M&G reporters
Hands-free kits for cellphones do not protect your brain from radiation – on the contrary, they channel three times the dose into the skull that you receive by holding the phone next to your ear, according to the British Consumers’ Association.
A report in Which? magazine will upset those who rushed to buy the devices out of fear for their health. Two of the most popular kits were tested. The researchers found the wires leading from the phone into the ear acted like an aerial, conveying a more concentrated dose of radio waves than usual.
However, a representative for the Federation of the Electronics Industry (FEI) said: “Tests made by FEI members and also at an independent laboratory have without exception shown that the absorption levels produced when using a headset are significantly less than those produced without a headset.”
Which? acknowledges that nobody knows for certain whether the form of radiation emitted by cellphones – radio waves which are non-ionising radiation – is harmful to the brain. Exposure to this type of radiation can cause a rise in temperature which makes your heart work harder and can lead to headaches, sickness and dizziness. Some claim the phones can cause problems such as tumours and memory loss.
The United Kingdom’s Department of Health has asked a panel of scientists to investigate. The consumers’ association has submitted its findings to the commission.
The association’s research contradicts a study carried out last year by the National Physical Laboratory (NPL). The research found that shields cut radiation by 80%, while headsets reduce it by 98%.
The NPL, like phone manufacturers, used a test called specific absorption rate. An artificial human head, filled with a number of fluids which mimic the consistency of the brain and fitted with temperature sensors, measures the rise in temperature caused by using a cellphone.
The consumers’ association also used an artificial head, filled with a single type of brain-like material. But it did not measure increase in temperature, only the microwaves.
The national radiological protection board, which sets limits on the amount of radiation cellphones are permitted to emit, says they do not have enough energy to damage genetic material and, therefore, could not cause cancer. But it sets limits on the grounds that the heating effect of the phones could potentially be a problem.
“If you’re worried about levels of radiation from your mobile phone, you shouldn’t rely on a hands-free set,” said Graeme Jacobs, editor of Which?. Phone shields, marketed as reducing radiation to the brain, did not work either, he said.
Antonia Chitty, one of the authors of the report, said there was a mismatch between the reasons the companies design hands-free kits and the reasons people buy them. “Consumers are buying them because they want the protection. Our impression is that companies are developing them to be handy and convenient,” she said.