Last night, the Berkeley City Council unanimously voted to require electronics retailers to provide customers with a warning about the potential health risks associated with radio-frequency (RF) radiation emitted by cellphones. This makes Berkeley the first city in the country to implement a cellphone “right to know” law. The notice, which must be posted in stores that sell cellphones, reads in part: “If you carry or use your phone in a pants or shirt pocket or tucked into a bra when the phone is ON and connected to a wireless network, you may exceed the federal guidelines for exposure to RF radiation. This potential risk is greater for children. Refer to the instructions in your phone or user manual for information about how to use your phone safely.”
The Cellular Telephone Industries Association (CITA), the wireless industry’s trade group, has expressed opposition to the ordinance, claiming it violates the First Amendment. Gerard Keegan, CITA’s senior director of state legislative affairs, stated in a letter to the council members that the law “would compel wireless retailers to disseminate speech with which they disagree.” Keegan further argued that the warning “would cause consumers to take away the message that cell phones are dangerous and can cause breast, testicular, or other cancers.” Despite the opposition, the Berkeley City Council has moved forward with the ordinance.
Mobile phones emit non-ionizing radiation in the form of electromagnetic fields (EMF) that can penetrate human tissue. While ionizing radiation, such as that used in x-rays, is known to cause cancer, the National Cancer Institute has found no evidence that non-ionizing radiation increases cancer risk. The American Cancer Society has described the evidence for a link between cellphones and cancer as “uncertain”, while the Centers for Disease Control has stated that “there is not yet enough science to link health problems to cell phone use”.
