2 Cellphones of Popular Brand Alleged as Worst

copyrighted by the ny post 2005

www.nypost.com

http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/51559.htm

TWO CELLPHONES ARE ZAP TRAPS, POL WARNS

By GREG BENSINGER
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Councilwoman Eva Moskowitz yesterday released research on potentially
cancer-causing radio waves from cell phones.
Email Archives
Print Reprint



August 22, 2005 -- If you don't want an earful of radio waves, stay far
away from two Motorola cellphones, City Councilwoman Eva Moskowitz
advised yesterday.
She released a list of nearly 400 cellphone models, along with the
amount of potentially cancer-causing emissions absorbed through the
ears of people who use them without headsets.

Topping the list with the most emissions were Motorola's V.120E and
V.60x cellphone models.

A separate list shows the amount of radio waves that hit the body if a
person is holding the phone or if it's stuffed in a pocket.

The lists will be posted on the City Council's Web site by early this
week, she said.

Using an FCC measurement of the number of radio waves absorbed from an
active cellphone, she found a large number of the 381 models tested to
be just under the legal limit of 1.60 watts per kilogram.

Motorola ranks among the worst offenders, according to Moskowitz's
research.



People who hold 23 of its models directly to their ears absorb the most
radio waves, she said. Users of the V.120E and V.60x models absorb 1.59
wpk through their ears, the study said.

Mitsubishi's MPX200 ranked lowest, with its users absorbing just .12
wpk through their ears.

People with headsets absorb the most radiation, 1.58 wpk, on their
bodies if they use six models of Motorolas. They absorb the least
radiation, .04, from two other Motorola models.

A Motorola spokesman said, "All our numbers are within FCC limits."

Moskowitz's list does not include phones made by Samsung, Audiovox and
Kyocera, which, she said, make their numbers available in their user
guides. And she called on manufacturers to be more forthcoming about
radio-wave emissions.

"Consumers need to be able to make informed decisions about their
cellphones," she said.

"And it is very difficult to get information about radio-wave
emissions."

If she has her way, all manufacturers will include the numbers on their
advertisements, on their boxes and right on the phones themselves.

She noted the "the jury is still out" on whether cellphones cause
cancer.

Last May, the magazine Neurology reported finding no clear connection
between cellphones and brain cancer.

Still, Moskowitz suggested cellphone use may turn out to be just as
unhealthy as lighting up.

"They used to say that cigarettes weren't bad for you, but we know
about that now," she said.

"There are 175 million Americans who use cellphones, and 69 percent of
New Yorkers use them every day. We don't want to find out down the road
that we've been doing damage to ourselves."

Moskowitz said she got a new cellphone after looking at the numbers.

"I have a plan with 5,000 minutes, so I'm on the phone all the time"
she said.

"I definitely don't want to learn later that these things cause
cancer."






Back to: Regional News | National News | World News | Home

.

Relevant Pages

  • Possible agents of Cancer
    ... In her newest book, The Secret History of the War on Cancer, Davis argues ... cellphones for 10 years or more have double the risk of brain cancer. ... Ritalin - Several papers have indicated that Ritalin, ...
    (soc.retirement)
  • Experts Revive Debate Over Cellphones and Cancer
    ... Experts Revive Debate Over Cellphones and Cancer ... What do brain surgeons know about cellphone safety that the rest of ... Larry King that they did not hold cellphones next to their ears. ...
    (comp.dcom.telecom)