San Francisco May Require Cell Phone Retailers to Disclose Radiation

Update 16.6.10 -

According to The New York Times and San Francisco Chronicle, the vote is in – 10 to 1. San Francisco, California is officially the first US city that will require cell phone retailers, by law, to display the SAR (Specific Absorption Rate) of mobile phones on sale.

The law was passed yesterday despite conclusive scientific evidence showing the correlation between cell phones and health related issues.

source: The New York Times

The truth is this issue is about giving consumers information that they have a right to know. The law is not meant to deter cell phone sales but to inform shoppers. We think this is a great initiative because it’s right in line with our philosophy – to help people make informed decisions and responsible phone usage.

We think San Francisco is going to pioneer the way and are closely monitoring other states and nations that will join in on the consumer cell phone information bandwagon.

We’ll keep you posted!

Back to the original post:

The latest mobile news, according to the SF Gate, is that the vote to make San Francisco the first US city that will require retailers to disclose mobile phone radiation levels has been delayed to June 15^th. Apparently on this date the board of supervisors will reconsider the matter after reviewing legal implications for small business owners.

Proponents of the vote believe this could be the beginning of a national US trend. Opponents of the vote, including local retailers and cellular phone providers, are strongly opposed citing inconclusive scientific evidence showing the health risks associated with mobile phones.

This kind of initiative is a big step forward in raising people’s awareness about the issue of mobile phone radiation because only with knowledge can we act more responsibly.

However mobile phone users should be aware that the SAR or Specific Absorption Rate (that, should the vote pass, will be disclosed at point of sale) doesn’t actually reflect the radiation that users are exposed to. SAR reflects the maximum radiation level for each phone model.

What most people don’t know is that SAR levels of mobile phones are dynamic and change constantly (from zero to the max SAR values of the specific phone model) based on varying factors like environment and the way you use your phone. That’s why our patent-pending RRI™ (Real-time Radiation Indication) technology takes into account dynamic SAR values and factors in additional dynamic environmental and usage parameters to provide users with a real-time indication of their exposure to mobile phone radiation and in addition the accumulation of the radiation they’re actually exposed to over time.

We’ll certainly be keeping an eye on developments in San Francisco that may set the precedent in mobile phone radiation transparency throughout the US and perhaps the world, as we’re sure many mobile phone users, industry and retailers will too.

And all that said,

Safe talking…

The tawkon team