Cell Phone Cancer Warnings Proposed

 

A Maine legislator and a California mayor are calling for initiatives requiring cell phones to carry warnings that they can cause brain cancer, although there is no consensus among scientists that they do and industry leaders dispute the claim.

Maine Rep. Andrea Boland, D-Sanford, said she has persuaded legislative leaders to allow her proposal to come up for discussion during the 2010 session that begins in January. Under Boland's bill, manufacturers would have to put labels on phones and packaging warning of the potential for brain cancer associated with electromagnetic radiation. San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom’s proposal would require the display of the absorption rate level next to each phone in print at least as big as the price.

The BioInitiative Working Group, an international group of scientists, notes that many countries have issued warnings and that the European Parliament has passed a resolution calling for governmental action to address concerns over health risks from mobile phone use.

Read more from the Associated Press.

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