Cell Phone Safety Resolution Will Go to
San Francisco Board of Supervisors 5


San Francisco’s Commission on the Environment affirmed its Policy Committee recommendations at a hearing yesterday (Item 4 on the agenda) and called for a review of federal cell phone safety standards, safety warnings at the state and federal levels for cell phones, point-of-sale information on radiation levels of cell phones sold in San Francisco, and a campaign to raise awareness of health issues with cell phone use especially for children.

Debbie Raphael, San Francisco Toxics Reduction Program Manager, presented background information and the relevance of San Francisco’s Precautionary Principle to the issue at hand. Using CDC and other data, Raphael reported that more than 250 million Americans use cell phones and average 848 minutes a month, the highest usage in the world (Canada is next, with 446 minutes per month!). More than 20 percent of U.S. households use cell phones only.

“There is a challenge before us of science that isn’t consistent. If you look at federal websites … you’ll see such statements as ‘there is no evidence’ and ‘there is no link to harm’ and yet, in the studies that we’ve been looking at, it doesn’t seem like there’s a unanimous version of that at all,” Raphael continued.

The problem with assessing affects of long-term use is that 85 percent of people have only been using cell phones heavily for 5 years, and only 2 percent of the population has been using them heavily for more than 10 years. Raphael said that a number of well-respected journals have published studies that have found evidence of harm aggregating data from long-term cell phone users, “The science is not unanimous.”

It is “disturbing,” she added, that the U.S. is not participating in any of the three major international studies right now looking at long-term effects of cell phone use, especially since minutes of cell phone use are much greater in the U.S. than other countries. “How do we get the U.S. engaged? Clearly, this is something that can’t happen in San Francisco, it has to happen nationally. How do we get the conversation started in this country?”

Raphael reported that the country of France is most concerned about the long-term impact of cell phone radiation exposure to children. In Lyon, a public outreach campaign discourages families from allowing children under 12 to use cell phones.

She concluded that San Francisco’s Precautionary Principle requires the city to act on this issue. Following her presentation, 15 members of the public spoke in favor of action, some mentioning victims of brain cancer in their own families, and several calling for the city to promote the use of hand-sets that place distance between cell phones and users’ heads.

A Commission staff member read a statement forwarded by Dr. Joel Moskowitz of UC Berkeley’s School of Public Health. Dr. Moskowitz led a study last year on the possible connection between cell phones and brain tumors (described on this U.S. Department of Health and Human Services news page) and believes there is a clear health risk from long-term use.

The approved resolution (modifications made during the meeting aren’t reflected below) will be considered next by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

  • WHEREAS, The French Senate is considering legislation that would restrict the promotion and sale of cell phones for use by children and would require companies to offer headsets with each phone sold; and
  • WHEREAS, The maximum level of radiation emitted from a cell phone and absorbed by the human brain and body is called the Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) and these values range in cell phones from 0.2 to 1.6 W/kg, the maximum legal value in the US; and
  • WHEREAS, The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not review the safety of cell phones before they come to market but does have the authority to take action against the unsafe exposure to radiation from these products; and
  • WHEREAS, the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has accepted the safety standards for cell phone radiation set by the electronics professional trade association, the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE); and
  • WHEREAS, cell phone radiation safety levels accepted by the FCC do not take into account potential increased vulnerabilities of children nor the cumulative effects of long-term use and do not provide sufficient protection in determining a maximum allowable SAR value of 1.6 W/Kg for the human head and brain; and
  • WHEREAS, San Francisco has adopted a Precautionary Principle Ordinance that compels government agencies to heed early warning signs from the scientific literature and to take protective action to prevent harm; and
  • WHEREAS, Cell phone manufacturers are required to report the SAR values of their phones to the FCC but are not obligated to make this information available to the public; and
  • WHEREAS, Consumers in San Francisco, and beyond, have the right to know the level of radiation being emitted by cell phones as they make their purchasing decisions; and
  • WHEREAS, Consumers in San Francisco should be informed of any steps that can be taken to minimize harm, such as the importance of using head-sets and texting as an alternative to speaking directly into the phone, now, therefore, be it

    RESOLVED that the San Francisco Commission on the Environment recommends that the:

  • Federal Government conduct a review of cell phone safety standards and revise these based on concerns for children and long-term effects and consider a ban on cell phone advertising aimed at children.
  • State of California and the Federal Government adopt legislation that requires warning labels be placed on all cell phone packaging regarding exposure to radiation, especially for children.
  • City/County adopt legislation requiring that retailers of cell phones provide point- of-sale information on SAR values and information on safer use. The SAR value should be as visible to the consumer as the price.
  • City/County work closely with the School District to educate students, parents, caregivers and teachers about cell phone radiation and the importance of appropriate use of cell phones including: limiting their use to emergencies, use of a headset, and keeping the phone away from the child’s body to the maximum extent possible.
  • City/County work closely with the School District to prohibit the distribution of cell phone promotional materials and the use of cell phones as part of the curriculum especially for elementary schools.
  • City/County explore ways to encourage cell phone companies to develop technologies, products, and educational programs that facilitate the safest possible use of cell phones.
  • Director of the Department of the Environment and the Department of Technology, under the Precautionary Purchasing Ordinance, require that cell phones purchased by City Departments minimize SAR values and come with both a headset and educational materials on minimizing exposure to radiation.
  • Department of the Environment staff initiate an educational campaign that includes a web page to help consumers identify low SAR value phones and protective measures to reduce exposure to cell phone radiation

  • 5 thoughts on “Cell Phone Safety Resolution Will Go to
    San Francisco Board of Supervisors

    • Kiku Lani Iwata

      Terrific write-up. Thank you so much for informing us of this very important action taken by San Francisco officials. It’s time for other mayors and cities to start doing the same for the very same reasons. We can’t wait until it’s too late.

    • Liz

      The only thing missing now on the phone is that SAR levels are based on the false premise of heat being the thing that causes the damage. No heat required at all for biological effects from this radiation. Check out this video for the whole story on cell phones and health effects. Then sign the petition at the end for warning labels just like cigarettes! It will happen eventually and better sooner rather than later.

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJg9_22nVMo

    • Wafaa Aborashed

      Given what EU, Asia, and now the Western countries studies we cannot afford to rely on the industries to protect our communities from the cellular phone impacts. There are many studies to convince us that we need laws to protect our children. We need to convince our local/regional governments to act as San Francisco County has done. It is very serious, and the industries will put up a fight as did the tobacco industry with Lung Cancer. I worked for the Cellular Industry for 15 years, had the phone on my body 24/7and that was when we had analog into the digital age. In the late 90’s I lost the opportunity to have children. I knew that the cellular phone was the cause, but I could not prove it because we had no studies. Our teenage girls are not having regular cycles; some have them every four months, could that be an impact? We need to study and learn is it impacting our future reproductive opportunities? I now, teach environmental health to the youth and adults. We conduct workshops to grassroots communities on the impact and protection of cell phones. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJg9_22nVMo
      Please check out the partnership/collaborations and our high school’s youth we did in 2009. We must become vigilant and communicate the impacts now in order for us protect our future generations. We need to introduce laws to make the telecommunication companies accountable to the health of our families, they are not regulated.

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