7, and he keeps doing this with the most modern gizmos that decend on this market -latest avatar of which was the Ipad (which I refused also because I do not subscribe to the "difference between the men and the boys is known from the size of their toys" theory)-it transformed into an abject aversion for the instrument!
ReplyDeleteNow Science has confirmed what my body has been telling me for decades- keep your body away from cellphone. Incidently Blackberry does warn, as was pointed out in the presention, to keep the device 25mm from the body.
I read the Powerpoint with a lot of trepidation. Truth Hurts and Aboslute Truth Hurts aboslutely! And although we are not living near cell towers, mobile phones are indispensible to our success as family and office managers- i.e to our art of getting things done only by others! Despite the hatred of the cellphones I calculated that my usage is at least 1 hour a day- weekends are thankfully less. Our family of 4 has 8 mobiles -all in working condition and I shudder to calculate the collective family exposure to cell radiation
It took me 5 years after microwave ovens became a household neccessity for me to buy one and 5 years after the harmful effects of microwave ovens became public that I discarded the same. Hope it does not take me 5 years to discard cell phones after reading this article!
Seriously what can we do to reduce cell radiation
A) Use bluetooth handsfree in car
B) Use landline in house (without wireless)- the old etisalat equipment is still in use in my house.
C) Use a wired or bluetooth earphone for office use. Bluetooth does looks clumsy but once people get used to our clownish appearance I guess they really do not mind!
D) Carry cellphones in a bag and not on your body
What else- comments welcome
My question post reading that horribly true document has been this:
ReplyDeleteHow does bluetooth help when the same SAR is still being 'transmitted' as the phone is talking to the bluetooth? Or did I even get the basic premise wrong? I have tried to talk to a number of people on this, but no one seems to be aware enough to offer a sound answer.
Does anyone have a substantiated answer?
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/apr2005/tc20050427_5651.htm
ReplyDeleteBluetooth: Dangerous Waves?
Radiation from a headset is real, but far lower than even that from a cell phone, which is pretty low to begin with
Reader Sridhar Ganesan writes: Regarding your recent column on Bluetooth devices, I have a Bluetooth-enabled BlackBerry phone, but I have stopped using the Bluetooth headset (a Jabra 250, and a very good one at that) because I am told the radiation may be harmful to me. Have you heard anything like that?
A: Both wireless phones and Bluetooth devices emit nonionizing radiation, typically at frequencies from 1 to 2.5 gigahertz. The data on health hazards from wireless phone radiation are equivocal, with some studies showing a measure of risk and some showing no problems.
But because it's a good idea to err on the side of caution in such matters, regulatory bodies have set exposure standards. These are expressed in terms of the "specific absorption rate" (SAR), which attempts to measure the radiation actually reaching body tissue. The U.S. and Canadian governments have set a maximum SAR of 1.6 watts per kilogram, while the European Union permits a slightly higher level.
"INSIGNIFICANT BY COMPARISON." In the real world, emissions generally stay well below the maximum allowed. According to data from BlackBerry-maker Research in Motion (RIMM ), SARs for GSM BlackBerry devices (those sold by Cingular and T-Mobile in the U.S.) fall in the range of 0.25 watts per kilogram when used at your ear.
Bluetooth radios operate at much lower power levels than phones so, not surprisingly, the radiation added by a Bluetooth headset is insignificant by comparison. A study by William G. Scanlon of Queen's University in Belfast found that a typical Ericsson (ERICY ) Bluetooth radio module generates an SAR of just 0.001 watts per kilogram.
So, if you're worried about the health impact of radio waves, remember that the phone itself is a much greater source of concern than a Bluetooth headset. That's especially true because, when you're using Bluetooth, the BlackBerry is likely positioned much farther from your body -- and especially your brain -- than when holding the phone up to your ear.