Safety
84
What does “SAR” mean?
In 1996, the FCC, working with
the FDA, the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, and other
agencies, established RF
exposure safety guidelines for
wireless phones in the United
States. Before a wireless phone
model is available for sale to the
public, it must be tested by the
manufacturer and certified to
the FCC that it does not exceed
limits established by the FCC.
One of these limits is expressed
as a Specific Absorption Rate, or
“SAR.” SAR is a measure of the rate
of absorption of RF energy in the
body. Tests for SAR are conducted
with the phone transmitting at its
highest power level in all tested
frequency bands. Since 1996, the
FCC has required that the SAR
of handheld wireless phones not
exceed 1.6 watts per kilogram,
averaged over one gram of tissue.
Although the SAR is determined at
the highest power level, the actual
SAR value of a wireless phone
while operating can be less than
the reported SAR value. This is
because the SAR value may vary
from call to call, depending on
factors such as proximity to a cell
site, the proximity of the phone
to the body while in use, and the
use of hands-free devices. For
more information about SARs,
see the FCC’s OET Bulletins 56
and 65 at http://www.fcc.gov/
Bureaus/Engineering_Technology/
Documents/bulletins or visit the
Cellular Telecommunications
Industry Association website at
http://www.ctia.org/consumer_
info/index.cfm/AID/10371. You
may also wish to contact the
manufacturer of your phone.
Can I minimize my RF exposure?
If you are concerned about RF,
there are several simple steps
you can take to minimize your
RF exposure. You can, of course,
reduce your talk time. You can
place more distance between your
body and the source of the RF,
as the exposure level drops off
dramatically with distance. The
FDA/FCC website states that
“hands-free kits can be used with
wireless phones for convenience
and comfort. These systems reduce
the absorption of RF energy in the
head because the phone, which is
the source of the RF emissions, will
not be placed against the head.
On the other hand, if the phone is
mounted against the waist or other
part of the body during use, then