Probably not much, and this post is not about scaring anyone. However, as most of us have given up or reduced our use of landlines, relying more on cell phones to communicate, conduct our job searches, find directions, search the Internet, and send and respond to emails, studies have shown that we are more exposed to higher levels of radiation by our constant use of these gadgets.

Now, whether there’s a connection between cell phone use and cancer, especially since studies have found contradictory evidence about it, noted health advisor, Dr. Andrew Weil, commented in his recent newsletter that “it seems prudent to me to take commonsense precautions. Brain tumors can take 30 to 40 years to develop, so it could be a long time before we know for sure whether cell phone use is safe or, if not, how great the risks may be.” He recommends the following:

1. Use earpieces, headsets or speakerphones.
2. Save long conversations for conventional phones.
3. In your car, using a cell phone that has a Bluetooth connection. Many new dash-mounted GPS units have a Bluetooth mode, so that your phone works through the GPS unit’s microphone and speaker. This has the added advantage of keeping your hands free for safer driving.
4. Limit the time children spend on cell phones – they may be more vulnerable than adults to adverse effects.
5. Find out how much radio frequency energy your cell phone emits.

In addition, the Environmental Working Group, a non-profit health and environmental organization also offers the following:

1. Buy a low radiation phone
2. Listen more and talk less as our phone emits radiation when you talk or text, but not when you’re receiving messages.
3. Hold the phone away from your body when you’re talking, not against your ear, in a pocket, or on your belt where soft body tissues absorb radiation.
4. Stay off the phone if there are fewer signal bars as it emits more radiation to get the signal to the tower.
5. Limit children’s use of cell phones as, it is said, children’s brains absorb twice the cell phone radiation as adults.

So, as the debate continues, there may or may not be a correlation between the use of cell phones and cancer, and by extension, the job search, but it might be worth it to take a break from the job search to check on the radiation ranking of your phone.

The SAR limit (Specific Absorption Rate) for radio frequency energy is similar in Canada and the United states: 1.6 watts per kilogram. For more information, visit Industry Canada’s website at (www.ic.gc.ca) and the Federal Communications Commission website for (www.fcc.gov).

This is not only about health, but also about safety. And, by the way, landlines are still alive and safe!

Sources:

Dr. Andrew Weil

Environmental Working Group

Image courtesy of soundfeelings.com