Four billion people in the world have cell phones and one group believes cell phones cause cancer. The Environmental Working Group released a list on Wednesday ranking 1000 devices by how much radiation they give off. They think it's information consumers should have.

We sure have come a long way since the early 90's, when "Saved by the Bell's" Zack Morris lugged around a phone the size of a brick, but as our models shrink, concerns grow.

Can cell phones really cause cancer? "Certainly something I've thought about," dental hygienist Joann Kane said.

Kane works with x-rays as a dental hygienist. We checked her Blackberry Curve's ranking and found it is on the “worst” list.

It had one of the highest radiation levels, coming in fourth behind the Motorola Moto VU204, the T-Mobile MyTouch 3G, and the Kyocera Jax S1300.

BJ Hurt found out his Motorola Razor was among the best. Two models of the Samsung Impression and the Samsung Rugby rounded out the top four. It made him feel better knowing that.

Gary Barnett's Blackberry 7520 fell somewhere in the middle. "I feel pretty good that it's not on the worst list but now I'm more curious about where it stands."

If cell phone users didn't want to know about radiation before today, they do now.  "Now I definitely want more information. Definitely," Kane said.

"I would make sense to find out, since most people either have their cell phones in their pants, or next to their heads so," Hurt said.

The FCC requires that all cell phones be rated at 1.6 watts per kilogram or lower, but the Environmental Working Group thinks that's an outdated requirement.

Other than buying a lower radiation phone, there are other ways to reduce your exposure. Try using a headset or a speaker instead of holding the phone up to your ear. Talk less, and text more- of course, not while you're driving.   Stay off the phone if there's a poor signal because phones emit more radiation the farther they are from the tower.   And avoid "radiation shields" like keypad covers. They reduce connection quality and force the phone to transmit with higher radiation. 

You can search your phone on the group's online database. Because so many people are interested in this, it was moving very slowly Wednesday.

You can also read the full report on our RELATED DOCUMENTS link.

The Federal Communications Commission requires that all cellphones be rated at 1.6 watts per kilogram or lower -- a measure of how much radio frequency energy is absorbed by the body when using the device. Best and worst cellphones by energy emitted, in watts per kilogram:
BEST
Samsung Impression SGH-a877	0.35
Motorola Razr V8	0.36
Samsung Impression SGH-t229	0.38
Samsung Rugby SGH-a837	0.46
Samsung Propel Pro SGH-i627	0.47
Samsung Gravity SGH-t459	0.49
T-Mobile Sidekick	0.50
LG Xenon GR500	0.52
Motorola Karma QA1	0.55
Sanyo Katana II	0.55
WORST
Motorola Moto VU204	1.55
T-Mobile MyTouch 3G	1.55
Kyocera Jax S1300	1.55
BlackBerry Curve 8330	1.54
Motorola W385	1.54
T-Mobile Shadow	1.53
Motorola C290	1.53
Motorola i335	1.53
Motorola Moto VE240	1.52
BlackBerry Bold 9000	1.51
Source: Environmental Working Group

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