Lobby Group Warns of High Smartphone SAR Levels

The health lobby group, Environmental Working Group (EWG) has issued an advisory that newer smartphones tend to have higher radio emission levels than older phones. Motorola's Droid, Blackberry Bold 9700, LG Chocolate Touch and HTC Nexus One were all cited as having higher emission levels.

The EWG noted though that three new phones - Motorola Brute, Pantech Impact and Samsung Mythic - emit significantly less radiation.

"A number of health agencies around the world advise people to reduce exposures to cell phone radiation, driven by recent studies raising questions about the safety of this radiation, particularly for children," said Jane Houlihan, senior vice president for research at Environmental Working Group. "That's why it's essential for consumers to have radiation output information before they purchase phones for themselves and their families."

The Federal Communications Commission sets maximum cell phone emissions output at 1.6 watts per kilogram of body weight, a measure known as the Specific Absorption Rate (SAR). A phone's SAR value expresses the amount of radio frequency energy absorbed by the body when using a mobile device. Manufacturers are required to provide their devices' SAR values to the FCC and sometimes disclose this number in technical documentation but often do not display the data where cell phones are sold.