Using the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) standard limits of radiation, the group cited the LG Quantum as the safest mobile phone. The group said this model has a SAR level of 0.35 W/kg when held at the ear and 0.30 W/kg when carried on the body.

The EWG said FCC standards limit the radiation absorbed by a cell-phone user’s brain and body to a specific absorption rate, or SAR, measured by the amount of the phone’s radiation energy (in watts, W)
absorbed per kilogram of tissue (W/kg). The group came up with the list based on data provided by the phone manufacturers.

The data are up to date as of December 2010.

Seven of the 10 safest phones listed by EWG are handsets manufactured by South Korean firms, six of them by Samsung Electronics.

The list of phones that have high radiation is dominated by Motorola, with the Motorola Bravo (MB520) leading the pack with a SAR level of 1.59 W/kg when held at the ear and 0.53 W/kg when carried on the body.

The group came out with the rankings even before the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer announced on Tuesday that it has classified cell-phone radiation as “possibly carcinogenic to humans,” based on an increased risk for glioma, a malignant type of brain cancer associated with wireless-phone use.

“EWG analysis of the literature clearly demonstrated multiple reasons to ask hard questions about cell-phone safety, particularly for children and teenagers,” a statement by EWG quoting its California office director Renee Sharp said. “The World Health Organization’s announcement confirms EWG’s findings and raises the issue to a new level of concern for human health.”

In 2009 the EWG published its 42-page research report titled “Cell-Phone Radiation Science Review on Cancer Risks and Children’s Health” that already forewarned about the link between cell phones and cancer risk.

EWG said its listing remains only a guide for consumers looking for safer, low-radiation cell-phone choices.

It recommends cell-phone users to “protect themselves and their families by buying low-radiation phones.”

“Look for currently available low-radiation options in the EWG’s cell-phone radiation buyer’s search tool that lists radiation output of more than 1,000 cell phones. Cell-phone users can also reduce exposures by using their phone in speaker mode or with a headset. And please help us tell the [US] government to update its cell-phone standards,” it said.