Re: Cell Phones and Cancer

The American Cancer Society seems to have the latest information regarding the findings of many tests which have been made to find if there is any relationship between cell phone (and other wireless RF generating personal devices) and Cancer. A detailed summary can be found at:

Additionally the FCC web site has info about the RF measurement process and related results along with the specs to be targeted for the whole cellular system including hand held phones and the radiation limits for the human body . This URL is: At the FCC site you will note that they set limits for cell site transmitters, car mounted cellular antenna output and the hand held phones with relation to power/radiation measurements depending on the system/device. Since the majority of consumer RF "exposure" is related (today) to the hand held devices, the FCC has taken it a step further to set a maximum SAR or Specific Absorption Rate of 1.6 watts/kg (of body weight) based upon a tissue (human) sample size of 1 gram. Each phone manufacturer must test their individual phone models and supply the SAR to the FCC before the phone is type accepted for use.

As I recall the maximum transmitting power (by spec and by design due to battery capacity) for a hand held phone is something like 0.7 watts, so there is very little (or no) chance that the phone could generate 1.6 watts/kg. Perhaps the old car-mounted or bag-phones could generate that kind of power because their power was variable (as is the hand held, as you indicated) from around 7 watts down to the hand held limit controlled by the cell site through the "business" or control frequency.

Also some of the major cell service companies have on-line info available about cell phones and Cancer. One web site I found by Verizon Wireless seems to summarize what is known:

As you might have read there have been some court cases litigated by person(s) who have determined that their Cancer was caused by cell phone usage. To date none of these cases have been won by the litigant as all the scientific tests so far have not shown any causal effect. However, there is much on going scientific study which might (or might not) find some probable cause, someday.

But, hey, what about those people who hang a BlueTooth device (it emits RF energy, too) on their ear and wear it all day long? A cell phone is only used occasionally, brought to the ear then put back on the belt or into the purse, or where ever it is stored. What about the effects of prolonged RF energy from the BT ear piece in direct contact with the ear/head? That will be another "story", won't it?

Hope the above helps to answer your query. However, if you are looking for some more practical info as to how the cell sites "talk" with the cell phones to vary power, etc. and how the whole system works, I found a web site (can't vouch for its total accuracy though) which contains a wealth of info regarding the "inner-workings" of the cell system. It is located at:

John Stahl Telecom/Data Consultant Aljon Enterprises