The American Cancer Society, World Health Organization, the Food and Drug Administration and the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection all agree: A survey of the recent scientific literature shows there is no clear evidence of any link between mobile devices and health problems. And yet some special interest groups are advocating for action based on only a couple European research reports while ignoring the overwhelming preponderance of the evidence. In the process those special interests are scaring the public.
Scaring people so much that some states and cities are considering whether they should impose regulations that would require health-related warning labels despite the lack of evidence, and ignoring the fact that government restrictions are already in place.
The FCC, in accordance with guidelines established by recognized scientific bodies, has already set the safety standards for handset radiation, so any device at or below the set level is deemed safe for human absorption. In addition, these standards were reviewed and endorsed by the EPA, OSHA and FDA.
So why exactly are some politicians considering action? Simply put, they’re seeking to gain some credit for “protecting the public” even though such protections are already in place.
And the only result will be consumer confusion and increased costs.
For example, device manufacturers use a national distribution system, yet proposals for local warning labels ignore this fact. So manufacturers would have to adopt the strictest labels for everyone. Anything less would make policing the system in this mobile world would be impossible. Could someone from a less-restrictive state travel or move to a more-restrictive state without violating the law?
H.L. Mencken once said, “The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.”
Virtually all the scientific literatures concludes there are no health risk to cell phones. In a time when Americans are stressed enough over the economy, the last thing we need is politicians inciting fear driven by political expedience, rather than science.