Phonegate: French Government Data Indicates Cell Phones Expose Consumers To Radiation Levels Higher Than Manufacturers Claim

Cell Phone Radiation Scandal: More Exposure Than Manufacturers Claim

“PhoneGate” In France, government data release reveals 9 out of 10 phones tested exceed regulatory limits

(Washington, DC) After a court filing, the National Frequency Agency (ANFR) of France has just disclosed that most cell phones exceed government radiation limits when tested the way they are used, next to the body. Manufacturers are not required to test phones in shirt or pants pockets. French government tests on hundreds of cell phones reveal that in 2015, 9 out of 10 phones exceed the manufacturer’s reported radiation test levels when re-tested in positions where the phone is in contact with the body. The government had refused to disclose these test results until pressure after the court action.

Baby Girl Plaing With A Phone Environmental Health Trust

Children handed cell phones as toys.

On June 1, 2017, ANFR posted the details of the make, model and test results for each phone that was tested, after months of legal action by French physician Dr. Marc Arazi. Arazi’s request for the information was initially denied. Popular brands such as Apple, Motorola, Samsung and Nokia were among the cell phone models tested. When tested in contact with the body, some phones have test results as high as triple the manufacturer’s previously reported radiation levels.
“As a physician, I am deeply concerned about what this means for our health and especially the health of our children. People have a right to know that when cell phones are tested in ways people commonly use phones – such as in direct contact with their body – the values exceed current regulatory limits. This is a first victory for transparency in this industry scandal,” commented Arazi.

Ricocheting in headlines throughout France, Arazi and his colleagues have coined the situation as “PhoneGate” because of the parallels to “Diesel Gate” – the Volkswagen emissions saga. Devra Davis, PhD, President of Environmental Health Trust explained, “Volkswagen cars passed diesel emission tests when tested in laboratory conditions, but when the cars were driven on real roads, they emitted far more fumes. In the same way, every one of these cell phones ‘passed’ laboratory radiation SAR tests. These phones are legally considered compliant. However, when these phones are tested in the ways that people actually use them in real life, such as in your jeans pocket or bra, the amount of absorbed radiation emissions in our bodies violates the regulatory limits.”

Click here to see a PDF of Cell Phone Make and model with test measurements for 5 mm and 0 mm separation distance. As a example of the hundreds of full cell phone test reports online please see these examples: the Polaroid PRO 881A, the Motorola Motoluxe, the Apple iPhone 5, and the Echo Note. Please see the French test agency ANFR spreadsheet for more test reports.

May 2019: Peer reviewed published paper by Professor Om Gandhi examined ANFR data from ANFR phone tests and found phones can emit 11 times over the US FCC limit and 3 times over French limits in 9 out of 10 phones tested. Read press release.

Gandhi, O. P. (2019). Microwave Emissions From Cell Phones Exceed Safety Limits in Europe and the US When Touching the Body

April 2019: Over 13 phone models updated or recalled due to Phonegate!

List and details of measurements conducted on 14 cell phones with non-compliant SAR trunk

Source Phonegate

Cell phone	SAR trunk measured	Manufacturer decision	SAR trunk measured after update
Orange HAPI	2.1 W/kg	Withdrawal from market, recall of models sold	Non applicable
NEFFOS X1 TP902	2.52 W/kg	Withdrawal from market, recall of models sold	Non applicable
Huawei Honor 8	2.11 W/kg	Software update	1.45 W/kg
Echo Star Plus	2.05 W/kg	Software update	1.41 W/kg
Alcatel Pixie 4-6”	2.04 W/kg	Software update	1.58 W/kg
Wiko Tommy2 Bouygues Telecom	2.46 W/kg	Software update	1.66 W/kg
Hisense F23	2.13 W/kg	Software update	1.46 W/kg
Wiko View	2.44 W/kg	Software update	1.34 W/kg
Archos access 50	3.01 W/kg	Software update	1.36 W/kg
LOGICOM M BOT 69	2.81 W/kg	Software update	1.51 W/kg
Xiaomi Redmi Note 5	SAR head measured 2.08 W/kg	Software update	SAR head after update 0.356 W/kg
Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S	2.94 W/kg	Software update	1.42 W/kg
Nokia 5	2.24 W/kg	Software update	1.81 W/kg
Nokia 3	2.37 W/kg	Software update	1.64 W/kg

* June 2018 update: A total of five cell phone models (more expected) have been recalled and/or software updated due to high radiation: the Echo Star Plus (2.01 W / kg), the Alcatel PIXI 4 of 6 inches (2.04 W / kg), the Honor 8 (2.11 W / kg), the Neffos X1 (2.52 W / kg) and the Hapi30, Orange. Software updates were available for three of the models (Alcatel PIXI 4-6 , Echo Star Plus and Huawei Honor 8) to address the issue (consumers needed to ensure they downloaded the new update which lowers the radiation emissions) and the other two phone models are recalled. Netflos customers can exchange the phone for another model explains the manufacturer on his site. Read the ANFR release here.

*July 2018 update: In its press release published on July 26, 2018, the National Frequencies Agency (ANFR) announced the obligation of manufacturers to update two new mobile phone models, the HISENSE F23 and the WIKO Tommy2 after ANFR tests carried out showed that the regulatory limit for the Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) “trunk” had been exceeded. ANFR issued a 13 page summary of their findings.

“This is an enormous international scandal. This is not only about France and Europe, as this applies to all persons who use cell phones in every country. If phones were tested in the ways we use them, they would be illegal,” stated Dr. Davis, pointing out that these findings were replicated earlier by a US FCC certified laboratory as part of an investigation by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Findings of higher radiation levels than expected (and even higher after phones are fixed) were also documented by the Holon Institute of Technology in Israel and featured on Israeli news.

“Far more concerning is that the regulatory limits do not protect the public from adverse health effects related to long-term exposures,“ Davis commented, pointing to recently published research. A study in the American Journal of Epidemiology found cell phones associated with a doubled risk of glioma, a type of brain cancer. Studies performed by the US National Toxicology Program found glioma and DNA damage increased in rats exposed to long-term cell phone radiation.

“I see children cradling cell phones in their laps as their mothers do grocery shopping. Teenagers are sleeping with cell phones placed on their chest or directly beside their heads all night long. Pregnant women put cell phones and wireless devices on their abdomen. Parents have a right to know that when children use cell phones in these ways, their bodies are absorbing wireless radiation at levels that exceed limits set for adults 20 years ago,” stated Theodora Scarato, Program Director at Environmental Health Trust, referring to how the American Academy of Pediatrics has repeatedly called on the US Government to update cell phone testing to reflect current use patterns. The American Academy of Pediatrics has issued clear recommendations to reduce cell phone radiation exposures to children.

The Public is Unaware

France’s National Agency of Health Security of Food, Environment and Labour (ANSES) July 2016 report “Radiofrequency Exposure and the Health of Children” conceded that the public is largely unaware of instructions to keep a distance between cell phones and anyone’s head and body. ANSES stated that it was “unlikely that people, especially children, are aware of the conditions of use close to the body, as defined by manufacturers.”

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) independent survey of more than 11,000 Canadians found that more than 80 percent were unaware of manufacturers’ recommended separation distance and 67 percent admitted they carry their phones against their bodies.

The newly released French data is also corroborated by the 2017 independently commissioned investigation by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that tested popular cell phones in a US government certified testing laboratory and found SAR values surpassed the US and Canadian allowable SAR values when the phones were tested in body contact positions. In response to the CBC report, manufacturers stated they were fully compliant.

The Wireless Industry Argues “No Evidence” To Update Testing Protocols

Read what Apple states here -and you can see in example of how the SAR looks different depending on the tissue averaging at this link https://www.apple.com/legal/rfexposure/iphone5,1/en/

The CTIA, the wireless industry lobby group is opposed to mandatory disclosures about the manufacturer’s instructions and also is opposed to updating cell phone radiation testing methods to include body contact positions such as were performed by the French government. The CTIA argued that “there is no reliable evidence proving that current testing protocols fail to ensure compliance with RF standards, “ in their submission to the US Federal Communications Commission concerning the FCC Docket on Human Exposures to Radiofrequency Radiation. The CTIA stated that “a zero-measuring requirement would not accurately mimic real usage or increase safety.”

In California, the City of Berkeley was sued by the CTIA, a wireless industry lobby group, when the City passed an ordinance mandating consumers are informed of these manufacturers’ instructions by retail stores. The CTIA argued that the “Right To Know Ordinance” violated free speech rights and recently lost their case in court when the judges ruled that the Ordinance was “in the public interest”.

After litigation by UC Berkeley public health professor Dr. Joel Moskowitz, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) released cell phone guidance that the Department scientists had drafted, but withheld from publicly posting for seven years. The guidelines aimed inform the public from possible health impacts from cell phone radiation.

Litigation is moving forward involving more than a dozen people in the U.S. who claim their brain cancer is related to their cell phone use. In Italy, a recent court ruling recognized a link between cellphone use and brain tumors and granted lifetime compensation to a man who developed a brain tumor after 15 years of work related cell phone use.

“Why does the public have to sue to get this information?” Scarato asked. “And what about children in schools? The Maryland State Children’s Environmental Health and Protection Advisory Council has recommended that schools reduce radiofrequency radiation exposures to children by installing wired networks rather than Wi-Fi, same as in Cyprus, France and Israel. Yet at the same time, schools are now allowing or even insisting children bring cell phones into classrooms. I am sure most of those children are carrying these phones from class to class in their pockets close to their body. They are not aware of the radiation exposures.”

The US Government has Been Aware of This for Decades

In 1996 when US FCC limits were set the FCC stated in 96-326 the following:

“FDA, however… Argues that recently published scientific studies indicate that some hand held radio telephones that meet the exclusion criteria for radiated power can be used in such a manner that induces SAR S exceeding the 1.6 W/KG limit for uncontrolled environments. Therefore the FDA does not believe that the ANSI/IEEE guidelines for radiated power are sufficient to guarantee compliance with SAR limits. The FDA argues that all low-power devices should be certified by their manufactures is not exceeding local SAR limits as determined under”realistic worst-case conditions” See FDA’s 1996 Letter to the FCC (Elizabeth D. Jacobson here which also states, “We also stated that we did not believe that C95.1-1992 addresses the issue of long-term, chronic exposures to RF fields, and that the relevance of such questions would only increase as the use of portable and hand-held devices grows.”

See FDA’s 1996 letter to the FCC that states

“we note that several recently published scientific studies indicate that cellular telephones and other hand-held transmitters that deliver several hundred milliwatts of RF to their antennas, can be used in a manner that may induce local SARS that exceed 1.6 W/kg in the heads of users. Therefore, the FDA believes that each unique design of these devices should be “certified” by their manufacturers not to exceed the local SAR limits, as determined under realistic worst-case conditions.”

Specific Absorption Rate Testing

Before a cell phone model is permitted to go on the market for sale, its manufacturer performs Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) tests to evaluate the radiation levels. SAR values are expressed in terms of watts per kilogram (W/kg) and are intended to measure the amount of cell phone radiofrequency radiation absorbed by the body when using a wireless device. SAR tests are performed in laboratories by measuring the SAR in a test dummy filled with liquid. The European Union regulations allow a maximum of SAR 2.0 W/kg. The United States and Canada allow a maximum of SAR 1.6 W/kg. Every cell phone is rated with a specific SAR value, and many countries mandate that these SAR values be prominently displayed to consumers on cell phone packaging.

Current wireless device SAR compliance testing regulations allow manufacturers to put a separation distance (usually about 15 mm) between the phone and the test dummy. Cell phone manufacturers are not required to test cell phones for SARs in positions which mimic direct contact between the phone and the body.

ANSES reported the following findings: In 2015, 89 percent of tested cell phones had a SAR greater than the maximum limit value of 2 W/kg and 25 percent had a SAR greater than 4 W/kg.

See below the French government test data. It is in French so you can scroll to the right to see the column called “DAS tronc (au contact)” which refers to the testing done against the body at “contact” position.

This information is found online here and you can download a spreadsheet of the information.

Calls For Continued Policy Action

Since 2010, France law has ensured that SAR levels are placed prominently on cell phone packaging and the sale of cell phones was banned for young children. French legislation in 2015 included several new policies aimed at reducing exposure to radiofrequency radiation. Arazi called on the Health and Environment Ministers and Consumer Affairs and Fraud Prevention Agency to take immediate action on this new information by informing the public and issuing new protective policies.

Click here to see a PDF of Cell Phone Make and model with test measurements for 5 mm and 0 mm separation distance.

Link to the French ANFR Website with full details on cell phones/make/model

ANFR Cell Phone SAR Measurements (PDF)

Link to France’s National Agency of Health Security of Food, Environment and Labour Report on Radiofrequency and Children (In French)

English Translation of ANSES Report Section on Cell Phone Studies

NEWS REPORTS

“The unrealistic testing of mobile phones.” Pantheon-Assas University. No. 42-43 Spring-Summer, 2017.

“Waves: the utility of transparency. The little secrets (unwelcome) of the ANFR.” Canard PC Hardware, July-August, 2017.

“Mobile Phone Testing.” L’age de faire, August 31, 2017

“Mobile phones radiate far beyond the limit – Mobile industry has diminished.” NewsVoice, July 12, 2017.

“Mobile phones: disturbing wave measurements on some models.”La Nouvelle Republique, July 07, 2017.

“Danger of laptop waves: en route to a “phonegate”?” Marianne, July 03, 2017.