Calculation of change in brain temperatures due to exposure to a mobile phone.

Bioeffects Seen

Van Leeuwen GM, Lagendijk JJ, Van Leersum BJ, Zwamborn AP, Hornsleth SN, Kotte AN · 1999

Mobile phones cause minimal brain heating (0.11°C), but this thermal-focused study ignores non-thermal biological effects documented in thousands of studies.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Computer modeling showed mobile phone radiation heats brain tissue by only 0.11 degrees Celsius during continuous use. While radiation levels exceeded some proposed safety standards, researchers concluded these tiny temperature increases are far too small to cause lasting biological harm.

Why This Matters

This 1999 study represents an important early attempt to quantify thermal effects from mobile phone radiation using sophisticated modeling techniques. The finding of minimal brain heating (0.11°C) supports the prevailing regulatory view that thermal effects are the primary concern for RF radiation safety. However, this thermal-only perspective has significant limitations. The study's SAR level of 1.6 W/kg matches current safety limits, but thousands of peer-reviewed studies since 1999 have documented biological effects at power levels far below those needed to cause measurable heating. Put simply, focusing solely on temperature rise misses the broader picture of how electromagnetic fields interact with living tissue through non-thermal mechanisms like cellular stress responses and disrupted ion channels.

Exposure Details

SAR: 1.6 W/kg

Exposure Context

This study used 1.6 W/kg for SAR (device absorption):

4x above the Building Biology guideline of 0.4 W/kg

Building Biology guidelines are practitioner-based limits from real-world assessments. BioInitiative Report recommendations are based on peer-reviewed science. Check Your Exposure to compare your own measurements.

Where This Falls on the Concern Scale

Study Details

In this study we evaluated for a realistic head model the 3D temperature rise induced by a mobile phone.

This was done numerically with the consecutive use of an FDTD model to predict the absorbed electrom...

Maximum temperature rise is at the skin. The power distributions were characterized by a maximum ave...

Cite This Study

Van Leeuwen GM, Lagendijk JJ, Van Leersum BJ, Zwamborn AP, Hornsleth SN, Kotte AN (1999). Calculation of change in brain temperatures due to exposure to a mobile phone. Phys Med Biol 44(10):2367-2379, 1999.

Show BibTeX

@article{gm_1999_calculation_of_change_in_1404,
  author = {Van Leeuwen GM and Lagendijk JJ and Van Leersum BJ and Zwamborn AP and Hornsleth SN and Kotte AN},
  title = {Calculation of change in brain temperatures due to exposure to a mobile phone.},
  year = {1999},
  
  url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10533916/},
}

PubMed: 10533916

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Quick Questions About This Study

Computer modeling from a 1999 study found mobile phone radiation heats brain tissue by only 0.11 degrees Celsius during continuous use. This tiny temperature increase occurs primarily at the skin surface and is far too small to cause lasting biological harm to brain cells.

The 1999 brain heating study measured maximum SAR (Specific Absorption Rate) levels of approximately 1.6 W/kg averaged over a 10-gram tissue volume. While these power distributions exceeded some proposed safety standards at the time, temperature rises were minimal.

No, the 0.11 degree Celsius brain temperature increase from mobile phone radiation is far too small to cause permanent damage. Researchers concluded these minimal thermal effects during continuous phone use pose no risk of lasting biological harm.

Mobile phone radiation creates maximum heating at the skin surface, not deep in brain tissue. Computer modeling showed the highest temperature rise occurs at the skin level, with minimal heating reaching deeper brain structures during phone use.

Yes, researchers verified their computer simulations by experimentally measuring skin temperature rise during mobile phone use. This validation confirmed their modeling method accurately predicted the minimal heating effects of phone radiation on head tissues.