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To avoid microwave spectrum, 23.6 percent and
20.8 percent showed tendencies of turning to EMF-free fixed-line phones or communication with text messages.
In this climate, Suh urged the government to
come up with measures geared toward reducing risks of microwaves stemming from mobile handsets.
"There are lingering disputes on whether
EMF is bad for health but some researches point out it can be harmful for humans. We need to conduct an
exhaustive study on the issue," Suh said.
EMF is the physical influence that arises from
charged objects. It can occur in various fashions and one of the sources is microwaves carrying bits and
packets of data.
Cell phones emit EMF
like other wireless gizmos such as cordless phones. As long as it is a communication device and is not
attached to the wall by a wire, it emits radiation.
For decades, scientists from around the world
have tried to find out the exact repercussions of EMF on human bodies but they have yet to reach a consensus on
its potential damage.
With radio waves becoming an inseparable part
of everyday lives, however, broad-based concerns have flared up regarding continual contact with EMF.
In particular, mobile phones become an issue as
handset networks blanket Korea, creating the so-called electromagnetic smog. And people use the gadget
in a most dangerous fashion - putting it up to their head close
to the sensitive brain.
The Korean government has concluded that the
amount of EMF coming from cell phones is negligible but more and more overseas reports
start raising its potential risks.
For example, scientists from Swinburne
University of Technology in Melbourne recently found people’s response times slowed
during a 30-minute mobile phone call.
Also some doctors point their fingers at the
cell phone microwaves as one of the major triggers of brain tumors.
"We need to leverage the Specific
Absorption Rate (SAR) as the way to shun strong electromagnetic radiations from cell phones
but people’s recognition on it is still low," Suh said.
Indeed, the poll showed only 23.5 percent of
respondents knew the SAR, which is supposed to indicate the rate at which energy is absorbed by the brain from a
particular model.
The results of the nationwide poll carried out
on 1,034 people who aged 20 or older have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.05 percentage points. |
