Bluetooth Radiation

The traditional response to anyone who is worried about the health risks of using a cell phone is to advise them to use a Bluetooth headset. Bluetooth is safer, the argument goes, because it avoids exposing your brain to the harmful radiation your cell phone produces. But what is the science behind this claim? Is it based on rigorous research?

In reality, this answer is on very shaky ground. People seem to intuitively believe that Bluetooth is safer without having any solid reason for doing so. Bluetooth still emits microwave radiation. And while many regulatory authorities have historically seen this non-ionizing radiation as safe, the science is no longer so clear cut. According to Dr. Becker, a researcher in electromagnetic emissions, any abnormal exposure to electromagnetic radiation will produce a stress response. Disturbingly, multiple studies have demonstrated that a conversation as short as two-hours using Bluetooth technology can result in pathological leakage of the blood-brain barrier that is still visible weeks later.

There are three classes of Bluetooth transmitters, with 1 being the most powerful and 3 being the least. Some of the more powerful Bluetooth devices are likely to be as dangerous, if not more, than a cell phone with a low SAR rating.

And in a very real sense, using a Bluetooth headset is often missing the point; if your phone is normally kept close to your body, you are actually subjecting yourself to two doses of radiation, rather than one. True, the phone isn’t near your brain. But we have moved on from the days when we thought that the brain was the only organ at risk.