According to an ANSES report, some phones put on the market before 2016 could be dangerous to our health, especially when worn close to the body. In question: the quantity of waves emitted by these devices, which can have harmful effects on brain activity.
If you are the owner of a smartphone, you have probably got into the habit of storing it in the pocket of your jeans, your jacket, or in your bag at trunk height.
However, this is not recommended, according to a report from the National Agency for Food SafetyEnvironment and Labor (ANSES) made public on Monday 21 October.
According to its authors, cell phones and smartphones released before 2016 are likely to emit too many waves by the latest standards when worn close to the body. This, in the long term, can have harmful effects on health.
“Biological effects on brain activity”
“The average duration of use of a telephone being a few years (3-5 years), a certain number of these telephones are probably still in use today”, explains to AFP Roger Genet, director general of the ‘Anses.
In question, according to the health agency: the specific absorption rate (SAR), which makes it possible to evaluate the quantity of energy absorbed by the body exposed to the waves. In the case of these older models, it easily exceeds the value of 2 watts per kilo (W/kg) set by the regulations of April 2016.
ANSES reviewed the conclusions of 57 studies carried out on rodents exposed to a SAR greater than 2W/kg and concluded that there were “biological effects on brain activity”. However, the agency states that the “evidence is limited” and does not confirm “effects on other biological functions specifically associated with trunk exposures.”
Carry your phone somewhere other than close to your body
Pending new evidence on “possible long-term health effects”, ANSES considers that it is necessary to apply a precautionary principle and therefore no longer carry your phone too close to your body.
It also recommends that “measures be taken so that users are no longer exposed to SARs greater than 2 W/kg, for example through updates of telephone software (or) the recall of telephones.” She also wants to further tighten the regulations on the emission of waves “so that the measurements (…) of the ‘trunk SAR’ of mobile phones are carried out in contact with the body.”
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