Australian scientists tell – how to make mobile phones safer
July 27, 2024
Do we need to make mobile phones safer and, if so, how can we do it?
Australian scientists have the answers to both questions.
In a paper just published in the journal Radiation Protection in Australia,1 Victor Leach, Steven Weller and Julie McCredden provide new evidence for the harmful effects of mobile phone radiation explain how we can be designing these devices to be so much safer.
Leach is a physicist, formerly from the Australian Radiation Laboratory (now the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency [ARPANSA]) and a founding member of the Oceania Radiofrequency Scientific Advisory Association (ORSAA).
In one of the first studies of its kind, Leach and his team, analysed previous mobile phone studies using the ORSAA research database. They categorised the studies according to whether the subjects had been exposed to real-life signals or simulated signals generated by the experimenters.
The results are eye-openers.
When he looked at studies where animals or cells had been exposed to real-life signals, Leach found that 85% of them reported biological effects, whereas only 10% didn’t. (In 5% results were uncertain.)
However, when he looked at studies where animals or cells had been exposed to the simulated signals, only 61% reported biological effects, 31% reported no effect and 41% had uncertain effects.
Why is this?
The authors say, ‘Real mobile phone signals cycle through the call sequence, such as dialling, answering or talking. Simulated signals usually use an RF signal generator set to produce carrier waves at a nominated frequency with or without low-frequency modulations.’
If simulated signals don’t represent people’s actual exposure, then why do researchers use them at all?
According to Leach, ‘Experimenters prefer simulated signals because they are easily reproducible and the intensity can be fixed. In contrast, real-life signals are variable in intensity and modulation.’
Looking further into the research on the ORSAA database, Leach and his team identified a range of health problems associated with radiofrequency radiation. They include:
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digestive disorders;
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memory loss and lack of concentration;
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joint pain and inflammation;
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premature ageing;
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headaches and sensitivity to noise;
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declining fertility/infertility;
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histopathological changes;
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neural degeneration;
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cancer and
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oxidative stress.
Alarmingly, these problems occurred at levels of exposure that comply with Australian and international standards.
This shows that ‘Current international guidelines recommended by ICNIRP [International Commission on Non-ionizing Radiation Protection] are not fit for purpose as evidenced by the broad range of biological effects, some with health implications found in research and occurring below existing public exposure limits,’ the authors say.
They recommend, ‘There is a need to provide newly updated guidelines that protect humans and all species from potential harm, with a special focus on long-term chronic exposures and vulnerable populations.’
The authors say that people’s exposure to mobile phone radiation could be reduced by applying the engineering solutions recommended by the International Commission on BioEffects of Electromagnetic Fields (ICBE-EMF).2 These include:
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‘Blocking the phone’s RFR emissions, but not its reception, when it is positioned close to the head or body;
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‘Modifying the antenna so the emission pattern is more hemispherical and radiates away from the head and the body;
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‘Limiting call durations according to an estimation of the effective radiated power emitted by the device.’
‘Given the rapid increase in background levels of wireless exposures and as these exposures are, in most cases, nonconsensual from the cradle to the grave, ensuring all life is adequately protected is important,’ the authors conclude.
You can see Lyn McLean’s interview with Victor Leach, the author of the new study, here.
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Leach, Victor & Weller, Steve & McCredden, Julie. (2024). Wireless technology is an environmental stressor and there are engineering solutions that can reduce exposure, Radiation Protection in Australia vol 41, no 1, 2024.
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Héroux P, Belyaev I, Chamberlin K, et al. Cell Phone Radiation Exposure Limits and Engineering Solutions. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2023;20(7):5398.
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What else can you do?