ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Do you feel there is a radiation risk to your brain by using a cell phone ?

Updated on September 3, 2016
Cell phone mast
Cell phone mast
Cell phone
Cell phone
Microwave mast
Microwave mast
Effect on skull/brain of child to adult
Effect on skull/brain of child to adult
Cell phone mast range
Cell phone mast range


There seems to be no middle ground regarding this subject. We all want the convenience of a cell phone but seem to be very willing to believe those who advocate they are akin to standing with a loaded gun to your head.


It is accepted that using a cell phone raises the ear temperature by around 1 degree C but this is no more than you would expect by holding a warm device pressed against the ear. The phone is a transmitter and the electronic circuits will cause it to heat up. This is not the same as using microwaves to excite the molecules in the ear to create deep penetrating heat.


RF radiation, unlike light, does not travel in straight beams, rather, it balloons out from the original transmission source. When studying the emissions we are primarily concerned with RF radiation at levels of 0.010m W/cm² or above, for a single source. (The current FCC standard for cell phone base stations are 0.57m W/cm² for 900 MHz transmissions and 1.0m W/cm² for 1800-2000 MHz.) If we look at the pattern of RF radiation from a 1000 w ERP low-gain antenna mounted on a 45ft tower we find a level of 0.10m W/cm² covering a diameter of abt 50ft and between 36-50ft from the base of the tower. There is a larger contour of 0.010m W/cm² having a diameter of abt. 150ft with the rest of the signal of abt 0.001m W/cm² reaching base level of the tower after abt. 120ft. High gain antennas have a similar pattern but normally there would be 3 or 4 pointing in different directions.


All of this dry information is pretty meaningless to most people but when taken in the context of tests carried out in 2000 by the UK National Radiation Protection Board, their figures may make a little more sense. They measured RF radiation at 118 publicly accessible sites surrounding 17 cell phone base stations. The maximum figure was 0.00083m W/cm² (on a school playing field, 180ft from the school building with the antenna on the roof.) Most reading were >0.0001m W/cm² (i.e. less than 0.01% of the max. public exposure guidelines) When RF radiation from all sources (cell phones, FM radio, TV etc) was taken into account it still measured less than 0.2% of the ICNIRP guidelines. To put this into context we have to reach 4m W/cm² before there are unconfirmed reports of effects, 40m W/cm² before there are reproducible effects and 100m W/cm² before there a clear hazards.


We should not, however, be complacent or allow the regulatory bodies to be similarly lax. The proliferation of RF radiation into our modern lives is increasing exponentially and tiny exposures here and there can suddenly result in hazardous accumulations. Modern cell phones now have many more functions than the original call or text ability. They can now operate in much the same way as a lap-top computer with all the associated power requirements.


However, for the time being, it would appear that RF radiation does not present a health hazard and the only contentious issue is one of unsightly masts and antenna.



Does overheating your brain by using a cell phone worry you ?

See results

© 2012 Peter Geekie

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)