Television, computer, wifi box… Most electronic devices emit electromagnetic waves. Smartphones are no exception. The value of its SAR (specific absorption rate), that is, the level of exposure to electromagnetic waves to which the head or body is exposed, is specific to each device.
It can vary depending on its use and the lower the SAR of a smartphone, the less dangerous it will be for your health. Because despite the existence of a regulatory threshold and the fact that no link has been established between the waves emitted by smartphones and certain diseases such as cancer, there are fears about the harmfulness of these waves.
Discover the DSA of a smartphone with Open Barres
Smartphone manufacturers are obliged to display the SAR of their terminals on the boxes and advertising posters that concern them. Otherwise, the Open Barres application, published by the National Frequency Agency (ANFR), a public body in charge of verifying compliance with regulations by these devices, allows you to find out.
Available for free on the Play Store and Apple Store, Open Barres informs the user in real time about the SAR values (Limb SAR, Head SAR, Trunk SAR) of their smartphone model by communicating the data published by the manufacturer. In France, the maximum authorized SAR measurement is 2 W/kg for the head and trunk. It reaches 4 W/kg for a smartphone placed against an extremity, for example in a pants pocket.
These legal limitations, established by the decree of October 8, 2003, were imposed to respect a precautionary principle based working of the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) carried out in the late 1990s.
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However, the method used to define the SAR limit value is not representative of actual emissions from smartphones. Not in vain, the measurements to calculate the maximum SAR carried out in the laboratory, and on which the authorization to market a mobile phone is based, “do not reflect what happens during the normal use of the device”, emphasizes the ANFR.
In fact, the measured SAR represents a maximum level that is rarely reached to maintain a safety margin for the user. However, to limit exposure to waves as much as possible, the ANFR issues a series of recommendations available on Open Barres. Among other things, it encourages the purchase of phones with the lowest SAR as well as the use of headphones (wired or Bluetooth) or the smartphone speaker.
Source: BFM TV
