On December 13, 2017 the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Released its first guidelines on “How to Reduce Exposure to Radiofrequency Radiation for Cell Phones” CDPH Press Release Dec 13, 2017 . The CDPH notes that cell phone use is increasing dramatically and thus this was an important time to release it.
This has been applauded by health and environmental groups, including the Environmental Working Group, as a huge step in protecting the public from adverse effects of this non-ionizing radiation. This is especially important as children are using wireless devices at much younger ages thus increasing years of cumulative exposure and harm. CBS News Dec 15, 2017
Despite this landmark decision to alert the public about the potential harm from radio frequency radiation, scientists note that it is long overdue. Dr. Joel Moskowitz, is part of a large group of published scientists working on radio frequency health effects and who are calling for much stricter standards and protective measures by international government agencies. Regarding the CDPH recommendations he states, “The science is a lot stronger now, but you would not think that reading from this document. It’s underplayed.’’ The Mercury News Dec 16, 2017 notes that Dr. Joel Moskowitz, director of the Center for Family and Community Health at UC Berkeley’s School of Public Health, has been involved with this issue for many years. He learned in 2013 that the CDPH had guidelines since 2009 but did not release them. After a series of failed Public Records Act requests for the document, a lawsuit was filed and Sacramento County Superior Court judge in March, 2017 ordered the release of CDPH cell phone safety guidelines.
Additional recommendations to further reduce exposure can be found at Wireless Safety Tips . It is important to note that a cordless phone has about the same radiation as a cell phone thus it is recommended to use a landline for long calls. For scientific information about the risks of cell phone use see also MDSafeTech- Brain Tumors and Cell Phones.
California Department of Public Health:
How To Reduce Exposure from Radiofrequency Radiation from Cell Phones.
The important new CDPH guidelines provide valuable practical steps to reduce exposure to radio frequency energy from cell phones. That includes:
- Keeping the phone away from the body
- Reducing cell phone use when the signal is weak
- Reducing the use of cell phones to stream audio or video, or to download or upload large files
- Keeping the phone away from the bed at night
- Removing headsets when not on a call
- Avoiding products that claim to block radio frequency energy. These products may actually increase your exposure.