Polish Mayor @jmmajchrowski takes steps to protect citizens from rising electromagnetic radiation; wifi, smartmeters https://t.co/Ywg0Jr7Xqw
— Dr Maryanne Demasi (@MaryanneDemasi) January 12, 2017
I was bored and had a stronger-than-usual espresso, saw the above Tweet, so obviously I decided to read the Health & Safety Guide that came with my cell phone.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) set specific limits to Radio Frequency (RF) that any given electronic device can emit. Theoretically, at or below this level is “safe.” The actual number comes from the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurement (NCRP) and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). The overall tone of this document is grave, ie, they take this RF limit very seriously.
The limit: 1.6 W/kg (Specific Absorption Rate [SAR]) or 0.0016 W/g.
I checked online at www.fcc.gov/oet/ea, and my phone is rated 0.3 Watts (W) at around 1.5 cm – distance is important: in this case, it’s the difference between squashing the phone between your face and your hand vs. holding it a finger tip’s distance away.
So, is my brain safe? Hard to say; how many grams of brain are within 1.5 cm from my brain? If we’re talking whole head exposure, ~4 kg, that’d be ~6 W. But I’m more concerned about the 4 grams of brain closest to my ear, within that 1.5 cm range, because brain cancer is pretty scary at any level of brain cancer (ie, whether it affects whole brain or just the 4 grams closest to my ear).
I can’t figure out these maths so I’m sticking with earbuds until I can.
Radio Frequency Safety: https://www.fcc.gov/general/radio-frequency-safety-0
The FCC makes a big deal about eyes and testes, noting RF exposure has been shown to cause cataracts and sterility in animal models. This is not environmental RF exposure, but rather more like that which may occur by pressing a cell phone directly against your skull. Maybe. My phone has a lot of potential RF going on: Bluetooth, 4g, cellular, wi-fi, GPS… I have no idea if these matter or if multiple different frequencies are synergistic brain carcinogens or what. Still sticking with earbuds, though, and gonna keep cell phone in back pocket (further away from the testes).
RF -> calcium efflux in brain tissue -> brain fog?
I have no idea about the full implications of this, but: 1) Samsung felt it important enough to warn that the phone should be 1.5 cm away from your body; and 2) the FCC published a huge document describing RF and the potential health effects.
This might be important for people who talk on their phone for prolonged periods of time (FCC suggests this might be >6 minutes) and/or younger children.
World Health Organization’s stance: http://www.who.int/peh-emf/en/
I’ll just leave this here (ok, it’s the notorious Volkow study). And this.
::: caffeine is wearing off :::