Is cell phone radiation harmful?

Although cell phone radiation has been practically omnipresent for decades, it is controversial whether and how harmful it is. We will inform you about the health, legal and social discourse on this topic.

What is cell phone radiation?

"Mobile phone radiation" is high-frequency, non-ionizing radiation, microwaves, also called electromagnetic fields. It also falls under the generic term "electrosmog", which, however, includes other electromagnetic radiation, such as that from high-voltage power lines or the domestic electricity network.

• Microwaves emanate from cell phones and cell phone masts, smartphones, WLAN devices, DECT telephones, radio and TV transmission systems and from microwave ovens.
• The so-called specific absorption rate of a cell phone (SAR value) must not exceed 2 watts per kilogram for cell phones sold in Germany. Different limits may apply in other countries.
• The SAR value of a cell phone is determined by measurements directly on the body. As a rule, the intensity of the electromagnetic radiation decreases by a factor of 1 / r²: at twice the distance r, the radiation intensity quarters, at 100 times the distance a 10, 000th remains.

Harmful or not? That's what the opponents of radiation say

There are many indications of the risk of cell phone radiation:

• Pulse methods in WLAN and GSM are suspected of increasing the risk of cancer and disturbing sleep behavior.
• Limit values ​​are much lower in Russia, Italy and Belgium than in Germany. Radiation opponents see this as an indication that cell phone radiation is harmful to health.
• Some people and animals are considered to be "electro-hypersensitive". The Council of Europe called for better protection of electrosensitive people in 2011; against radiation - for example by introducing radiation-free areas - and against discrimination and intolerance - above all through education.
• From a financial point of view, cell phone radiation can be harmful: the proximity to cell phone masts sometimes damages residential and land prices.
• In Sweden, electro-hypersensitivity is recognized as a disability, which the European Parliament called for all member states in 2009.

Not proven: causal relationship between cell phone radiation and diseases

Despite the arguments put forward by radiation opponents, cell phone radiation is still considered to be harmless. This is due in particular to the fact that causal relationships between radiation and symptoms of the disease have not been established. Compared to the increasing expansion of mobile phone networks in the past decades and the increasing duration of exposure, there are still only a few illness complaints. Bills take this into account.

• The 26th Federal Immission Control Ordinance was only revised in 2013 (§48b BImSchG). It does not provide for a reduction in the limit values.
• The fact that people react to cell phone radiation in completely different ways - some immediately, some with chronic radiation, some not at all - and the symptoms sometimes differ very slowly, rather speaks against a direct connection between radiation and physical suffering.
• Headache, nausea, fatigue, high blood pressure, rapid heartbeat, skin changes, numbness and tingling, dermatitis, feeling hot, muscle weakness, tinnitus, visual disturbances, stomach and circulatory problems and a number of psychological symptoms have been reported. What is missing is evidence that cell phone radiation is actually (partly) responsible for this range of ailments.
• Ionizing electromagnetic radiation has clearly demonstrable effects, for example on human blood count. So far, there is no physical or biochemical evidence for cell phone radiation.

Conclusion: Cautious should buy smartphones with a low SAR value

The lack of proof of a causal relationship between cell phone radiation and clinical pictures speaks against the fact that the radiation is harmful. For this and certainly for infrastructural reasons and the strong social, industrial and monetary importance of mobile communications, the German government does not plan to reduce the radiation limit values. If you still want to buy a low-radiation cell phone, we have put together the smartphones with the lowest SAR values ​​for you here.

In the next practical tip, we will show you how to find out the SAR value of your mobile phone.