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US Government Accountability Office recommends FCC reassess radiation limits for mobile phones
The topic of mobile phone radiation is once again on the burner in Washington D.C. Along with Representative Dennis Kucinich's proposed legislation that would institute labeling requirements and extensive research into the health effects of RF exposure, the US Government Accountability Office has issued a recommendation that the FCC update its current exposure limits and reevaluate current testing methodologies. As is, the FCC's radiation guidelines are based on research that was concluded in 1996, and while the US GAO concedes that this may lead to the adoption of higher SAR limits (in certain usage scenarios), the organization contends that it's time to bring current research and international recommendations into consideration. As potential cause for concern, the US GAO has also identified a failure of current testing methodologies. Put simply, manufacturers are currently required to submit specific absorption rates that reflect usage against both the head and body, however in the case of the body test, this is always done with the assumption of a holster. While a distance of 1.5 to 2.5 centimeters may not seem like much, SAR values increase with proximity, and many who use their mobile phones in their pockets -- say, with a Bluetooth headset -- are at risk of exposing themselves to RF limits that exceed current guidelines. The actual absorption rates are currently unknown. For its part, the FCC has responded to the US GAO and asserts that it has independently arrived at many of the same conclusions, and adds that it has initiated the procedural requirements necessary for the reevaluation of RF safety rules. Those who'd like to learn more can scour the complete recommendation, along with Rep. Kucinich's proposal, at the source links below.
Cellphones are dangerous / not dangerous: Danish study tilts toward the latter
Chalk one up for the chatterboxes. In a study spanning 18 years and more than 350,000 test subjects, researchers in Denmark have found no connection between cellphone usage and brain cancer. The landmark project, carried out by Denmark's Institute of Cancer Epidemiology, was published online last week in the British Medical Journal, and is just the latest in a series of similarly optimistic studies. Of the 358,403 cellphone owners examined, only 356 were found to have a brain tumor, while 856 were diagnosed with cancer of the central nervous system -- percentages that are comparable to those seen among non-mobile users. Even among long-term cellphone owners (13 years or more), incidence rates were not significantly higher than those observed among the general population. Hazel Nunn, head of evidence and health information at Cancer Research UK, described the study as "the strongest evidence yet that using a mobile phone does not seem to increase the risk of cancers of the brain or central nervous system in adults." The study's authors, however, acknowledge some shortcomings in their work, including the exclusion of "corporate subscriptions" -- people who use their mobile devices for work, and who probably use them more heavily than the average consumer. They also recognized the need for longer-term research and for more child-specific studies. You can check out the article in full, at the coverage link below.
3D is dangerous / not dangerous: Nintendo 3DS warning label edition
Oh boy -- get ready for years of competing studies and hysterical news reports claiming that 3D is either life-threateningly dangerous or perfectly safe. (Cellphone radiation, take a backseat.) Today's delightful round of panic comes courtesy of Nintendo's Japanese warning guidelines for the 3DS: players are advised that 3D gameplay causes eye fatigue more quickly than 2D gaming and are told to take a break after 30 minutes of play -- and you should quit immediately if you get ill, which makes sense. Nintendo also says that children under six shouldn't use the 3D mode at all, since their eyes are still developing, and that parents can use controls built into the 3DS to lock it into 2D mode for children.
