Mobile health risk real, but bluetooth cuts radiation by 90 percent
Nothing is risk-free. Mobile phones are a wonderful invention and we’ve taken to them with alacrity. However, the results of the recent 10-years-in-the-making Interphone project make grim reading...
The study was funded by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and mobile phone companies, and cost the equivalent of NZ$42 million.
It looked at the most recent research, from 13 countries, and involved interviewing 12,800 people. It found heavy mobile users suffered up to 50 percent more tumours – three of the brain and one of the salivary gland.
We’re not going to give up our mobile phones, however – they’re too useful. So, here are some ‘safe use’ tips:
- Hands-free or SMS messaging, or texting, helps minimise time spent holding the phone to your head, making it a whole lot safer to use
- Bluetooth kits can cut radiation by up to 90 percent. However, some handsets have higher levels, so you need to check
- Radiation levels drop off dramatically a metre away from the phone, so keeping your mobile at a distance when you’re not using it helps greatly
- Turn your phone off when it’s not in use and don’t use it as an alarm clock – both are easy ways to minimise radiation exposure
- Search online for phones carrying the German ‘blue angel’ mark. This symbol denotes low-emission models.
There’s some good news on the mast front, however. These are much safer than the phones themselves. The WHO says radiation from mobile phone masts is 1,000 times less than from the phones.
In the wake of the report, Europe’s Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET) has argued, in a position statement, that “there is no persuasive evidence that normal phone usage… causes harmful health effects, such as cancer.”
The IET says it reviewed 813 scientific papers, 46 percent of which dealt with radiofrequency fields, and 64 percent of these dealt with mobile phone frequencies.
WHO do you believe?
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At a Glance
LogMeIn connects iPad users to their PC
The iPad had finally hit Australia’s shores and its arrival in New Zealand was imminent as we went to press. To make using it easier for remote workers who need a secure log-in, remote access specialist LogMeIn has developed LogMeIn Ignition.
The company describes Ignition as a handy tool for accessing your home or office computer from your iPad, via the internet or a 3G connection. It features 256-bit SSL encryption and allows you to access all your applications and files, and to transfer files securely.
Ignition is available from the iTunes store, for NZ$38.99 or A$36.99. It’s both Windows and Mac PC compatible, and is actually an update on the earlier iPhone version of Ignition.
