The issue of mobile phone radiation standards has existed in China for many years. Recently, it has heated up sharply with a report from the United States, and has once again attracted widespread attention.
Motorola's "radiation scandal" draws attention
Recently, a survey report released by the Federal Communications Commission of the United States listed the 10 mobile phones with the strongest and weakest radiation. Among the top 10 mobile phones with the highest radiation values, Motorola occupied the top nine.
The news spread quickly in China, which has more than 400 million mobile phone users.
According to the data released this time, the highest radiation value of the nine Motorola mobile phones is 1.58 watts/kilogram (electromagnetic radiation test value, referred to as SAR), which is close to the upper limit of the mobile phone radiation value in the US market of 1.6 watts/kilogram, and the lowest is 1.51 watts/kilogram. Among the nine Motorola mobile phones on the "highest radiation ranking list" this time, five mobile phones have been sold in the domestic market. The "L6" that is said to have the highest radiation value is an ultra-thin straight-screen phone that was launched in China only last year and is still a best-selling model in the market.
What is the safe radiation level?
A report inadvertently sparked people's special attention to mobile phone radiation, and some domestic consumers of Motorola-related models even asked whether they should return the products.
Is mobile phone radiation harmful to the human body? What radiation value is the safe bottom line?
It is understood that China has been formulating mobile phone radiation standards for many years. Since 1997, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine has organized a joint working group of experts from the State Environmental Protection Administration, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Information Industry and other departments to discuss and formulate the "Electromagnetic Radiation Exposure Limits and Measurement Methods" (Draft).
The State Environmental Protection Administration and the Ministry of Health have proposed that only when the radiation value of a mobile phone is lower than 1.0 watt/kilogram can it be guaranteed to be harmless to the human body.
Last September, 12 research teams from seven EU countries released a three-year study on the impact of electromagnetic fields on human cells. This research institute is currently the world's largest mobile phone radiation research institute. The study found that if the radiation value of a mobile phone to each kilogram of human tissue is greater than 1.3 watts per kilogram, it will damage human DNA.
He Guili, director of China Telecommunication Technology Laboratory, said that the degree of harm to the human body cannot be judged simply by the size of the radiation value. He believes that the harm of mobile phone radiation to the human body is closely related to the individual user and usage habits. If the radiation value of a mobile phone is less than 2.0 watts/kilogram, but the user uses it continuously for a long time, it may cause greater harm to the human body than a mobile phone with a radiation value slightly greater than 2.0 watts/kilogram, because radiation has a cumulative process.
Some experts pointed out that factors that determine the amount of radiation from a mobile phone include the antenna and the design. The material and size of the antenna and the size of the mobile phone itself will affect the amount of radiation. In addition, the distance from the base station also affects the radiation. Generally speaking, the closer the mobile phone is to the base station, the less radiation it will emit.
In fact, there is not much specific evidence on how much damage mobile phone radiation can cause to the human body. The mainstream view in the medical and scientific communities is that mobile phone radiation can cause skin fever, neurasthenia, memory loss, decreased appetite, palpitations, chest tightness, dizziness, insomnia, dreaminess, immune function decline, premature aging and other symptoms.
Consumers expect standards to be introduced
As the world's largest consumer of mobile phones, China has never had its own mobile phone radiation standards. Although Chinese consumers may pay more attention to style, color, and functions when purchasing mobile phones, radiation issues have also become a factor that more and more consumers are concerned about.
Cui Liying, a mobile phone user who teaches at a university in Beijing, said that when choosing a phone model and function, she would also carefully consider the radiation of the phone. However, due to the lack of relevant knowledge and the lack of corresponding standards in China, consumers can only make judgments based on common sense.
Cui Liying said that she hopes that in the future all mobile phones will be labeled so that consumers can clearly know the radiation value of each mobile phone when purchasing.
Standards are expected to be enforced
He Guili, director of China Telecommunication Technology Labs, said in an interview with our reporter that China's mobile phone radiation standards have been completed at the technical level and were submitted to the National Standards Administration for approval at the end of last year.
Although it is not yet determined whether the final plan will be changed, and when it will be implemented, it is certain that China will finally introduce its own mobile phone radiation standards, and Chinese consumers will have standards to follow when purchasing mobile phones. In the plan submitted to the National Standards Committee, China's mobile phone radiation standard is set at 2.0 watts/kilogram, referring to the European standard, which is slightly higher than the US upper limit of 1.6 watts/kilogram.
According to He Guili, the radiation values of most mobile phone products of Chinese companies are currently lower than 2.0 watts/kilogram, so the introduction of future standards will not have much impact on domestically produced mobile phones.
It is reported that the draft of China's mobile phone radiation standard has been revised several times, and this is the first draft sent to the National Standards Committee for approval. After it is issued, it should be enforced. All mobile phone products need to pass the inspection of relevant departments and meet the standards before they can be put on the market.
Analysts point out that with the introduction of national standards and people's increasing attention to mobile phone radiation, SAR value will become a new selling point for manufacturers to promote mobile phone products. At the same time, the attention to mobile phone radiation will also give rise to a new industry - mobile phone radiation protection industry. At present, online searches have already shown products such as mobile phone electromagnetic wave eliminators and smokeless ashtrays that measure mobile phone radiation.
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What is mobile phone radiation
When people use their mobile phones, they transmit radio waves to the base station. Any radio wave will be absorbed by the human body to a certain extent. This kind of radio wave is called mobile phone radiation. Mobile phone radiation can be divided into two types: mobile phone body radiation and base station radiation.
Testing standard for mobile phone radiation——SAR
SAR is the abbreviation of Specific Absorbtion Ratio, which means "absorption ratio". In layman's terms, it measures whether the impact of mobile phone radiation on the human body meets the standard.
Mobile phone radiation standards (SAR limits)
According to the SAR value requirements of the technical standards for measuring mobile phone radiation recommended by the International Telecommunication Union and the World Health Organization, the International Telecommunication Union standard limit is 2.0 watts/kilogram and the US Federal Communications Commission standard limit is 1.6 watts/kilogram.
Basic conclusions of international authoritative organizations on mobile phone radiation
Any wireless transmitting device will generate electromagnetic radiation. From this perspective, there is no such thing as a "green phone" in the pure sense.
The current mobile phone radiation limit stipulated by the standard is generally 50 times smaller than the radiation dose that may cause danger. Therefore, mobile phones that meet the standard are safe.