Concerns about cell phone radiation

A new report by the Journal of the American Medical Association (download report) expresses concern that radiation emissions from modern smartphones and cell phones could pose a health risk.

The nonprofit organization The Environmental Working Group has a useful list of the radiation values (SAR) for most modern cellphones.

The NYTimes compiled some helpful advice (edited here for brevity):

• Tilt the phone away from your ear when you are talking and only bring it in close to your ear when you listen
• Wait until after your call has been connected to put your cellphone next to your ear
• Cellphones emit less radiation when stationary because when you are moving rapidly — say, in a car — it must repeatedly issue little bursts of radiation to make connections with different towers as it moves in and out of range
• If your cellphone has a weak signal it has to work harder and thus will emit more radiation
• Texting, instead of talking, could be safer
• Keep them at a distance by putting them on speaker mode or using a wired headset
• The next best option is a wireless Bluetooth headset or earpiece, which emit radiation at lower levels.
• Holding your phone away from your ear can make a big difference; the intensity of radiation diminishes quickly with distance.

Microwave News is a good source of techie phone information too.