Over forty years ago an inspector at the Hartford, CT Police Department raised concern about the safety of the Motorola walkie-talkies they were using.  This concern about possible radiation absorption eventually led back to a Motorola lab in Florida where a newly hired engineer was asked to come up with a way to prove the devices were safe.  The concepts of the test they put together would eventually evolve and influence the current tests the FCC requires of cell phone manufacturers for radiation emissions. Ryan Knutson at the Wall Street Journal takes an in-depth look at cell phone radiation exposure and the...

The Scientific American weighs in on the cell phone radiation cancer debate with an article by Christopher J. Portier and Wendy L. Leonard:  Do Cell Phones Cause Cancer? Probably, but It's Complicated.   They review the landscape of cell phone cancer radiation studies including a look at the recent National Toxicology Program (NTP) cancer study that showed cancer in rats exposed to cell phone radiation. They propose a careful review of the data as well as the real life human implications in order to understand it all.  They also provide a brief review of some of the human studies done both before and...

According to a variety of news outlets, the U.S. National Toxicology Program (NTP) is expected to issue a public announcement stating that cell phone radiation presents a cancer risk for humans. This follows its recently completed cell phone radiation study that showed statistically significant increases in cancer among rats that had been exposed to GSM or CDMA signals for two-years. This is by far—far and away—the most carefully done cell phone bioassay, a biological assessment. This is a classic study that is done for trying to understand cancers in humans, - - Christopher Portier, retired head of NTP The findings come from a...

Cell phones are wonderful gadgets for modern living. However, science is still inconclusive on the safety of cell phone radiation. Cell phones emit radio-frequency (RF) electromagnetic radiation (EMR), which is necessary for wireless communication but poses a potential health risk when absorbed by the human body. When we talk about cell phone radiation, it is important to understand that different regions of the radiation field surrounding a cell phone have different characteristics, and present different levels of concern to the user. Near-field and Far-field The characteristics of radio wave change with the distance from the transmitting antenna. The field is...

A 2015 study by U.S. and Brazilian scientists confirms a significantly higher absorption of cell phone radiation in a child’s brain than in an adult’s brain. Measuring Cell Phone Radiation Cell phone radiation absorption is measured by what is called SAR (Specific Absorption Rate). In the U.S. the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) sets the SAR safety limit for the general public to be 1.6 watts per kilogram (1.6 W/kg). Current FCC Standards & Different Body Sizes A point of concern related to this is the fact that while the FCC safety standards apply to all users’ body sizes (from small children to...

Cell phones are becoming increasingly popular in children. A 2015 survey finds most children get their first cell phone when they are 6-7 years old and 75% of American children under 8 have access to a Smartphone or Tablet. About three-quarters of teens have a cell phone.[1] Here at Brink Case we feel it is important to ask the question “are cell phones safe for children?” Cell phones emit radiofrequency (RF) electromagnetic radiation. When a person holds or carries a mobile device in close proximity, the user’s head and body can absorb over half of the transmitted energy. In the...