LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – After France temporarily banned the iPhone 12 due to radiation concerns, Apple and others are pushing back on the claim that the phones are unsafe. 

In early September, France’s Agence Nationale des Frequences (ANFR) said that the Specific Absorption Rate (SAR), a measurement of the rate of radiofrequency energy absorbed by the body, exceeded the legal limit leading to the suspension of sales. 

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Apple has pushed back on France’s response to testing, indicating that the phone is safe for continued sales and use. 

“We will issue a software update for users in France to accommodate the protocol used by French regulators. We look forward to iPhone 12 continuing to be available in France,” Apple said in a statement. “This is related to a specific testing protocol used by French regulators and not a safety concern.” 

Michigan State University chair of the Department of Radiology, Dr. Mark DeLano, weighed in on the potential concerns. 

“There are different types of radiation,” DeLano said in a statement. “Safety is determined by how much radiation energy gets absorbed into the body and whether that energy could damage our cells or their genetic material.” 

DeLano also acknowledged that while there is radiation from phones and other devices, it does not warrant concern. 

“The Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, has found no compelling evidence of danger from the use of personal electronics, and I am grateful that these are safe,” he added. “The overall benefits of personal electronic devices can be enormous.” 

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According to the National Cancer Institute the only veritable risk is from the heat in phones. 

“The human body does absorb energy from devices that emit radiofrequency radiation,” according to National Cancer Institute officials. “The only consistently recognized biological effect of radiofrequency radiation absorption in humans that the general public might encounter is heating to the area of the body where a cell phone is held (e.g., the ear and head). However, that heating is not sufficient to measurably increase core body temperature. There are no other clearly established dangerous health effects on the human body from radiofrequency radiation.” 

Chair DeLano also added that the FDA’s limit adds a “safety buffer” when setting safety levels. 

“The French are concerned about the iPhone 12 radiation test results being above their national limits, but the FDA includes a significant safety buffer when they set safety levels,” he said. “Minor variations like this one are not significant. In fact, the risks at the levels recorded in the French studies are primarily heating. This may result in the phone being a little warmer. Nothing more. There’s no harm in a warm ear.”

Several other countries have considered adopting a similar ban including Belgium, Portugal, and Germany.