2017 IEEE 3rd International Conference on Electro-Technology for National Development (NIGERCON) 271 IEEE NIGERCON 2017 Cellular Mobile Phone - A Technical Assessment on Electromagnetic Radiation Intensity on Human Safety Joseph Isabona Department of Electronics Engineering, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4041, South Africa. josabone@yahoo.com Viranjay M. Srivastava Department of Electronics Engineering, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4041, South Africa. viranjay@ieee.org Abstract- Inadequate information on the levels of electromagnetic radiation intensity being release from cellular mobile phones and related devices on human, especially during active usage at close range, have been a major health concern and dread of the 21st century. This work aim to report the investigated near electromagnetic radiation intensity in terms of electric field strength from eight different mobile phones models in an indoor environment using practical measurement based assessment technique. The different phone models were placed facing the radio frequency meter in active call modes at 0.05m measurement gaps, up until a distance of 0.2m in tri-axis planes. The results show that electromagnetic radiation levels from the phones depend on many factors, which includes the mobile phone brand, mobile phone distance from the user and the engineering cellular radio network setting wherein the calls are made. The highest radiation exposure intensity were registered when establishing calls with the receiver compared to during conversation. In particular, It is observed from the results, that the amount of radiation in terms of electric field from some of the phones were higher than the recommended standard by the International Commission on Non- ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) for human health safety; hence it is thoughtful to make calls at some distance of at least, 0.01m (i.e. 1cm) away from the body for safety purposes. Keywords: Electromagnetic radiation, Electric field strength, specific absorption rate, Brands of mobile phones I. INTRODUCTION Recent years have recorded a noticeable and widespread proliferation of diverse telecommunication devices such as smart phones and their back bone base station transmitters, globally. At present, the mobile cellular market is acknowledged the most viable part of the telecommunications industry and the entire ICT sector. This can be attributed to tremendous technical progress in the evolution of different cellular communication technologies and the daily increment in the subscription of their multimedia services by the end- users, over successive generations [1] [2]. It has been reported that mobile phone usage is widespread with about 6.9 billion subscriptions globally. Consequently, the all-embracing use of the diverse mobile phones have resulted to a rise in the quantity of radio frequency electromagnetic radiations (EMR) that humans are exposed to daily from them. The central concern or fear has been whether the EMR level, especially while being in use might cause or lead to human health problems such as malignant cancer, meningioma, acoustic neuromas, etc. II. LITERATURE REVIEW Results from previous studies on the relationship between EMR exposure and potential human health impacts are mixed. For instance, the reports from the piloted experimental studies in [3]-[10], have indicated that below the EMR exposure limits, radiation generated by mobile phones induces a number of biological and health issues ranging from migraine, liver damage, brain tumor, blood-brain barrier function, eye problem, just to mention but a few. Conversely, the report in [11], indicates that glioma or meningioma is not associated with EMR radiation to mobile phone usage. Many of such similar reports are also contained in [12]-[14]. It is evident from the above previous work that conflicting results and reports still exist in the current body of knowledge as regards possible health effect on exposure to EMR sources. This has made researchers to continue to study the issue. This work presents the near EMR radiation intensity measurements conducted in terms of electric field strength on eight different mobile phones models in an indoor environment.