Cellular mobile phone — A technical assessment on electromagnetic radiation intensity on human safety

Inadequate information on the levels of electromagnetic radiation intensity being release from cellular mobile phones and related devices on human, especially during active usage at close range, have been a major health concern and dread of the 21stcentury. This work aim to report the investigated near electromagnetic radiation intensity in terms of electric field strength from eight different mobile phones models in an indoor environment using practical measurement based assessment technique. The different phone models were placed facing the radio frequency meter in active call modes at 0.05 m measurement gaps, up until a distance of 0.2 m in tri-axis planes. The results show that electromagnetic radiation levels from the phones depend on many factors, which includes the mobile phone brand, mobile phone distance from the user and the engineering cellular radio network setting wherein the calls are made. The highest radiation exposure intensity was registered when establishing calls with the receiver compared to during conversation. In particular, It is observed from the results, that the amount of radiation in terms of electric field from some of the phones were higher than the recommended standard by the International Commission on Non-ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) for human health safety; hence it is thoughtful to make calls at some distance of at least, 0.01 m (i.e. 1 cm) away from the body for safety purposes.