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Hands-free mobile phone kits can reduce the effects
of electromagnetic radiation from wireless phones by more than 90 percent,
an Australian study released on Friday said.
The study, by the Australian
Consumers Association, found a 92 percent drop in the rate at which
radiation was absorbed into human tissue when hands-free earpieces and
microphones were used.
Meanwhile, a neurologist in the United States this
week filed an $800 million lawsuit against the world's No. 2 cellular
phone maker Motorola Inc., as well as eight other telecommunications companies
and organizations, claiming his use of cell phones caused a malignant
brain tumor. The doctor claimed compensatory damages in excess of $100
million and punitive damages in excess of $700 million.
The Australian research, to be published in the
consumer group's August CHOICE magazine, focused on the thermal effects,
or specific absorption rate (SAR), of radio-frequency radiation for an
Ericsson and a Nokia digital phone and one analog phone.
While radiation emissions remained below Australian
standards, with or without the hands-free kits, the study showed a significant
drop in radiation levels when the earpiece was used.
The British study, published in Which?,
the magazine of the independent British Consumers Association, measured
electromagnetic field intensity, not SAR, in a very specific area of the
head.
Choice
Magazine August 2000
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