Cell Phone Radiation Law Approved In San Francisco
Erring on the side of caution there was a 10 to 1 vote from the San Francisco Board of Supervisors this past Tuesday. The vote was for a requirement of the sellers of cell phones to have to post notices in the stores on the details of the levels of radiation that each of the different models emit.
This ordinance requires the posting of the information on something called the SAR. This is what you’re likely to see the rating qualified as. The SAR stands for the specific absorption rate. The rate measures the levels of radio wave absorption into the tissue of the user’s body.
Mayor Newsom has shown his support for the ordinance so he’s anticipated to sign the ordinance into law. The law would be in effect come February of next year and those that are found in violation will face a $300 fine per violation. There are some other jurisdictions that have considered this type of legislation; however, it looks like San Francisco will be the first to actually enact it.
There are some that have concerns that the prolonged cell phone radiation exposure could cause brain cancer but the simple point is that the studies are inconclusive. Although this is just a precautionary ordinance without having conclusive proof it’s a wonder if it’s really just a scare tactic to a point. The most comprehensive study, which is also the most recent one, found that there is no increase in risk using a cell phone and the two most frequent forms of brain cancer.
With the lack of link certainty for or against it poses another challenge. If the government starts issuing these warnings to be safe it could needlessly scare consumers. Though the other problem is that if the risk is actually true then the government has an obligation to alert the public to the potential harms. But without knowing the harm is there a true obligation to alert the public of something that “might” be a danger.
Cell phone safety is regulated by the FCC and the FDA. The direct quote from the FDA states that “there is no scientific evidence to date that proves that wireless phone usage can lead to cancer or a variety of other health effects. It does also state that there are continuing studies.
There’s already a regulation in place by the FCC that there is no phone to be sold within the United States that has a SAR rating in excess of 1.6 watts per kilogram. People can find the SAR information on the FCC website but in order to find out the information you need to have the FCC ID code of the phone you’re wanting to lookup.
Obviously the cell phone industry opposes this law as they state that the standard set by the FCC and the lacking of any definitive scientific proof. Unlike the tobacco lobbyists and companies this time the industry could be right. It could really mislead the consumer on the potentials of one phone being safer than another when it’s actually likely not the case.
Of course that same argument didn’t mean anything to the San Francisco lawmakers. They state that this is going to serve the public stating that is a common sense measure. I’m not sure that it really does make much sense but regardless it’ll soon be law and for now we’ll have to wait for any conclusive scientific study one way or another.
Related posts:
- San Francisco Sued By the CTIA over Cell Phone Radiation Law
- The Cell Phone Radiation Law Out Of San Francisco Goes Wrong
- Advocates of Cell Phone Safety Call On the FDA and FCC to Update both Rules and Radiation Standards
- Cell Phone Radiation – What You Need to Know
- A Proposed Law Would Require Warning Labels for Cell Phones
- Is Using a Cell Phone Safe
- Apple Rejects Application That Would Gauge iPhone Radiation Levels
- Anti Radiation Cell Phone, Television and Computer Chips Released For Mass Distribution
- CELL PHONES – Good or Bad for Our Health?
- The First Long-Term Cell Phone Health Study Launched By Europeans, Where Is The USA Study?
Tags: Cell Phones
July 12th, 2010 at 4:07 am
Cell phones emit radiation that are injurious to health.The law passed is in favour of the people.It’s good that the emission level will be rated and action is taken accordingly.