Wireless Guide News

The Government Accountabil­ity Office on Tuesday called on federal regulators to revamp standards that measure the impact of radiation from cellphones.

The year-long review by the GAO, which was done at the urging of lawmakers, did not suggest that cellphone use causes cancer. But the GAO was critical of the way the Federal Communications Commission has managed its standards, noting that the rules, which had not changed since 1996, lagged behind those of the international community.

The FCC’s regulations “may not reflect the latest evidence on the the effects” of cellphones, the GAO’s report said.

What’s more, when testing cellular radiation exposure on someone using an earpiece, the FCC assumed that people would place their phones at a distance, say, on a nearby table, the GAO noted. But many keep their phones in their pockets or on belt buckles.

The FCC “may not be identifying the maximum exposure, since some users may hold a mobile phone directly against the body while in use,” the GAO said. It recommended that the FCC reexamine both its exposure limits and the way it conducts tests.

In response to the r…………… continues on Washington Post

Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) introduced the Cell Phone Right to Know Act Aug. 6. The bill requests that a national research program be established to study cell phones and their potential effects on users’ health, that data on Specific Absorption Rate (SAR)—the amount of radio-frequency energy that’s absorbed by the body while using a cell phone—be updated, and that warning labels be created for cell phones to alert consumers to varying SARs.

“Some studies find links. Some don’t. But studies funded by the telecommunications industry are significantly less likely to find a link between cell phones and health effects. We need a first-class research program to give us answers,” Kucinich said in a June 30 statement announcing his intent to introduce the bill.

“Until we know for sure,” Kucinich continued, “a labeling law will ensure that cell phone users can decide for themselves the level of risk that they will accept. Obviously, cell phone companies should not be the ones making that decision for us.”

Kucinich pointed to the Interphone study released in March, which he says pointed to the possibility of a link between cell phone use and brain tumors when the data was broken down (on the whole, the study concluded there was no risk). For example,…………… continues on eWeek