Gpurse, keys – and of course the mobile phone: only a few leave the house without this trio. As close as some users are to their smartphone, the doubts of others who fear health risks are just as strong.
But from the beginning: Mobile phone radiation – what it is about: Mobile phones use high-frequency, electromagnetic fields to transmit data or voice via mobile communications.
These fields, sometimes referred to as “electrosmog” in everyday life, have an impact on the body. They can heat up tissue, says Julia Ketteler, scientific officer at the Competence Center for Electromagnetic Fields at the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS).
Why exactly? “You can imagine that electromagnetic fields send an impulse to the molecules that make up our body,” explains Susanne Weg-Remers, head of the Cancer Information Service (KID) at the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg.
Limits for smartphones: The SAR value
This momentum causes the atoms in the molecules in our cells to move faster. “In principle, this is the biochemical equivalent of heat,” summarizes Weg-Remers. Heat that, according to Ketteler, the body can compensate to a certain extent. In medicine, this is called thermoregulation.
So that the tissue in the body does not heat up too much, cell phone manufacturers have to comply with strict limit values and standards. For smartphones, for example, the so-called SAR value (specific absorption rate) may not exceed two watts per kilogram of heated mass. The SAR value shows how quickly the body absorbs energy.
An example from the BfS: If you were to heat two liters of water with a standard LED light bulb, which has a thermal output of four watts, this would correspond to a SAR value of two watts per kilogram.
With regard to smartphones, this means that the lower the value, the less radiation a device emits. However, most devices are well below the limit anyway, as the information from modern and older models shows.
The BfS provides a database in which these values can be read. The Xiaomi Poco F2 Pro, for example, has a value of 0.79 W/kg, the iPhone 12 0.98 W/kg. And even the Samsung E 1080 from 2009 is well below the legal limit at 0.64 W/kg.
Cell phone use does not increase the risk of cancer
Researchers have been investigating the health effects of mobile phone use for a long time. There is also the question of whether mobile phone radiation can cause cancer.
According to the current state of knowledge, however, the BfS sees no connection between mobile phone use and the risk of developing a brain tumor. According to the authority, it includes more than 1,000 scientific publications in its risk assessment.
The results are confirmed by the recently published MOBI-Kids study under the direction of the Center for Global Health in Barcelona. Around 900 children and young people suffering from a brain tumor were asked about their usage behavior. The researchers compared the results with the statements of healthy participants. The study includes a total of 2,800 participants from 14 countries.
What you should keep in mind: There can be many causes behind a malignant tumor. “Cancer – that means that our body cells begin to divide and no longer respond to the stop signal from the environment,” says physician Susanne Weg-Remers (KID). In most cases, whether this happens is a coincidence, she explains.
Because the process by which the genetic material is duplicated is error-prone. This means: There would be typos in the genetic information, so to speak, which can lead to cancer in the long term over the course of life.
Cancer can have many causes
There are factors that can increase the risk of cancer. According to Weg-Remers, these include UV or X-ray radiation, but also infections with human papilloma viruses (HPV) or unhealthy habits such as smoking. Genetic predisposition also plays a role.
However, Weg-Remers clearly rules out mobile telephony as a cause of cancer. “There is no evidence that the electromagnetic fields emitted by mobile phones can trigger genetic changes.”
According to Weg-Remers, these connections were observed in earlier studies when the devices were still very large and had very strong electromagnetic fields. From today’s perspective, however, the results are very controversial and could not be confirmed in more recent studies.
Nevertheless: Although the data situation in research is reliable, researchers want to wait for further results in order to reduce the “residual uncertainty”, says Julia Ketteler from the BfS. This is due to the long duration of some studies and the scientific method itself: it is simply impossible to prove that a risk does not exist.
Cell phone radiation does not affect brain activity
Research is also devoted to other aspects of mobile communications technology. For example, the question of whether the smartphone has an impact on brain activity and the quality of sleep.
According to Julia Ketteler, anyone who complains of insomnia because the cell phone is nearby should consider other factors such as exposure to light or stress.
Here, too, the strict SAR limit values protect, which is why biologist Ketteler sees no risk for the brain from the point of view of radiation protection. In any case, to reduce the radiation, it is enough to place the mobile phone a few centimeters away from the head.
In the same way, Ketteler can allay the concern that the smartphone in the trouser pocket makes men infertile. According to the BfS, the rise in temperature is below the limit that could disrupt sperm production in men. If you still want to be on the safe side, you can make calls with a headset without leaving your cell phone in your pocket.
No new risk from 5G
And what about 5G technology? This not only brings with it completely new transmission speeds, but also new frequencies. And with it more transmission masts or base stations that are necessary for the 5G network. New transmission masts, new risk assessment?
According to the BfS assessment, 5G will not change anything in terms of electromagnetic fields and their biological effects. “The biggest source of radiation is not the transmission mast, but your own cell phone,” says Ketteler.
Because: more transmission masts tend to improve reception, the transmission power – and thus the radiation – of the mobile phone decreases. From the point of view of the Federal Office for Radiation Protection, the use of 5G mobile communications does not pose a risk.
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