June 16, 2010 at 15:29Phone Security Labels - First Passed Law
It is worth noting this day is red, for the first time in the world, a law has been passed that sellers of phones must indicate the level of radiation, i.e. SAR, on the label. San Francisco became a progressive city, and the city council passed the law. All kinds of technical details are discussed, for example, the font must be visible and cannot be less than 11 sizes. Is it good or not?
From my practice, I can say that people pay attention to the level of radiation. Not all, but those who worry about all sorts of consequences, not really understanding their essence. Out of several tens of thousands of letters a month, about 20 are devoted to choosing a phone with a minimum SAR or questions about how to protect yourself from the "harmful" radiation of the phone. A joking advice is to close the phone in a metal safe and throw it into the sea. No radiation.
SAR is not an indicator of the harm of the phone, this indicator only indicates that:
a) when the phone is working, body tissues heat up at so many degrees in such a time;
b) serves as a limiter for telephones that are not subject to the standards adopted for each country, for example, in the USA it is 1.6 W / kg.
If we look at the SAR level for various devices, we will see that it ranges from 0.1 to 1.4. The difference is an order of magnitude. And you know what, the most unusual? No one can argue that a radiation level of 0.1 (not even radiation, but its effects and heating) is better than 1.0. There are no such studies. Moreover, the SAR level has never been used for biomedical research. The creation of this indicator was necessary in order to limit the power level of phones, even in the days of analog devices. But along the way, the analog networks disappeared, digital ones appeared, the radiation power fell due to a change in technology, but the indicator was left.
Is the SAR level useless? For the buyer, this indicator does not mean anything. at all. This is a kind of psychological reassurance. But only. A person buying and choosing a low SAR phone will convince himself that he is safe. I am sure that the San Francisco initiative has spread throughout the USA and marketing races for the most “secure” phone will begin.
The situation reminds me of a story with food additives, which are marked on the packaging. Those same letters Exxx. Do we refuse food with such additives? Not. Because, other food does not exist today. Are these additives completely harmful? Not. The question is in their quantity. I have several female friends, over the age of 50, who consider any supplement E an absolute evil. But buy them. They have a forced measure, they are unpleasant to eat such products, but there are no others (some categories of products cannot do without such additives at all). When you explain that often such a number hides the usual substance used in everyday life and during cooking, they rejoice and ask why they added it to the “harmful” ones. They do not understand that this is not a list of harmful additives, as it was advertised by the media in the 90s. This is just a list of constituents. Similarly, with SAR level. This is just an indicator that does not guarantee the safety of the phone.
My bad advice on the safety of conversations:
- Do not talk for a long time, do not talk for hours on a cell phone. If you still have to, then use a wired headset or a bluetooth headset;
- When buying a new phone, find out where its antenna is located. Ideally, if it will be at the bottom of the case and at the back. Radiating such an apparatus will be in your jaw, and not in your head (this is advice for paranoiacs, but suddenly someone will need it);
- It is better to talk 5 times for 2 minutes than 1 time but in ten minutes (tissues warm up with constant exposure);
- While dialing, do not hold the phone by your ear, hold it in your hand, bring it to your head when the connection has passed;
- If you use data transfer without your participation (checking mail, ICQ, and so on), then keep the phone in your bag, let it emit on your keys;
But in general, I can say that common sense has not been canceled. Talking up to an hour a day on the phone, you are unlikely to run into problems. And monitor the state of your devices, the deterioration of communication, interference, breakage of conversations after the phone falls, all this requires a visit to a normal service center and check how your phone works. It can be spoiled and, indeed, radiate from the bottom of my heart (in my practice there were only a couple of such cases, but God saves those who are safe).
From my practice, I can say that people pay attention to the level of radiation. Not all, but those who worry about all sorts of consequences, not really understanding their essence. Out of several tens of thousands of letters a month, about 20 are devoted to choosing a phone with a minimum SAR or questions about how to protect yourself from the "harmful" radiation of the phone. A joking advice is to close the phone in a metal safe and throw it into the sea. No radiation.
SAR is not an indicator of the harm of the phone, this indicator only indicates that:
a) when the phone is working, body tissues heat up at so many degrees in such a time;
b) serves as a limiter for telephones that are not subject to the standards adopted for each country, for example, in the USA it is 1.6 W / kg.
If we look at the SAR level for various devices, we will see that it ranges from 0.1 to 1.4. The difference is an order of magnitude. And you know what, the most unusual? No one can argue that a radiation level of 0.1 (not even radiation, but its effects and heating) is better than 1.0. There are no such studies. Moreover, the SAR level has never been used for biomedical research. The creation of this indicator was necessary in order to limit the power level of phones, even in the days of analog devices. But along the way, the analog networks disappeared, digital ones appeared, the radiation power fell due to a change in technology, but the indicator was left.
Is the SAR level useless? For the buyer, this indicator does not mean anything. at all. This is a kind of psychological reassurance. But only. A person buying and choosing a low SAR phone will convince himself that he is safe. I am sure that the San Francisco initiative has spread throughout the USA and marketing races for the most “secure” phone will begin.
The situation reminds me of a story with food additives, which are marked on the packaging. Those same letters Exxx. Do we refuse food with such additives? Not. Because, other food does not exist today. Are these additives completely harmful? Not. The question is in their quantity. I have several female friends, over the age of 50, who consider any supplement E an absolute evil. But buy them. They have a forced measure, they are unpleasant to eat such products, but there are no others (some categories of products cannot do without such additives at all). When you explain that often such a number hides the usual substance used in everyday life and during cooking, they rejoice and ask why they added it to the “harmful” ones. They do not understand that this is not a list of harmful additives, as it was advertised by the media in the 90s. This is just a list of constituents. Similarly, with SAR level. This is just an indicator that does not guarantee the safety of the phone.
My bad advice on the safety of conversations:
- Do not talk for a long time, do not talk for hours on a cell phone. If you still have to, then use a wired headset or a bluetooth headset;
- When buying a new phone, find out where its antenna is located. Ideally, if it will be at the bottom of the case and at the back. Radiating such an apparatus will be in your jaw, and not in your head (this is advice for paranoiacs, but suddenly someone will need it);
- It is better to talk 5 times for 2 minutes than 1 time but in ten minutes (tissues warm up with constant exposure);
- While dialing, do not hold the phone by your ear, hold it in your hand, bring it to your head when the connection has passed;
- If you use data transfer without your participation (checking mail, ICQ, and so on), then keep the phone in your bag, let it emit on your keys;
But in general, I can say that common sense has not been canceled. Talking up to an hour a day on the phone, you are unlikely to run into problems. And monitor the state of your devices, the deterioration of communication, interference, breakage of conversations after the phone falls, all this requires a visit to a normal service center and check how your phone works. It can be spoiled and, indeed, radiate from the bottom of my heart (in my practice there were only a couple of such cases, but God saves those who are safe).