FCC to Open Review of Cell Phone Radiation Guidelines
The FCC wants to reexamine the cell phone radiation safety guidelines. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski asked his fellow commissioners whether they should re-examine the radio frequency emission limits for mobile devices that have not been changed since 1996. A spokesman for the FCC says this is merely a routine review of its own policies and that the agency is confident that the guidelines still protect the consumers and will likely not change.
The current FCC guideline for a phone to receive FCC certification and be sold in the United States is a maximum SAR level of less than 1.6 W/kg. In Europe, the level is capped at 2 W/kg, while Canada allows a maximum of 1.6 W/kg. Specific absorption rate (SAR) is a measure of the rate at which energy is absorbed by the body when exposed to a radio frequency (RF) electromagnetic field such as when using the mobile phone. It is defined as the power absorbed per mass of tissue and has units of watts per kilogram (W/kg).
FCC to Review Cell Phone Radiation StandardsThe Federal Communications Commission wants to reopen an inquiry into whether its regulations do enough to protect consumers from harmful radiation from cell phones. Chairman Julius Genachowski asked fellow commissioners to give the go ahead to a new investigation, although a spokesperson says it is merely a routine review of its own policies.This is the first time that cell phone radiation guidelines would have been looked at since 1996.
This is welcome news for cell phone safety advocates and environmental groups such as the Environmental Group (EWG) who have been calling for the FCC to review the old guidelines for years. Here’s a post on the EWG website relating to this story:
FCC To Review Cell Phone Radiation Rules | Environmental Working GroupEWG News release Washington, D.C. — After years of neglecting to update its scientific statements on cell phone radiation, the Federal Communications Commission,inan about-face, launched a review of its safety standards. The Environmental Working Group has been calling for this basic step to ensure adequate public health protection since 2009.
It takes such a long while for the government to act, doesn’t it. Well, it’s about time they take a closer look at this mobile radiation issue.
It’s about time. Watch them drag their feet on this one. But, hey, any movement in the right direction should be commended, right? Cell phone radiation is a risk, plain and simple. I love my iphone, but there should be consensus on the potential safety issues and deal with it.