There was a TV program about the brain cancer
danger from cell phones last night. They said that
the measured dose rates (of electromatgetic radiation
absorbed in the head tissue) from common cell
phones exceeds the FCC recommended limit of
1.6 W/kg.
I am puzzled. For ionizing radiation the limit
would be expressed in J/kg not in W/kg. Does it
mean that only the rate of exposure is important
and that the biological domage does not depend
on the exposure time? [dose=rate*time]
I suspect that the quoted maximum permissible
rate is based on the expected continuous exposure
for 8 hours a day (for those who work near a
broadcasting antenna), or on the expected time
of using a cell phone. But I am not sure. What
is the rationale for the 1.6 W/kg limit?
Ludwik Kowalski