Cellular technology like Blackberries and iPhones have become vital communication tools for businesses today, but are they bad for your health?
Your cell phone emits radiation to send voice and text messages from you to the other caller. Some studies of frequent cell-phone users suggest this radiation may increase risks for cancer. Nothing has been proven, but considering that risk, it can’t hurt to be conscious and make smart choices. One way to make smarter choices is to choose a phone that emits less.
The non-profit Environmental Working Group (EWG) has created an interactive online guide to cell phone emissions, covering over 1,000 phones currently on the market. Their report is available at http://www.ewg.org/cellphoneradiation/Get-a-Safer-Phone?allphones=1. Find your cell phone or the brands used by your business to see how they compare to others.
If changing to a lower-radiation cell phone isn’t an option for your business, the EWG has a few tips for reducing your exposure while still staying connected:
1) Use a headset or speaker: Headsets emit much less radiation than phones. Choose either wired or wireless, but some wireless headsets emit continuous, low-level radiation, so take yours off your ear when you’re not on a call. Using your phone in speaker mode also reduces radiation to the head.
2) Listen more, talk less. Your phone emits radiation when you talk or text, but not when you’re receiving messages. Listening more and talking less reduces your exposures.
3) Hold the phone away from your body. Hold the phone away from your torso when you’re talking (with headset or speaker), not against your ear, in a pocket, or on your belt where soft body tissues absorb radiation.
4) Choose texting over talking. Phones use less power (less radiation) to send text than voice. And unlike when you speak with the phone at your ear, texting keeps radiation away from your head.
5) Poor signal? Stay off the phone. Fewer signal bars on your phone means that it emits more radiation to get the signal to the tower. Make and take calls when your phone has a strong signal.
6) Skip the “Radiation Shield”. Radiation shields such as antenna caps or keypad covers reduce the connection quality and force the phone to transmit at a higher power with higher radiation.
How does your cell phone rate? Have you or your coworkers taken any steps to reduce their exposure? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
