Berkeley passes controversial cell-phone radiation ordinance

New York Times : The city of Berkeley, California, has passed a measure requiring cell-phone retailers to warn customers that prolonged use of the devices may be hazardous to their health. According to the Right to Know ordinance, people who regularly carry cell phones in a pocket or bra “may exceed the federal guidelines for exposure” to radio frequency radiation. However, the claim has not been substantiated by any scientific study. Furthermore, no adverse effects associated with low levels of radiation have been seen over the past 50 years and there has not been any noticeable increase in brain cancers, according to Jerrold Bushberg, a medical physicist and a professor of radiology and radiation oncology at the University of California, Davis, and a representative of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine. Regardless, proponents maintain that if there’s any possibility of risk, no matter how slight, the public should be made aware. The cell-phone industry has challenged the ordinance, and a federal hearing has been set for 6 August.