mobileu.co.uk

San Francisco imposes phone radiation measures

Mobile phones sold in San Francisco must display the level of radiation emitted by each handset, a new piece of city-wide legislation has ordered.

Backed by the city’s mayor, Gavin Newsome, San Francisco is the first city in the US to employ the measures, which will involve a mark of the radiation levels, known as the specific absorption rate (SAR), being shown next to each model on the shelves. The rate is a measure of the amount of energy absorbed per kilogram of bodyweight when using a mobile phone.

The local politician who first raised the law, Sophie Maxwell, said it was in the interest of informed choice, but opponents in the cellular phone industry said it was a mistake, and would cause people to believe that some models are safer than others. They say the Federal Communications Commission standard maximum specific absorption rate of 1.6 watts per kilogram on all phones sold in the US is enforcement enough.

British technology lawyer, Robin Fry, of Beachcroft LLP, increased consumer demand for the information could see the UK follow suit.

“Mobile manufacturers already publish SAR figures in user manuals so it is just a small step to have this more prominent on the packaging and in point-of-sale material,” he said.

The most likely course, he added, would be for one particular manufacturer starting to promote the use of low-SAR models, with other makers having no choice but to follow suit.