How safe for your brain is your cellphone?

Zatni Arbi, Columnist, Jakarta

Cellphone users have long been wondering about how safe the device is. They have heard stories about brain cancer, suspected to have been caused by prolonged use of cellphones.

People have gone as far as saying that the powerful signal transmissions are actually "frying" their brains.

Has there been any definitive and final answer?

Nokia says that the majority of research results so far have shown that there is no harmful effect from radio signals emitted from the cellphones, because the power of these signals is still far below the safety limits set by institutions around the world.

Ericsson, another leading cellphone maker, also claims that there has been no convincing proof that mobile telephony can impact the user's health.

Motorola's websites also contain more or less the same statements. This should not surprise us, as the opposite news would put them out of business.

The concern about the health safety of mobile phones has prompted other, more independent, bodies to conduct research.

Even the World Health Organization has got involved in trying to find out the ultimate facts. In June 2000, this UN body also reported that none of the research reviews supported the claim that the radio frequency fields from either cellphone units or network base stations could really cause health hazards.

A year earlier, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration also issued more-or-less the same statement.

What is still missing? These statements have generally stopped short of saying with absolute certainty that using a cellphone would never cause any health problems.

While it is a statement like this that we would like to hear, we can understand the disguised hesitancy reflected in the words "unlikely", "not proven", etc.

There are a lot of variables that need to be taken into account. For example, would there be an adverse effect if we placed the cellphone on our ear for more than just one or two minutes? And, do all cellphones comply with the recommendations as to the level of radio frequency emission? We know not all of them do.

Another source of worry is the fact that a lot of health problems emerge only after many years have elapsed from the time they first started to develop.

While research on the effect of cellphone usage has been going on for a couple of years, who can be sure that its real impact will not be felt years from now?

All we can do is minimize the risk.

First and foremost, we can develop the habit of making our calls on the cellphone as brief as possible each time. Second, when choosing a new cellphone, make sure that it follows the standards and recommended level of power, which is between 0.2 watts and 0.6 watts. Ask around and read reports, as a lot of them are available on the Internet.

A hands-free accessory also helps put the transmitting cellphone at a distance from our ear and brain, so that the power of the radio frequency (RF) that penetrates our skull will be even much lower.

Realistically speaking, however, we have to understand that RF fields are everywhere. With all the satellite-based services beamed straight down to earth -- including the global positioning systems, digital radio broadcasts, low orbit satellite-based handphones, microwave links, etc., RF fields already flood our environment.

It is difficult to find places free from RF fields when we have urban lifestyles.

Just keep in mind that, like eating, drinking and many other enjoyable activities in our life, too much talking on the cellphone may indeed be bad for your health.