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A cordless phone of DECT standard
is often the strongest source of high frequency electromagnetic radiation in a
private home. To renounce your cordless phone as a precautionary measure will contribute to minimise your
personal radiation exposure.
“However, it would be possible for the industry to develop DECT
phones which could address the issues of precaution and radiation protection better than the current devices,”
said Rüdiger Matthes, expert of the Bundesamt für Strahlenschutz (Federal Radiation Protection Agency) .
Cordless landline telephones of
DECT standard have no output control to regulate power output according to the
actual power needed. Therefore, the base station and the handset are permanently
emitting radiation at the same power level during a call, no matter whether the user holding the
handset is one meter or 300 meters away from the base station.
Matthes: "Therefore, we demand that cordless phones should
be developed to include a feature of power output control, so that the power output during a call would be adapted
to the distance of the handset from the base station, using only the level of power necessary to keep the
communication going."
To secure smooth operation, the base station
also continually sends a control signal to the handsets, including when the phone is not in use.
According to the BfS, cordless telephones should be devised so that they are emission free on stand by mode.
"Luckily, there is a new generation of devices which fulfil just
this requirement, and thus help to lower the radiation load in the home," declared Matthes.
To prevent possible health risks, the BfS recommends minimising
personal radiation exposure. The following tips will help you if you are not prepared to completely give up
the benefits of a cordless phone:
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Put the base station in a place where you do not spend much time,
for example in the hall.
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Do not put it directly on your desk.
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Only make short phone calls.
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Use the latest generation of phones which are emission free when
the handset in connected to the base station.
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[TL adds - Put Biopro EMF Harmoniser
chips on both handset and base station]
Background Information:
The basis of the assessment of possible health impairment from the high
frequency fields of DECT phones are the guidelines recommended by the International Commission for Non-Ionising
Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). The unit of measurement is the Specific Absorption Rate (SAR). The SAR
describes how much radiation energy (W) is absorbed by the human body (kg).
The maximum allowed SAR rate is as follows:
0.08 W/kg for the entire body
2.00 W/kg for parts of the body, for example for the head
DECT telephones have a SAR value for the head of less than 0.1 W/kg, a
fraction of the recommended guideline of 2.0 W/kg.
[TL adds - ill-health effects have been
found at levels of only 0.06 volts per metre or W/kg, so this is very concerning. ]
According to current scientific knowledge nationally and
internationally, there are indications for biological effects of high frequency electromagnetic fields – which
are the means of transmission for DECT phones – however, there is no conclusive proof that they cause health
damage, as long as the guidelines are not exceeded. A particular danger from pulsed systems, as it is often
claimed, has not yet been scientifically proven. |
