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Tech News # 2 August 24, 2019

2014106179 COE132/E01
Smartphones may be leaking more radiation than we think

Apple and Samsung phones released over the last three years may be producing radio
frequency radiation at levels higher than current Federal Communications Commission limits
allow, according to a report by the Chicago Tribune. Scientists and consumers have shown
increasing concern that radio frequency radiation from our devices may have adverse effects on
human health, especially with 5G rolling out across the globe. The new report demonstrates that
older phone models, operating in the 3G and 4G bands, have the potential to exceed the FCC's
safe limits by up to as much as five times.

Smartphone manufacturers are required to abide by the FCC guidelines in regard to radio
frequency radiation absorption by the body. The current measure used to determine the safety
limit is known as the "specific absorption rate," or SAR, and the FCC set this at 1.6 watts per
kilogram (1.6W/kg), averaged over 1 gram of tissue. The FCC states that this limit is "well below
that at which laboratory testing indicates ... adverse health effects could occur."

For a phone to receive approval, the FCC states that any device will never exceed the
maximum SAR level, but the Tribune's investigation shows a handful of older models do.

The Tribune's extensive investigation tested 11 different models: Four iPhone models (the
iPhone 7, 8, 8 Plus and X), three Samsung Galaxys (the S8, S9 and J3), three Motorolas (the
e5, e5 Play and g6 Play) and a BLU Vivo 5 Mini. The phones were tested by RF Exposure Lab,
an FCC accredited laboratory in San Marcos, California. The investigators placed smartphones
within 2, 5, 10 or 15 millimeters of a "simulated body" -- a mix of sugar, water and salt -- and
measured levels of exposure with a series of probes.

The results show that iPhone 7 radio frequency absorption levels were among the worst
offenders, with a SAR almost two to four times higher than the safety limit when tested 2 mm
from the body. The three Samsung Galaxy models also showed higher absorption at the same
distance, with the Galaxy S8 topping out with a reading of 8.22W/kg, five times higher than the
current standard.
The report states that the FCC will now conduct its own tests over the coming months but they
told the Tribune the testing was "not as comprehensive" as those usually filed for official
compliance reports.

The Tribune writes that the test "was essentially a worst-case scenario in terms of radio
frequency radiation exposure" with consumers not experiencing the levels of exposure seen
during testing. However, lab owner Jay Moulton did say this type of exposure "could happen in
limited situations."

There's no way to know if the readings from the investigation correlate with adverse human
health effects. Currently, there is no strong scientific evidence that shows this level of exposure
to be harmful. The investigation is only able to show that in these particular phones the SAR
levels exceed the FCC's current limits. It is a small sample size.

There is some suggestion that the closer the phone is to the body, the higher the readings. But
for a single test, every measurement at 2 mm from the simulated body was higher than from 5
or 10 mm. That does raise questions about the distance that manufacturers choose before a
phone makes it to market.

The FCC also builds in a protective "buffer" for exposure limits. Although the tests exceed the
current safety limit of 1.6W/kg, adverse effects are seen at levels on the order of 50 times more
than the standard, according to the FCC.

As the investigation points out, phones often go into a low-power state when brought close to
the skin due to in-built sensors. The Tribune team did account for this in the Apple and Motorola
phones, but not the Samsung Galaxy phones, including the S8 which provided the highest
reading.

The FCC has been investigating whether this limit should revised in the wake of 5G phones
coming to market, but on Aug. 8 declared the limit would not be changing. "The available
scientific evidence to date does not support adverse health effects in humans due to exposures
at or under the current limits," Jeffrey Shuren, director of the FDA's Center for Devices and
Radiological Health, wrote to the FCC at the time.

A Samsung spokesperson told CNET "Samsung devices sold in the United States comply with
FCC regulations. Our devices are tested according to the same test protocols that are used
across the industry."
Apple and the FCC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

References: https://www.cnet.com/news/smartphones-may-be-leaking-out-more-radiation-than-
we-think-phones/