Cellular Phones Pose No Additional Radiation Risk

Researchers at the University of Utah have found that radio frequency (RF) exposures from hand-held cellular telephones are well within the national safety standards.

The study, entitled “Electromagnetic Absorption In The Human Head for Cellular Telephones”, was conducted for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and lead by Dr. Om Gandhi, professor and chairman of the Department of Electrical Engineering at the University of Utah.

Dr. Gandhi’s team evaluated ten hand-held cellular telephones from four manufacturers and focused on the specific absorption rates (SAR) of the electromagnetic energy on the head, neck, shoulders, and upper torso.

The study also included a series of experiments using computer simulation based on models obtained from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

“Most electromagnetic absorption occurred in the upper part of the ear—consisting mostly of cartilage—and the skin behind it with a rapidly diminishing radiofrequency absorption for the nearby tissues in the head,” Gandhi stated.

The safety of hand-held cellular telephones that position the transceiver close to the head became an issue in the United States following a highly publicized law suit alleging that a woman had died from brain cancer after frequent cellular phone use.

For more information, please contact Michael J. Volpe, Washington D.C., at (703) 534-5022.