Personal digital assistant (PDA) cell phone units produce elevated extremely-low frequency electromagnetic field emissions

✍ Scribed by Cindy Sage; Olle Johansson; S. Amy Sage

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2007
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 184 KB
• Volume: 28
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0197-8462
• DOI: 10.1002/bem.20315

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Initial tests indicate that personal and occupational use of personal digital assistants (PDAs or palm‐held wireless units) produce high intensity bursts of extremely‐low frequency electromagnetic fields (ELF‐EMF). These emissions could result in comparatively high ELF‐EMF exposure in persons that carry a PDA close to the body (i.e., in a pocket or on a belt); or held to the head for cell phone conversations. ELF‐EMF emissions of 10 µT were recorded on PDAs during normal office use over a 24 h test period. Results of ELF‐EMF measurements show that email transmit and receive functions produce rapid, short‐duration ELF‐EMF spikes in the 2–10 µT range, each lasting several seconds to over a minute apparently depending on file download size. Some units produced spikes as high as 30–60 µT during email activities. Cell phone activity on PDAs produced continuously elevated ELF‐EMF readings in the 0.5–1 µT range, as opposed to the rapid spiking pattern for email receipt and transmission. Switching the PDA unit from “OFF” to “ON” position resulted in single ELF‐EMF pulses of over 90 µT on two units. Email downloads into the PDA can occur randomly throughout the day and night when the unit is “ON”; thus the user who wears the PDA may be receiving high‐intensity ELF‐EMF pulses throughout the day and night. The frequency of email traffic on the PDA, and the power switching unit (battery unit) may affect the frequency and intensity of ELF‐EMF emissions. Bioelectromagnetics 28:386–392, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.