France: More than forty smartphone models have been singled out for excess power

More than forty smartphone models have been pinned down for excess power
France Info, December 1, 2023 - auto-translation

In September 2023, the withdrawal of the iPhone 12 was widely publicized, but more than forty smartphone models from many brands have been pinned since 2017. In each case, an excess of the authorized radio frequency emission power.

(Photo): The iPhone 12, like around forty other smartphones, have been singled out for exceeding regulatory thresholds for radio frequency emissions. (Anna Frank / Getty)

Users of the iPhone 12 (manufactured by Apple) in France learned on September 12 that their smartphone was emitting too many waves. Indeed, the specific absorption rate (SAR) of Apple's smartphone exceeded the authorized limits. This measurement, regulated at European level, makes it possible to quantify the energy of electromagnetic waves emitted by our phones and absorbed by the human body.

But what users probably did not know is that this excess was not new to the supervisory authorities. The National Frequency Agency (ANFR) had been aware of this information for at least two years. Indeed, the test which revealed this non-compliance was carried out in December 2021, two years during which iPhone 12 users were therefore overexposed to the radio frequencies emitted by their phones.

The risk of an American legal counterattack

Such a delay is not common in this type of procedure. According to our information, when non-compliance with the specific absorption rate (SAR) is detected by the ANFR, the file is usually processed within six to seven months. “The year 2021 was special for us," explains Emmanuelle Conil, engineer for the agency. "It was the year of the deployment of 5G in France. We strengthened controls with 140 telephone samples [to carry out tests from SAR, Editor's note]. This is roughly double what the ANFR usually did. As a result, the processing times for files have been extended."

Another factor was at play. In these very codified procedures, there is a period reserved for a contradictory exchange between the manufacturer of the incriminated telephone and the ANFR. Once informed, the company has the opportunity to respond and provide its arguments. In the case of the iPhone 12, the ANFR insisted on respecting the procedure to the letter, thus justifying such a long delay before making the information public. “If  it had deviated from it, it would have been attacked by hordes of Apple lawyers,” explains Jean-Noël Barrot, Minister Delegate in charge of Digital Affairs. The decision taken by the ANFR to temporarily withdraw the iPhone did not prevent Apple from questioning the methods used by the agency, believing that the withdrawal of its device was "linked to a specific testing protocol used by French regulators and not a safety problem. Still, the company had to update the device in mainland France, in order to reduce its transmitting power and so that it could once again be marketed in the territory.

44 other models pinned

But the iPhone 12 is not the only one to have exceeded the wave emission limits: since 2017, 44 phones have also been deemed non-compliant following SAR tests carried out by the ANFR . “In 36 cases, the manufacturer made an update to bring its phone into conformity,” explains Emmanuelle Conil. "In six other cases, the manufacturer recalled its products. And in the last two cases, an order was issued to recall and remove the phones from the market, since the manufacturer had not taken corrective action.”

Among the manufacturers identified by the control agency, we find in particular Alcatel, Wiko, Huawei, Xiaomi, as well as Samsung and Motorola. Since the episode of the iPhone 12, two other devices have been withdrawn from the market: the Simplicity V27 of the Emporia brand and the Doogee S88 PLUS.

Unsuitable tests?

The ANFR has therefore identified numerous telephones emitting beyond the thresholds authorized at European level, even though the method of calculating the SAR test is considered unsuitable by certain experts. Indeed, a smartphone, in real conditions, transmits on several frequencies at the same time: 4G, 5G, but also wifi or Bluetooth, combined broadcasts, sometimes called "wave cocktails". However, "current technologies do not make it possible to measure these simultaneous emissions during the test, explains an industrialist interviewed by the Radio France investigation unit. During the [SAR] test, the connected devices do not transmit on all these frequencies at the same time. times, as is the case when using them in real conditions."

Other technical limits of these tests are pointed out. In particular those of the “SAR trunk”, which corresponds to emissions from a phone placed in a jacket pocket or in a bag. In an opinion issued in 2019, ANSES, the National Health Security Agency, recommends testing the power of phones in contact with the body, and not at five millimeters, as is currently the case, in order to "represent a realistic situation of the exposure". In other words: the conditions under which the tests are currently carried out do not fully take into account the use of mobile phones.

On recommendations from ANSES, the French authorities requested a review of these standards at European level. In a letter sent on September 20, 2020 to the European Commission, the government considers that "the evolution of the use of mobile phones results in a wide variety of situations in which phones are no longer only held to the ear to hold a conversation. (...) We also observe an increasing interconnection of telephones with multiple connected objects, such as headsets or watches, which promote prolonged connections of the telephone to the mobile network without being held in the hand: it is often worn in clothing, therefore closer or in contact with the trunk." Hence the need, according to the French government, to review the way of calculating transmission power.

The battle of standards

At the European Union level, it is the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (Cenelec), which is responsible for establishing the standards and norms which govern the performance of SAR tests. Within the Committee, experts from all over Europe are currently studying the French request. But since 2020, no decision has been made. According to several sources interviewed by the Radio France investigation unit, in addition to administrative delays, this inertia can be explained in particular by the reluctance of certain manufacturers to strengthen controls on the power of cell phones.

Because the manufacturers are very present during these crucial discussions, within the European working group responsible for developing standards, we find in particular representatives of Sony, Ericsson, Nokia and the operator Vodafone. We also note the presence of the Mobile & Wireless Forum lobby, which represents the interests of Samsung, Apple and Huawei among others. The ANFR and “sister” agencies from other European states are also present, as are a certain number of engineers and scientists.

“Having to modify the power of telephones taking into account contact with the body necessarily requires a little adaptation work for manufacturers. Because a telephone cannot be designed in one year," explains Joe Wiart, president of the Committee European technique (called 106X). "So it takes them a little time and it costs them money." However, according to Joe Wiart, discussions are coming to fruition and the standard should evolve next year.

Potentially harmful biological effects

If the SAR standard is still the reference method for estimating the transmission power of a telephone's waves, it is no less controversial. Since the 1990s, the International Commission for Protection against Non-Ionizing Radiation (ICNIRP) sets the tone for the limits that must not be exceeded to protect users of the waves. The problem is that this international organization, and its recommendations, only recognize one major effect: the thermal effect. These recommendations, “which have been adopted throughout the world, were therefore established without consideration of biological effects,” explains Clément Goutelle, journalist and founder of the investigative media La Brèche. And France limits itself to the standards [recommended by] ICNIRP, which only protect the population from thermal effects."

Except that to limit ourselves to thermal effects is to ignore a significant part of the scientific literature of the last thirty years on the subject: of the more than 30,000 studies recorded by ANSES, many consider that exposure to radio frequencies causes harmful biological effects and in particular carcinogenic risks. In 2011, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), which depends on the WHO (World Health Organization), reviewed existing studies in order to assess the potential danger represented by the electromagnetic waves emitted by telephones.

(Photo): The IARC, an organization attached to the WHO, has classified the radio frequencies emitted by mobile phones as possibly carcinogenic to humans. (ALINE MORCILLO / HANS LUCAS)

Following intense discussions, the IARC considers that radio frequencies are "possibly carcinogenic to humans". “The data, which continues to accumulate, are sufficient to conclude on [this] classification, justified Jonathan Samet, president of the working group which arrived at this conclusion, at the time. "This classification means that there could be a risk, and therefore the possible link between cell phones and cancer risk must be closely monitored." The center's director at the time, Christopher Wild, then urged the scientific community to carry out additional research on the long-term intensive use of cell phones, "given the implications (...) for public health".

Experiments on mice and rats

A call heard by the NTP, the American National Toxicology Program whose work is a reference. For two years, American researchers exposed rats and mice to radio frequencies almost continuously: 10 minutes with, 10 minutes without, for 18 hours each day. “Obviously, we couldn't attach cell phones to the ears of rats or mice,” explains Linda Birnbaum, the former director of the NTP. “So their entire bodies were exposed to radiofrequency radiation in specially constructed chambers.” At the end of these tests, NTP researchers conclude that they have found “clear evidence” of an association between exposure to waves and the development of brain and heart cancers in male rats.

“Some [said] that the mortality was very low. In other words, that it only concerned 3% of rats, continues Linda Birnbaum. "But with five or six billion people in the world using cell phones, an increase of 3% would represent a large number of people at increased risk of brain tumors." The study was initially commissioned in 1998 by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration). It was only twenty years later, in 2018, that the conclusions were finally published, not without difficulties.

“We had to undergo, let's say, a little more evaluation than usual before the publication of a study, recalls Linda Birnbaum, with forced laughter. Our results aroused resistance from certain senior officials of the American health authorities. While the FDA scientists supported the results, I think that certain leaders of this agency did not believe them."

On the side of the ICNIRP, which recommends the threshold limits for exposure to waves, we find this same skepticism regarding the results of the study by the American National Toxicology Program. "Certainly, they claim to have found evidence, but that doesn't mean they actually found it," said Rodney Croft, president of ICNIRP. "When we examine the study closely, there is nothing to suggest that radio frequencies cause cancer. The major flaw in this study is that they did not take chance into account." Confronted with this response, Linda Birnbaum replied: “That is completely false. Our study is indeed based on statistics. I really wonder if he read the study in detail.”

A precautionary “approach”

On the French side, ANSES (Health Safety Agency) is trying to see things more clearly. “The numerous studies carried out on the issue are very often contradictory," testifies Olivier Merckel, head of the risk assessment unit within ANSES. "Some of them highlight carcinogenic effects while others find nothing." This does not prevent the Agency from urging caution: "For us, there are enough indications to say: 'Be careful','" continues Olivier Merckel. "Because indeed, we do not have the certainty that 'there is no effect'."

In fact, the Agency has issued a certain number of recommendations in recent years. In particular to use hands-free kits or to reduce the exposure of children. However, there is no question of the “precautionary principle” yet. ANSES prefers to use the term precautionary “approach”, which has no binding power. A position deplored by Maître Vincent Corneloup, lawyer specializing in public law and who has worked on exposure to radio frequencies: "In environmental matters, there is unfortunately still a very strong reluctance from the State, but also from administrative judges to put forward the precautionary principle."

Faced with the controversy over the effects of electromagnetic waves, ANSES has set up several working groups. The first is preparing a new opinion on the carcinogenic risk linked to exposure to radio frequencies, which should be made public in mid-2024. The other working group is working on possible new limits for exposure to radio frequencies, different from those recommended by ICNIRP. And this time, these new thresholds would take into account factors other than just the thermal effect. The conclusions are expected in two years.

To transmit information to the Radio France investigation unit anonymously and securely, you can click on alerter.radiofrance.fr .

Original article in French:
https://www.francetvinfo.fr/sciences/high-tech/plus-de-quarante-modeles-de-smartphones-ont-ete-epingles-pour-exces-de-power_6218007.html