Last updated April 12, 2019
The city council of Burlingame in California in the United States is to publish guidelines to help citizens who wish to reduce their exposure to radioactivity from used cell phones, after a motion was passed yesterday. The move comes just days after a similar move in San Francisco, where city Mayor Edwin M Lee agreed to an ordinance that is aimed at protecting the right of the consumer to know about the possible dangers associated with radiation from new or old cell phones. This forces retails shops to hand out fact sheets and display posters about the dangers of radiation from used cell phones and what steps consumers can take to limit their exposure.
“San Francisco and Burlingame are true leaders in consumers’ rights,” says the director of the California office of the Environmental Working Group, Renee Sharp. “We hope this movement will spread throughout the state and nation. Cell phone users everywhere have, at the very least, a right to be informed about their potential exposure to radiation and how they can minimize it.”
Growing evidence, including the declaration from the World Health Organization that radiation from cell phones could be a possible cause of cancer back in May and a study by Swiss scientists that found an increased risk of brain tumors in children who had been using cell phones for around two years and eight months, have increased pressure on authorities to make people more aware of the potential dangers of the devices.