Impact Assessment of Electromagnetic Radiation from Second and Fourth Generation Mobile Phones: Findings from GSM Village Kurudu, Abuja- Nigeria

Abstract

Due to overall surge from the use of handset close to the body tissues and the widespread use of these devices has created an impending health crisis regarding their emissions.  Twenty four (24) different models of commonly used mobile phones were selected for the study at Kurudu, Abuja municipal area comprising of twelve brands of 2G and twelve 4G phones for comparison on their mode of exposure. The handsets include: Alcatel XL 535, Philips D1311, Gigaset C430, AT& TCL 2940, VTech CS6114, Panasonic KX-TS500, Xenios ACD 010, Telematrix (9700 series), Nokia 2600, Sony Ericson j230i, Samsung SGH-X490, Bontel, Tecno spark 20, Samsung Galaxy (SN-A1157/B3), Infinix hot (X682B), Iphone MGFP34/A, Redmi A3X, Opo A57, Itel A80, Villoan, Poco C61, Vivo X300Pro, Huawei P60Pro and Xiaomi 14.Electromagnetic field levels of the mobile phones were measured using an electromagnetic field meter with measurements piloted at close proximity (0cm to 5cm) from each device to mimic real-world exposure. A diverse and realistic head model was used to estimate the effects of electromagnetic radiation coupling to the human head. The potential hazards posed by mobile phone handsets on the human head were also addressed by evaluating the specific absorption rate (SAR) in human tissue for 2G and 4G phones. The results showed the highest SAR value of 1.66±0.05  obtained from 2G phone model type-Sony Ericson j230i and 0.23±0.01  was obtained for Samsung Galaxy (A11-SN-A1157/B3) for 4G phone respectively. The lowest SAR for 2G and 4G phones were as well obtained from Sony Ericson j230i with a value of 0.04±0.05 and 0.04±0.01  for Iphone MGFP34/A. However, comparing the various results acquired, the 2G phone of Sony Ericson j230i had above the threshold boundary of 1.6  set by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) but falls below the 2.0 value of the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) limits.