http://www.apple.com/legal/rfexposure/iphone9,1/en/

This is a link to Apple’s website that explains the radio frequency exposure, SAR (Specific Absorption Rate) level and steps to take with your iPhone, (these steps can be applied in large part to any phone). This page is referred to in the owners manual, which I am sure everyone has read.  I am going to highlight some key items that you should be made aware of and why.  Anything in bold in this post was just copied and pasted from the linked page above.

Carry iPhone at least 5mm away from your body to ensure exposure levels remain at or below the as-tested levels.

What you should know is that 5 mm is a little less than 1/4 inch, and if you do the conversion is pretty close to 1/5 inch.  This means that if you carry your iPhone in  in your front pocket, your back pocket, your bra, your inside coat pocket, or possibly even your jacket pocket you will be closer than the 5 mm that the manufacturer recommends.  This of course means that you are not using the product as intended and therefore if you were to be harmed by the said product you are going to be hard pressed to receive compensation.   This will also make it hard to call someone since in fact you need to hold the phone.  You might ask ‘how do you carry it then’ and the answer is, when you carry the phone make sure it is in airplane mode.  You will also need to turn off Bluetooth, location, and Wi-Fi (most of these will be turned off when airplane mode is on).  If all of those are turned off, carrying your phone becomes safer.

Cases with metal parts may change the RF performance of the device, including its compliance with RF exposure guidelines, in a manner that has not been tested or certified.

Metal will reflect or block transmission signals.  If your phone is trying to acquire a signal, and you have it in a metal case, it will have to boost its power in order to do this.  This means that you are going to absorb more radio/microwave frequencies.  This of course will mean that you are above the SAR limit that was deemed ‘safe’.  If your iPhone is currently in a metal case, and you plan to be around it, please reread and follow the italics section above.   It would also good to consider a plastic or rubber case, instead of metal.

Here are some other important things to know or consider:

• The testing for SAR of a phone is done by the manufacturer, not an independent third party, or any government agency.
• In 2013 the outer ear, called the pinna, was classified by the FCC as an extremity which can be read in this report here.
• With this classification it means that your outer ear can have the same exposure limits as your hands, wrists, and feet.  Which of course can all be higher than your head.
• All of the SAR values pertain to an adult, not a teen or child.  Please keep that in mind.

One of the easiest things that you can do in your home to lower your EMF exposure could be to simply change your light bulbs.  There are basically three types of light bulbs: incandescent, fluorescent, and LED.  The question becomes which one should you get and why.

Fluorescent or compact fluorescent (CFL) should be avoided whenever possible.  Here some reasons:

1. They give off a frequency that will generate current in your body based on proximity. If you are within a few inches of these (which you can find yourself at times if they are in lamps), you will have more than 18 microamps running through your body.  18 microamps is the point at which biological processes relevant to cancer take place as read here..   If you have been to a workshop I have done, I show this.  I also show you this during a home inspection.
2. The gas in the bulbs contains mercury. Mercury is toxic.  If you were to break the bulb proper cleaning requires what amounts to a hazmat cleanup.
3. They produce dirty electricity. All the fluorescent bulbs that I have tested do this.  There may be some that don’t, however I have not seen them.  Yes, filters clean this aspect of the bulb, but it is easier to fix a problem if you don’t create one in the first place.
4. The ballast in the bulb can give off large magnetic fields. This comes more into play when you are in close proximity to the bulb.

Incandescent bulbs (as well as halogen bulbs) are the easiest thing to replace CFL bulbs in your home with.  They do use more power, however the only thing they emit is heat.  No dirty electricity and no frequencies.  This is what I recommend people to start with.  Any brand of incandescent will do.

The last bulb is LED.  LEDs are tricky because some are good but many are not.  You must test them to find out which is which.  You can’t just look at a description, or tell from looking at the box. Most LED bulbs that I have tested will create varying amounts of dirty electricity.  To test this, you will need at least 4 things:

1. A microsurge meter which you can buy through here
2. A lamp
3. A power strip
4. An outlet that has a low GS reading (which can be measured with the microsurge meter) at least <50 the lower the better. For some this might mean installing filters in your home to achieve this.  The lower the number the better your results will be.

Once you have these the process is simple.  Plug the lamp and microsurge into the powerstrip, (which is plugged into an active outlet) and then read the number on the microsurge meter.  Turn the lamp on, with the bulb you want to test, and if that number is higher than what you started with then the bulb is no good.  If it stays the same, it is good.  Easy as that.  Please note when you turn on the light the microsurge meter will go up and come back down.  This is due to an arc that happens when you make the circuit which is normal.

In summary: Use incandescent bulbs unless you can test LED bulbs, because some LED are ok but many are not.  If you are looking for place to start with LED bulbs email me at darnell@flutterbusters.com and I can get you pointed in the right direction based on your need.  NEVER USE CFLs, and if you have them in your home now, get rid of them. Replace them with incandescent bulbs.