In a world where wireless devices outnumber people, should we be concerned how they affect our health? Are they safe for our children? U.S. government agencies including the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which decides how much radiation mobile phones are allowed to emit, say there is little to be concerned about, but others beg to differ.
In the beginning of 2015, approximately 190 independent scientists from 39 different countries (including the United States) requested the global health organization to strengthen cellphone guidelines and ensure that the public be fully informed about the possible health risks from electromagnetic energy. These scientists, who have collectively written more than 2,000 papers on the topic, add to an increasing number of prominent experts and government agencies worldwide who are holding up a caution sign for consumers especially when it comes to kids.
Cellular Telephone Industries Association (CTIA), which represents cellphone manufacturers, tells NBC News that mobile phones are tested at independent laboratories to make sure they meet the FCC's mandatory radiation exposure limits. The FCC however, does not independently test cellphones for safety. They establish their guidelines on information provided by other government agencies and independent experts.
In a letter to the FCC, the American Academy of Pediatrics requested the agency to follow U.S. standards that protect children's health, reflect use patterns of cellphone users today, and give consumers the information they need to make informed decisions.
According to Dr. Gisela Mercada-Deane, chair of radiology at the American Academy of Pediatrics, children are not little adults. The amount of radio frequency they will be exposed to by the time they are an adult has already rapidly changed to the amount of radiation, radio frequencies that we ourselves are being exposed to in a lifetime. The current FCC test does not consider that children's skulls are thinner and can absorb more radiation, Mercada-Deane added.