Financial IQ: How safe is wireless technology?

Financial IQ Philippines Quick Hit(s):

Health is wealth.  Medical bills easily pile up as we get up in age.  I'm not sure if there are health risks... and it does not cost a penny to take precautionary steps.


We are constantly wired to something – cell phones, internet, cordless phones, etc. We come to the office and we have wireless internet and these days most of us have 2 or 3 cell phones – we use cordless phones, wireless speakers, Bluetooth and what have you. At the end of the day, we go home and most of us have wireless internet at home, cordless phones and several cell phones for each member of the family.


Although the issue on the safety of the use of cell phones had died down since the US National Cancer Institute declared them safe and since the stringent requirements of the US Federal Commission (FCC) that manufacturers should not exceed the maximum 1.6 watts per kilogram specific absorption rate (SAR) before these phones can be sold to the public were implemented, still there were experts who warn on the safety concerns of cell phones.


They were asserting that the FCC safety declaration was generally based on specific absorption rate (SAR) level, or the rate at which our bodies absorb radiation. In the website of FCC it defines SAR “as a measure of the rate of RF (radio frequency) energy absorption by the body from the source being measured – in this case, a cell phone”. These independent researchers were saying that SAR only monitors thermal effects – meaning, if it’s not emitting harmful energy on your brain, it passes as safe.


It’s not as important as the research that shows that it’s the non-thermal radiation from a cell phone (the energy waves that made it possible for cell phones to connect to the cell towers) that “can damage our immune system and alter cellular functioning.” This has nothing to do with how high or low the SAR level of your phone is. All cell phones emit a hazardous amount of non-thermal radiation.


The sad thing is that most of us are still ignorant about this fact on non-thermal radiation. All we are concerned are the SAR which is the one much publicized.


Moreover, these safety studies on cell phones involved adults aged 18 or older. Working parents especially gave their children cell phones to closely monitor their activities in school and whereabouts. Other countries discourages children from using cell phones such as the British government when in December 2000 recommended reducing the length of time children spend on a cell phone.


If we cannot do anything much with RFs in offices, we can do something in minimizing our exposure at home not only with regards to cell phones but to anything wireless such as the internet. At our home, we have this router in the master’s bedroom right beside our bed – now we plan to place it in our office room. Where before, the router is turned on the whole night until morning, now we make sure it is turned off at night and when not online.


With cell phones, let’s try to use speakerphones when at home or in the car or use corded headphones and shy away from wireless headset. Let’s also make sure to turn off to wireless mode our cell phones and IPADs when not going online. Cordless phones should also be avoided if possible, since it can prove more harmful than a cell phone. The phone base is like a mini cell tower radiating 24/7 at a range of up to 300 feet.


Technology is progressing day by day so we should make the most of technology to our advantage rather than be slave to it to the point of sacrificing our health.

http://mb.com.ph/articles/333335/how-safe-wireless-technology