SF law forces disclosure of phone radiation levels

An interesting post from www.cnet.com that covers a very underreported topic and that is Cell Phone Radiation. This article tries to cover all angles of the story and concludes that more studies are needed to confirm safety without ANY DOUBT For more interesting posts like this click here and I would love anyone to comment on this story!!!


SF law forces disclosure of phone radiation levels

San Francisco appears poised to become the first city in the U.S. to require a cell phone makers to publicly display how much radiation their products emit.
On Tuesday, the city's board of supervisors voted 10-1 in favor of a new law that requires handset makers to post in stores their products' specific absorption rate (SAR), which is a measure of the amount of radio waves absorbed by the user's body. (See also: CNET's Quick Guide: Cell phone radiation levels)
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is expected to sign the measure into law.
There's no scientific consensus on the dangers of cell phone radiation. Scientists know that humans absorb radiation from cell phones, but it's not known if that absorbed radiation causes health risks, such as cancer. Some studies suggest that it does, while others do not. Scientists concur that more data is needed.
That said, the Federal Communications Commission has set exposure limits for radiation. And the agency requires that all phones emit a SAR that is less than 1.6 watts per kilogram.
Some advocates say cell phones should have warning labels on them. But the wireless industry has fought this type of action. The CTIA, the trade association that lobbies in Washington, D.C., on behalf of wireless operators and cell phone manufacturers, said that it's against the San Francisco ordinance.
"Rather than inform, the ordinance will potentially mislead consumers with point-of-sale requirements suggesting that some phones are 'safer' than others, based on radio frequency emissions," John Walls, a spokesman for the CTIA told the San Francisco Chronicle.
While the dangers of using a cell phone are still unknown, groups such as the Environmental Working Group, a private government watchdog group, believe that consumers can take measures to protect against radiation exposure. The group suggests that cell phone users text rather than talk on their cell phones, and that they use a headset or speaker phone to keep the device away from the head. Other suggestions include turning off the cell phone when it's not being used.

Marguerite Reardon has been a CNET News reporter since 2004, covering cell phone services, broadband, citywide Wi-Fi, the Net neutrality debate, as well as the ongoing consolidation of the phone companies. E-mail Maggie.

Cell phone radiation? There's no easy answer

An interesting post from www.cnet.com that covers a very underreported topic and that is Cell Phone Radiation. This article tries to cover all angles of the story and concludes that more studies are needed to confirm safety without ANY DOUBT For more interesting posts like this click here and I would love anyone to comment on this story!!!

Cell phone radiation? There's no easy answer
by Kent German

Last December, just as I returned from covering the first flight of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner in Seattle, I learned that a longtime friend was diagnosed with brain cancer. He had collapsed that day at work and was in the hospital awaiting immediate removal of his tumor. Needless to say, it was a distressing few days, but the surgery was successful and he was back home by Christmas.
About a month later he called me with a question. He hesitated before asking and, frankly, I felt a lump in my throat, because I knew what was coming. "So, do you think there really is a connection between cell phones and brain cancer?" he asked. "I figured that you'd know more about this than I do." Unfortunately, I couldn't answer him, and I may never be able to do so.
For background on cell phone radiation, see CNET's cell phone radiation charts
Though he was hardly the first person to ask that question, this time it came from someone who really cared about the answer. He was searching for an explanation for what had happened to him; he wanted to make sense of it and understand how cancer had come into his otherwise carefully organized life. I felt bad that I couldn't reply, but I just don't know if there is any link between cell phone radiation and cancer risk. Though studies on the subject abound, none can tell us conclusively whether mobile radiation does or does not adversely affect your health.
I realize that may not be what you want to hear, but science can't conform to human emotion and our desire to find an answer quickly. Single scientific studies (the good ones, at least) investigate and often suggest causal relationships between one thing and another based on their findings, but it can take years of exhaustive research before studies actually prove anything (if they do at all). And when you throw in a bunch of studies that seem to contradict each other, you wind up with a lot of confusion.
Perhaps?Just take the Interphone study, for example. Started in 2000 by a group of 13 countries, to date the study remains the largest body of work on the subject. Many hoped that it would offer some solid guidance, but that hasn't been the case. Not only did researchers disagree on how to interpret the data, some health advocacy groups decried that the mobile industry had partially funded the effort. Some participating have reported that the study found a link between long-term cell phone use (10 years or more) and increased brain cancer risk, but the final results have yet to be published.
Consider also Dr. Ronald B. Herberman, director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, who published a controversial memo in 2008 that cautioned his staff against frequent cell phone use. Herberman acknowledged that the ongoing research remained controversial, but said there was sufficient data to be concerned. He was criticized, however, for basing his conclusions on unpublished data from the Interphone study.
Perhaps notThe cell phone industry continues to point to other studies that show no risk. According to the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA), the industry's lobbying group in Washington, "impartial groups, such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the World Health Organization (WHO), the American Cancer Society, and the National Institute of Health, have all concluded that the scientific evidence to date does not demonstrate any adverse health effects associated with the use of wireless phones."
That may sound better, but keep in mind that the industry has an interest in assuring you that cell phones are safe. Similarly, studies can be flawed and can be published by someone eager to get their name in print. So again, think about the issue carefully; we don't know with certainty that there is a risk, but we don't know that there isn't one. So don't panic and don't bury your head in the sand. You may scoff that I'm even writing this column, but I'd be irresponsible not to. Research has to continue, and I hope that we get it from impartial sources (if they exist).
In WashingtonThe federal government has largely stayed outside the issue, though Congress held hearings and participated in an intentional conference last year. The Federal Communications Commission, which tests cell phones sold in the United States for their specific absorption rates (SAR), maintains that results have been inconclusive so far. According to the agency's Web site, "while some experimental data have suggested a possible link between exposure and tumor formation in animals exposed under certain specific conditions, the results have not been independently replicated...Many other studies have failed to find evidence for a link to cancer or any related condition."
What you can doIn the absence of an answer--and I wish I could give you one--I urge you to decide for yourself how you feel about cell phone radiation. I'm not a trained scientist, but if you're not concerned, I recommend only that keep yourself informed of ongoing developments. If you are concerned, here a few steps you can take to limit exposure. Just remember that we encounter many things in modern urban life--pollution, food additives, and stress, to name a few--that may or may not be harmful to your health. So don't think about cell phones alone.
Buy a phone with a low SAR. The FCC's limit is 1.6 watts per kilogram, and the lower the number, the better. A phone's SAR will be listed in its user manual, but the information may not be available at the sales counter, depending on the carrier. The Environmental Working Group and some local and state governments have called for carriers and manufacturers to list SARs at the time point of purchase, but they're still not required to do so. In the meantime, CNET lists the SAR for all current phones in our radiation charts.
Limit cell phone use in young children, who may be more susceptible to any adverse effects.
Don't sleep with your cell phone next to your head when it's powered on.
Text when you can since it uses less power than a voice call.
Keep your phone away from your body when on a call by using the speakerphone or a headset. Though debate exists on whether Bluetooth headsets are safe, they use much less power than cell phones and have a range of only 30 feet.
Don't bother with anti-radiation shields or cases.
Kent German is a senior editor for cell phone reviews at CNET. When he's not testing the newest handsets on the market, he's blogging about cell phone news for Crave. In his On Call column, he answers reader questions and gives his take on the rapidly changing mobile industry. E-mail Kent.

Apple bans iPhone app that measures cell phone radiation

An interesting post from www.cnet.com that covers a very underreported topic and that is Cell Phone Radiation. Of course the jury is still out on whether Cell Phones cause brain tumors or cancer, even though most studies will admit that they can cause traffic accidents, even the "hands-free" ones. The fact that Apple is banning this only increases the worry of those who are concerned and would like proof. For more interesting posts like this click here and I would love anyone to comment on this story!!!



Apple bans iPhone app that measures cell phone radiation
by Chris Matyszczyk
have no idea whether cell phone use turns your brain into a doughnut.
But I imagine if someone were clever enough to create an iPhone app that told you how much radiation your phone was emitting, and therefore how big a hole your brain might soon enjoy, you might just be interested.
Unfortunately, it seems that though there might be such an app, you won't be able to partake of its skills on your iPhone.
According to TechCrunch, an Israeli developer called Tawkon created an app that, with the help of a finely tuned algorithm, measures your Specific Absorption Rate. This is the rate at which your whole body, not just your little brain, absorbs energy from a radio frequency magnetic field. The Tawkon app then factors in environmental conditions and phone usage in order to give you some accurate sense of your exposure to bad rays.

No, no. It wasn't radiation that turned them this color.(Credit: CC Incase Designs/Flickr)
Something that seems quite clever to a lay(ing down) person, this app tells you in which location radiation is strongest while you are making a call.
You launch a call through the iPhone's address book and the app then vibrates to the tune of the radiation levels. An alarming tone offers the information that you'd better get out of wherever you are if you ever want to visit your hairdresser again.
If real-time search is the axis around which the world is currently turning, then real-time radiation information seems a fine thing to have at one's ear.
However, Tawkon claims that Apple has banned its invention. It says Apple called and positively radiated regret that Tawkon's app would not find a place on the iPhone as it would create confusion with respect to usability.
I am not sure what usability confusion useful information might create. But I hope that blind panic, the mass tossing of iPhones into watery graves and the elimination of cell phone user sanity were not amongst the fears that led to this decision.
I have no idea whether Tawkon's app is as fine as its makers say. Reports suggest these are serious people with some kind of serious track record. One of its founders, Gil Friedlander, has an enthusiastic and persuasive blog in which he declares that a BlackBerry version of the app is almost ready. And I just know that Google will approve this app because it's just so darned scientific.
Perhaps some time soon, we will all be rushing in and out of various locations, our phones clutched to our ears, sweat dripping from our nostrils, because Tawkon has warned us that our current location is not a safe one in which to talk to our grannies.
Originally posted at Technically Incorrect
Chris Matyszczyk is an award-winning creative director who advises major corporations on content creation and marketing. He brings an irreverent, sarcastic, and sometimes ironic voice to the tech world. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET.