Cell Phone Cases Can Increase Radiation Exposure

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) issued a press release and a report on a study that has important implications. Not only are the FCC's cell phone certification testing procedures inadequate to protect consumer safety, the cell phone manufacturer's safety instructions fail to warn the consumer that some cell phone cases may significantly increase the user's exposure to microwave radiation.

Legislation may be needed to ban the sale of cases that increases a cell phone's Specific Absorption Rate (SAR). At the very least, warning labels should be required on these cases. Some cell phones may exceed the SAR legal limit of 1.6 watts per kilogram when used with certain cases.

The White House must end the diffusion of responsibility among government agencies and between government and the Telecom industry as public health and safety are at risk. The Federal Communications Commission, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Federal Trade Commission should immediately address all of the health and safety risks associated with cell phone use.

In 1996 when the Federal government adopted the legal limit for cell phone radiation exposure, the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health lobbied for 1.0 watts per kilogram. However, industry and military lobbyists prevailed in getting Congress to adopt the more permissive limit of 1.6 watts per kilogram.

The EWG report examines only one smart phone, the iPhone 4, that was tested alone and with several cell phone cases. The iPhone 4, unlike most other cell phones, has antennas on the exterior of the case. The results of the current study may have limited generalizability. The study should be replicated with other cell phones and other cases. 

The EWG report was based on a study commissioned by Pong Research Corporation, a cell phone case manufacturer that may have a vested interest in the outcome; however, the tests were conducted by CETECOM, an independent testing and certification laboratory used by many cell phone manufacturers for FCC certification of their handsets.

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Cell Phone Cases Can Increase Radiation Exposure 

Up To 70 Percent

Press Release, Environmental Working Group, Mar 3, 2015

WASHINGTON – Most cell phone cases are so badly designed that they partially block the antenna, making the phone work harder to transmit a signal and intensifying the radiation that strikes the user’s head and body, a new Environmental Working Group analysis shows.

The analysis released today, based on data submitted to the Federal Communications Commission by case-maker Pong Research Corp., reveals that some cell phone cases on the market are so poorly engineered that the Specific Absorption Rate – a measure of the amount of radiation absorbed by the body – increased by 20 to 70 percent. While the jury is still out as to whether exposure to cell phone radiation can cause adverse health effects, a growing body of evidence points to this possibility.

<SNIP>

Environmental Working Group Press Release

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"Does Your Cell Phone Case Raise 

Your Radiation Exposure?"

Excerpts from the Environmental Working Group Report

Table 1: Cell phone cases can significantly increase radiation exposure

*SAR values are from tests conducted by Pong Research Corp on March 29, 2012 and submitted to the FCC on May 31, 2012. Because the SAR values were submitted to the FCC in graph form, EWG estimated numerical SAR values based on the chart available in WT Docket 11-186. Pong’s filing to the FCC did not indicate whether SAR measurements were done at the head or in a body-worn configuration. In a personal communication, Pong informed EWG that the SAR measurements were done in a body-worn configuration, with the same distance from the test mannequin used by the phone manufacturer. Tests in the body-worn configuration were done at a 10 millimeter separation distance.
** Percent SAR increase rounded to the nearest decile.

Table 2: Cell phone cases diminish signal strength, measured as Total Radiating Power

Environmental Working Group Report

Buyer Beware: Cell Phone Radiation-Reducing Products

People often ask me to recommend a harm reduction product to reduce exposure to the electromagnetic radiation (EMR) emitted by their cell phone. 

Every few months a manufacturer asks me to endorse a new radiation-reducing product.

To avoid conflicts of interest, I do not promote or endorse any products. Moreover, I have little confidence in most manufacturers' product safety claims even by manufacturers who report independent laboratory test results for their products. 

Any use of my name, image, webinars. or website in marketing products is unauthorized and misleading.

Rather, I recommend people reduce their EMR exposure by making some simple behavioral changes. See "Some Tips to Reduce Your Exposure to Wireless Radiation" on my EMR Safety web site for suggestions.

In the news article below, Juli Clover, the author evaluated an iPhone case which is supposed to enhance the phone's signal strength. Although this product is not a harm reduction product, the article is useful to examine as the author compares how well the case functioned in the real world to the manufacturer's claims that were based on laboratory test results from "CETECOM, a well-respected test and certification lab for mobile devices."

The author concluded, "after several days of use, it remains difficult to conclusively say that the case improves signal in a meaningful way due to mixed test results." 

Her analysis validates my concern that testing a cell phone's radiation in a laboratory has limited utility because it does not yield results that accurately predict how the cell phone functions in the real world.

As I discussed in an interview in 2011, although the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requires every cell phone in the U.S. to be tested in a laboratory for its Specific Absorption Rate (SAR), this measure is not useful to determine whether one cell phone is safer than another. In my opinion, the SAR is not useful to determine whether any cell phone is safe.

In sum, consumers would be wise to pay attention to the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) advice: "there is no scientific proof that so-called shields significantly reduce exposure from these electromagnetic emissions."

The FTC makes the following recommendations in an article entitled, "Cell Phone Radiation Scams":

• "Increase the distance between your phone and your head by using a hands-free device, like an earpiece that is wired to the phone, or using the speakerphone feature.
• Consider texting more and limiting your cell phone use to short conversations.
• Wait for a good signal. When you have a weak signal, your phone works harder, emitting more radiation. Phones also give off more radiation when transmitting than when receiving, so tilt the phone away from your head when you're talking, and bring it back to your ear when you're listening.
• A phone's specific absorption rate (SAR) reveals the maximum amount of radiation the human body absorbs from the phone while it's transmitting. SAR testing ensures that the devices sold in the U.S. comply with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) SAR exposure limit, but the single, worst-case value obtained from this SAR testing is not necessarily representative of the absorption during actual use, and therefore it is not recommended for comparisons among phones. In short, selecting a lower SAR phone will not reliably ensure lower radiation absorption during use. 
• The FCC has more information at Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) For Cell Phones: What It Means For You." 

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Hands-On With the Reach79 Signal Boosting Case - Does It Work?

Juli Clover, MacRumors, Jan 27, 2015

http://bit.ly/15Q7EDR