Factors that Influence the Radiofrequency Power Output of GSM Mobile Phones
- 1 August 2007
- journal article
- Published by Radiation Research Society in Radiation Research
- Vol. 168 (2), 253-261
- https://doi.org/10.1667/rr0906.1
Abstract
Epidemiological studies of mobile phone use and risk of brain cancer have relied on self-reported use, years as a subscriber, and billing records as exposure surrogates without addressing the level of radiofrequency (RF) power output. The objective of this study was to measure environmental, behavioral and engineering factors affecting the RF power output of GSM mobile phones during operation. We estimated the RF-field exposure of volunteer subjects who made mobile phone calls using software-modified phones (SMPs) that recorded output power settings. Subjects recruited from three geographic areas in the U.S. were instructed to log information (place, time, etc.) for each call made and received during a 5-day period. The largest factor affecting energy output was study area, followed by user movement and location (inside or outside), use of a hands-free device, and urbanicity, although the two latter factors accounted for trivial parts of overall variance. Although some highly statistically significant differences were identified, the effects on average energy output rate were usually less than 50% and were generally comparable to the standard deviation. These results provide information applicable to improving the precision of exposure metrics for epidemiological studies of GSM mobile phones and may have broader application for other mobile phone systems and geographic locations.Keywords
This publication has 24 references indexed in Scilit:
- Mobile phone use and risk of glioma in adults: case-control studyBMJ, 2006
- Case–control study of the association between the use of cellular and cordless telephones and malignant brain tumors diagnosed during 2000–2003Environmental Research, 2005
- Cellular telephones and risk for brain tumorsNeurology, 2005
- Mobile Phone Use and the Risk of Acoustic NeuromaEpidemiology, 2004
- Cellular Telephone Use and Risk of Acoustic NeuromaAmerican Journal of Epidemiology, 2004
- Handheld cellular telephones and risk of acoustic neuromaNeurology, 2002
- Cellular Telephones and Cancer--a Nationwide Cohort Study in DenmarkJNCI Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 2001
- Cellular-Telephone Use and Brain TumorsNew England Journal of Medicine, 2001
- Handheld Cellular Telephone Use and Risk of Brain CancerJAMA, 2000
- Use of cellular telephones and the risk for brain tumours: A case-control study.International Journal of Oncology, 1999