Kids absorb twice more radiation from cellphones than adults

A new study has revealed that children absorb twice as much microwave radiation from cellphones as adults do.

The study also found that keeping cell phones in shirt or pants pockets exceeds Federal Communications Commission (FCC) exposure guidelines.

The study noted that the industry-designed process for evaluating microwave radiation from phones results in children absorbing twice the cell phone radiation to their heads, up to triple in their brain’s hippocampus and hypothalamus, greater absorption in their eyes, and as much as 10 times more in their bone marrow when compared to adults.

The existing process is based on a large man whose 40 brain tissues are assumed to be exactly the same.

A far better system relies on anatomically based models of people of various ages, including pregnant women, that can determine the absorbed radiation in all tissue types, and can account for the increased absorption in children.

It allows for cell phones to be certified with the most vulnerable users in mind — children — consistent with the “As Low As Reasonably Achievable” (ALARA) approach taken in setting standards for using radiological devices.

The study will be published online October 17 in the journal Electromagnetic Biology and Medicine.