Bay Citizen

Is Cell Phone Radiation Harmful? Nobody Knows, But San Francisco Wants to Warn You Anyway

Frederic Lardinois

Jul 20, 2011 — 1 min read

When it comes to the radiation that emanates from cell phones, nobody really knows if it is harmful or not. For every study that “proves” that cell phones will cause you cancer, another one appears that shows just the opposite. The Board of Supervisors of San Francisco, though, isn’t going to leave anything to chance and retailers in the city will now have to provide shoppers with information about potential radiation risks.

The version of San Francisco’s cellphone ordinance that passed today is significantly weaker than another one the city tried to pass last year. At that time, though, the wireless industry association CTIA challenged that ordinance in court where it remained in legal limbo until today. The old version would have forced retailers to make comparisons between different phones available to consumers, while the new version just expects them to display general information and to offer a tip sheet on how to reduce (the purported threat of) exposure.

These new rules still have to pass a final vote by the board on July 26, but, according to the Bay Citizen’s Stephanie Sara Chong the general expectation is that the ordinance will easily pass.

Image credit: Flickr user whatleydude

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