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Electromagnetic Fields > ... > Specific Absorption Rates (SAR) for mobile phones
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Specific Absorption Rates (SAR) for mobile phones
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Mobile communication uses high frequency electromagnetic fields for information transmission. When talking to someone on a mobile phone, the energy of these fields is partly absorbed in the head. If a headset is used and the mobile phone is, for example, put in one’s pocket, the energy is absorbed by the body part close to the mobile phone.
The specific absorption rate (SAR) is a measure for the energy absorbed by the body. Its measure is Watt per kilogram (W/kg). In order to avoid adverse health effects, the specific absorption rate of a mobile phone must not exceed 2 Watts per kilogram. Since 1998 this value is recommended as a limit by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). The German Commission on Radiological Protection (SSK) and the European Commission agreed in 1998 and 1999. In the following, European standardisation bodies developed standards to control compliance with these limits.
Ecolabel „Blue Angel“ for mobile phones
According to manufacturers’ specifications, none of the mobile phones currently available exceed the maximal SAR value of 2 Watts per kilogram recommended by ICNIRP. Since 2002, the ecolabel “Blue Angel” is additionally awarded to low-radiation mobile phones. It intends to reduce exposure of the users in terms of precautionary consumer protection.
In order for a mobile phone to be awarded the „Blue Angel“ and be labelled as a “low-radiation” phone, the SAR value determined when the phone is held right next to the ear during a call, must not exceed 0.6 Watts per kilogram.
SAR values of commercially available mobile phones at a glance
Since 2002, the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) regularly collects the SAR values of the commercially available mobile phones. The values are sorted according to manufacturers and compiled in a table (Link auf die Tabelle der SAR-Werte.) The table contains – if available – for each mobile phone the SAR values for the use cases
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„Holding the phone right next to the ear during a call “
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„Wearing the phone on the body “.
The manufacturers determine the SAR values according to the European standards EN 62209-1 (Use case „Holding the phone right next to the ear during a call “) and EN 62209-2 (Use case „Wearing the phone on the body “), using exactly defined and standardised procedures. Therefore, the values for the respective use cases can be compared with each other.
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