Smartphone radiation is bad in trains and elevators

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Smartphone radiation is bad in trains and elevators

Fears of harmful radiation from cellphones were rampant a few years ago. Not surprisingly, smartphones might be just as bad as their predecessors.

According to a report by the National Institute of Environmental Research, smarphones emit large amounts of radiation when they are attempting to connect to another number. In a study of seven smartphones that started in September 2011, the institute found that the devices emitted 0.11-0.27 volts per metermof radiation when connecting to another number, compared to 0.08-0.24 volts per meter during the course of a call. Volts per meter and is a measure of the intensity of electromagnetic radiations.

The institute recommended using earphones for phone calls or putting the phone away from your head when a call is connecting.

In addition, the institute found that radiation from smartphones increases by a factor of seven when used in a confined space like an elevator or in the subway. The reason: A smartphone attempts connections to base stations more often when in enclosed spaces.

The institution said it wants to warn the public of the potential risks posed by the heavy use of mobile phones. In Korea, there are more than 30 million smartphone users, 60 percent of the entire population, according to the three major mobile operators SK Telecom, KT and LG U+.

In 2011, the World Health Organization classified radiation from mobile phones as a possible cancer risk after a major review of the effects of electromagnetic waves on human health.

It said mobile phones can raise the risk of malignant brain tumors by 40 percent.


By Park Eun-jee [ejpark@joongang.co.kr]
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