An environmental group has called on the FCC to adopt more stringent standards for the amount of mobile phone radiation
 emited, saying the current rules are outdated because they fail to take into account the impact
of long-term exposure and the more harmful impact of radiation on children. The federal government also
should require that consumers be provided with radiation emissions information on devices at the point of sale,
the group said.
In a 42-page report released Sept. 9, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) also expressed concern
about research findings that indicate serious health risks from using mobile phones for a decade or more, and the
links between use of the devices and brain cancer, salivary gland tumors, behavioral problems in children, and
migraine headaches and vertigo.The group has compiled an online consumer guide
that provides information on the emissions of more than 1,000 mobile phones marketed in the U.S. It said it found
that emissions can vary by up to a factor of 8 from one phone to another. The guide is based on technical data
provided by device makers. “We would like to be able to say that cellphones are
safe,” said Olga Naidenko, EWG senior scientist and lead author of the study. “But we can’t. The most recent science,
while not conclusive, raises serious issues about the cancer risk of cellphone use that must be addressed
through further research. In the meantime, consumers can take steps to reduce exposure.” During a 10-month period,
EWG said it reviewed more than 200 peer-reviewed studies, government advisories, and industry documents
in preparing its report. The report takes the FCC and Food and Drug Administration
to task, saying the agencies “have all but ignored evidence that long term cell phone use may be
risky.”
"The FCC adopted radiation standards developed by the cell phone industry 17 years ago. These standards,
still in use, allow 20 times more mobile phone radiation to reach the head than the rest of the body. They do not account for
risks to children,” the report complained. “Current FCC standards fail to provide an adequate margin of safety
for cell phone radiation exposure and lack a meaningful biological basis. For example, the FCC standard for the
head is just 2.5 times lower than the level that caused behavioral changes in animals. The standard that applies
to hands, wrists, feet, and ankles has no safety margin whatsoever.”