WASHINGTON—A British government report today said devices for reducing mobile-phone radiation vary widely in effectiveness and there are trade-offs that can hurt handset performance, a contrast with the Bush administration’s aggressive crackdown on radiation shields and its dismissive view of the devices generally.
The study, conducted by Sartest Ltd. for the U.K. Department of Trade and Industry, said testing showed many shields can significantly reduce radio frequency radiation emitted by mobile phones. But, according to the study, such techniques cause a corresponding reduction in the power and quality of the radio signal.
In February, the Federal Trade Commission shut down two Florida distributors of RF shields. The agency at that time said it was not aware of any companies that produce products that curb phone radiation. The FTC, which is considering further action against shield suppliers, consulted with Motorola Inc. during the investigations.
The U.K. report said the larger the amount of screening material in the phone, the more effective the device is in blocking mobile-phone radiation to the head. Small shields on phones “have no significant effect in reducing SAR,” the report stated. The specific absorption rate is the yardstick used for measuring how much mobile-phone radiation is captured in the human brain.
Personal hands-free kits remain one of the best approaches for reducing cellular phone radiation, the report said.
On a related front, the Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Communications Commission have launched a Web site on mobile-phone health issues. The Web site, which can be accessed at www.fda.gov/cellphones or www.fda.gov/cellphones, includes information on regulation, research and radiation levels for various phones. The FDA said available research does not indicate cell phones pose a health risk, but that there is no proof phones are absolutely safe. Research is under way to examine long-term effects of mobile-phone radiation. There are 135 million mobile-phone users in the United States.
More than a half dozen cancer lawsuits filed against the mobile-phone industry point to studies that have found harmful health effects from low-level radiation like that emitted by wireless handsets. The litigation hinges largely on a ruling expected soon by a Baltimore federal judge on whether an $800 million cancer lawsuit against industry goes to trial.
