So, in case you missed it—and I very nearly did—the Environmental Working Group (EWG) put out 2 lists last week ranking radiation levels emitted from cell phones—the 10 least dangerous and the 10 most dangerous.
They EWG evaluated over 1000 different types of phones—who knew there where than many to choose from? How could any consumer possibly figure out the dirty on that many phones? Thank you EWG!
Bottom line, while the EWG boffins could not find conclusive proof that cell phones cause cancer —specifically brain cancer—they couldn’t give the devices a clean bill of health either.
But you may want to know, your kids are most at risk for cell phone radiation-related health problems because their skulls are thinner and softer-so they absorb radiation more easily.
So without further ado, here’s the EWG’s list of the 10 best phones in terms of radiation levels:
Listing is based on phones currently available from major carriers.
1. Samsung Impression (SGH-a877) [AT&T]
2. Motorola RAZR V8 [CellularONE]
3. Samsung SGH-t229 [T-Mobile]
4. Samsung Rugby (SGH-a837) [AT&T]
5. Samsung Propel Pro (SGH-i627) [AT&T]
6. Samsung Gravity (SGH-t459) [CellularONE, T-Mobile]
7. T-Mobile Sidekick [T-Mobile]
8. LG Xenon (GR500) [AT&T]
9. Motorola Karma QA1 [AT&T]
10. Sanyo Katana II [Kajeet]
For the top 10 worst cell phones for radiation emission, look here.
Okay so these are levels but what do you compare this with to know if they are safe levels?
Hi, the only guidelines to go by are those established by what’s known as the SAR rate. SAR stands for Specific Absorption Rate and it’s the measurement used by the government to monitor cell phone radiation levels. Basically, the lower the SAR, the better from the perspective of radiation exposure. The FCC has set the maximum level of allowable radiation at 1.60 (ranging from zero to 1.60, measured in watts per kilogram; the SAR is averaged over one gram of biological tissue)–and the CTIA (Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association) requires all cell phones in the US to comply with that rating. -Abi