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Physics Today/New York Times reports on confusion at the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) on whether RF radiation around cell-phones is harmful or not. All of this seems to be based on one recent study indicating potential for various forms of problem from headaches up through cancer. That perhaps led to a relatively minor change in wording in CDC guidance from "it's not a problem" to "we don't know", which was then amplified through media channels to a new scare.
I'm pretty confident in asserting this will have zero affect on cell-phone usage. Consumers trading off their cell-phone addiction against an unquantified "we don't know"? I don't think so. Nor are they likely to accept giant cradles to keep cell phones far enough away from their heads or automatic power downs to minimize usage during the day. Everything we do carries risks. We would be better served by the media helping the public better understand how to weigh those risks correctly.
When this panic first started years ago everyone was using analog cell phones and actually talked on them. Today the only thing that will get cancer will be our fingers from texting so much. I put my phone against my head so rarely that I have to think about where to hold it so I can hear well.
The emphasis on exposure of the brain to cell phone "radiation" is quite surprising because the present standards for human exposure are based on thermal effects (W/kg). What about the breast where there is much less cooling by blood flow? Women frequently carry cell phones in bras having special pockets designed for this purpose, especially in jogging where there is also metabolic heating. I had many interesting experiences during my years with IEEE C95.1 and ANSI subcommittees setting "guidelines" for human exposure that were lately adopted by governmental agencies. Politics and science do not mix well, and finally I chose science.
An interesting point and thanks for your knowledgeable viewpoint in this area. I would never have thought of breast tissue exposure. I would imagine there might be similar concerns about phones carried in pants or jacket pockets or clipped to a belt (though in the latter case perhaps the separation due to clip + belt may be enough to degrade heating effects?)
