Do your smartphones emit more radio waves than the authorized limit? 60 million consumers name bad phone marques in an investigation. Details.
Which of the smartphones are the ones that emit electromagnetic waves above the authorized limit? This is the alert that launched the consumer organization, 60 million consumers , which has identified 17 mobile phone models exceeding since early 2018 the maximum level of electromagnetic radiation set by the regulations in force.
In its survey published at the end of August 2019, 60 Million consumers point out as bad brands like Wiko, Huawei, Alcatel.
Nokia is even considered by the media as the worst, with “three different devices at fault between April and July 2019”.
Exceeded values
For the purposes of its survey, 60 million consumers relied on reminders to the order of smartphone manufacturers, issued by the National Frequency Agency (ANFR), in charge of the controls of these objects which are now part our daily.
Among the missions incumbent on ANFR, ensure “compliance with the limits of exposure of the public to radio waves” and control “the compliance of equipment and terminals placed on the market”, as explained by the agency on its website .
The reminders to the order compiled by 60 million consumers concern the exceeding of the specific absorption rate (SAR) authorized at the level of the “trunk”. In its brochure, the ANFR explains:
Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) is the rate at which energy produced by equipment, such as a mobile phone, is absorbed by the body. The SAR is measured on the whole body or on a part and is expressed in watts per kilogram (W / kg). In the case of head exposure, as is the case with a mobile phone to the ear, the SAR is limited to 2 W / kg.
17 smartphones involved
However, since the beginning of 2018, 17 smartphone models have exceeded this “specific absorption rate”, according to ANFR measurements, which control about 80 mobile phones per year.
Note that the giants of the mobile phones that are Apple and Samsung are not in the list, because not concerned by these overruns since the beginning of 2018. If pinned marks are usually subject to a simple reminder to the order, with a software update to operate, some phones need to be recalled to users, when some are outright banned and removed from the market.
This is the case of the following models:
- Neffos, X1 TP902: call to order on May 2018, then copies recalled by the manufacturer.
- Orange, Hapi 30 : call to order in April 2018 and Orange copies.
- Allview, X4 Soul Mini S: after a call to order on July 2019, no effect, the phone was banned and removed from the market by the authorities.
- Leagoo, S8: call to order also in July 2019, without effect, with ban and withdrawal from the market by the authorities.
It should be noted that these last two manufacturers had not reacted to formal notices formulated, specified the ANFR in a statement published on July 25th.
Dans le cadre de ses missions de surveillance du marché, l’ANFR a fait des mesures sur les📱LEAGOO S8 et ALLVIEW X4.Celles-ci ont révélé des valeurs de DAS dépassant la limite autorisée. L’ANFR informe du retrait du marché et du rappel de ces téléphones 👉https://t.co/FxgVU5mzZC pic.twitter.com/9R7fzJeh4O
— ANFR (@anfr) 25 July 2019
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If the effects of waves on health continue to fuel lively debate and divide scientists, the National Health Security Agency advocated in 2018, “for all users, to privilege the acquisition of phones displaying the flows of specific absorption (SAR) “.
Electromagnetic waves: what effects on health?
This is a question that is far from settled and continues to divide. Among the dangers pointed out, the risk of cancer, especially of the brain, the development of hypersensitivity disorders to electromagnetic waves. However, in the absence of sufficient evidence, research director for environmental epidemiology at Inserm (National Institute of Health and Medical Research) explained in 2018 in The Conversation that “more time lag was needed to be able to identify or rule out a possible effect of exposure to electromagnetic fields in the microwaves range in humans”. And to recall that in “waiting for more knowledge”, we must refer to the usual precautions issued by ANSES.
Which smartphones should I choose? ANFR publishes in open data the results of its various DAS checks, which must not exceed 2 W / kg at the head or trunk level and 4 W / kg at the level of the arms or legs.
The agency also recommended users who spend a lot of calls to use a hands-free kit, which reduces the body’s exposure to the airwaves, and limit the use of phones by children or not to keep his phone on yourself or sleep next door.
And if your smartphone is in the list unveiled by 60 million consumers, a system update is usually proposed. It allows modifying “the behaviour of the device in order to limit its radiation and thus to respect the authorized standards”.
