A lawmaker in Maine is attempting to require all mobile phones sold in the state to carry warning labels that alert consumers about the potential risk of brain cancer.
State representative Andrea Boland has said she will propose legislation in January that would require all cell phones in the state to carry a warning in red and black that indicates that the devices may cause brain cancer, according to a report by the Associated Press. A similar effort to require cell phone brain cancer warnings is also underway in San Francisco.
While several other countries require mobile phone cancer warnings, they are not currently required in the United States by any state or federal agency. Boland argues that there are studies showing that there is a risk of brain cancer from cell phones, but the National Cancer Institute (NCI) says that scientific evidence about the risk or safety of cell phones is conflicting and inconsistent, and that no conclusion can be made as of yet. The industry maintains that cell phones are safe.
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Learn MoreAccording to NCI, cellular telephones emit radiofrequency (RF) energy. RF energy is a form of non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation. Ionizing electromagnetic radiation, such as that emitted by x-ray machines, is known to cause cancer at high levels, but it is unknown whether non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation like RF energy has the same effect. The NCI says that studies so far seem to indicate that the amount of RF emitted by cell phones is too low to product tissue heating or raise body temperature, but there is not enough evidence to declare it completely harmless either.
Boland’s proposal, if passed, would make Maine the first state in the United States to require cell phone warning labels about brain cancer. The warning would be a nonremovable advisory in black type, with the word “warning” in red letters and a graphic of a child’s brain. The warning would recommend keeping cell phones away from the head and body, especially for pregnant women and children.
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is pushing for requirements that cell phone sellers display the absorption rate levels next to every cell phone sold in the city in type at least as large as the selling price. The Federal Communications Commission requires all cell phones in the United States to meet specific absorption rate standards for RF radiation, however the companies are not required to release what the absorption rate of specific cell phones are to the public, as long as they meet the federal standard.
The European Parliament has also recently passed a resolution requiring European Union governments to take some form of action to address grown health concerns over cell phone use.
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4 Comments
VirginiaMarch 5, 2010 at 7:18 pm
I'm writing in about my Son, Rich. Rich, died in 2008 from glioblastoma multiforme brain cancer. At the time of diagnosis, his neurosurgeon told us it was his cell phone. August 7, 2009 while I was at home, I found articles out about a brain cancer cluster in San Diego CA., on the SDSU campus. If you type in," SDSU Room Haunted by Cancer," you can see a video. Rich is the graduate student the[Show More]I'm writing in about my Son, Rich. Rich, died in 2008 from glioblastoma multiforme brain cancer. At the time of diagnosis, his neurosurgeon told us it was his cell phone. August 7, 2009 while I was at home, I found articles out about a brain cancer cluster in San Diego CA., on the SDSU campus. If you type in," SDSU Room Haunted by Cancer," you can see a video. Rich is the graduate student these articles and video are referring too. Since this has happened, November of 2009 ANOTHER brain cancer has been identified! If you watch this video, the school spokesman mentions that This is a Sprint Tower, right outside of this building called Nasatir Hall. They conviently didn't show where this tower is in the shot, but it is directly across from this building, on a hill. I investigated on my own, and found out it is a HPWREN, High Performance Wireless Research Network. A Backbone node to the UCSD campus! EVERYONE BEWARE, check your phone manuals! I have actually met with Andrea Boland from Maine, and she is aware of my Son's story! Rich, was 28 and died 1 week after his 29th birthday! This has destroyed our lives, and has left me with unbearable grief! Cell Phones, Cell Towers and WIFI are ALL DANGEROUS! In your phone manual, most of them tell you NOT to put a cell phone near your head or body!
JimJanuary 22, 2010 at 6:38 pm
Some scientific and senate recognition of cell phone cancer! Please read the following article. http://www.foodconsumer.org/newsite/Non-food/Lifestyle/senate_hearing_confirms_dangers_of_cell_phones_2101100536.html It is beginning to swing in our direction. I am the perfect case to get this thing going. My tumor was on the same side I use my phine., That's a %50 chance. I'm right handed, my tumor[Show More]Some scientific and senate recognition of cell phone cancer! Please read the following article. http://www.foodconsumer.org/newsite/Non-food/Lifestyle/senate_hearing_confirms_dangers_of_cell_phones_2101100536.html It is beginning to swing in our direction. I am the perfect case to get this thing going. My tumor was on the same side I use my phine., That's a %50 chance. I'm right handed, my tumor was on my right side. I heard radio prior to my seizures. (Even told my surgeion about this.) Also have witnesses such as the guy who picked me up the 1st time and called the ambulence. Also my family members. If cell phones are producing cancer in the brain, they are doing it with radio frequencies. I at least want my medical paid, and I think it's fair. Since the cell phone companies are the ones holding back the research. Some punative? I can provide links which verify this too! http://www.foodconsumer.org/newsite/Non-food/Lifestyle/senate_hearing_confirms_dangers_of_cell_phones_2101100536.html
JimJanuary 17, 2010 at 2:18 am
Few Riverside firefighters have reported becoming ill with cancer, he said. Eric Botkin, who recently died following a two-year battle with glioblastoma, a highly aggressive brain cancer, was the only firefighter who DeSantis said he could recall. Fire officials have said Botkin's cancer was work-related. An estimated 20,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with brain cancers annually[Show More]Few Riverside firefighters have reported becoming ill with cancer, he said. Eric Botkin, who recently died following a two-year battle with glioblastoma, a highly aggressive brain cancer, was the only firefighter who DeSantis said he could recall. Fire officials have said Botkin's cancer was work-related. An estimated 20,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with brain cancers annually. More than half of all adult brain cancers are glioblastoma. Few people live more than three years. Glioblastoma experts at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and City of Hope Helford Clinical Research Hospital in Duarte say genetic disorders have been linked to the disease. Other possible causes have not yet been identified, despite speculation about cell phone use and electromagnetic radiation, they say. Research does not indicate that firefighters are more at risk of getting brain cancer than anyone else Here's a case where there's compensation awarded for gbm. States are enacting radiation labling for cell phones in two states. I still think, this will soon be one of those asbestos type landslides in the near future. I'd like to talk with some brave attorney. Let's open this back up and get some compensation.
JimDecember 23, 2009 at 2:26 am
I gotta tell my story, it's odd but true. And can be verified through eyewitnesses. Last year, in Sept, while at work, I had a seizure, which was preceeded by some weird radio sound which I described as old tyme radio. I know this is odd, it was for me too. Right before I got dizzy and fell, I heard something akin to an old 1920's or 1930's radio sound in the back of my head. I then fell ,and wa[Show More]I gotta tell my story, it's odd but true. And can be verified through eyewitnesses. Last year, in Sept, while at work, I had a seizure, which was preceeded by some weird radio sound which I described as old tyme radio. I know this is odd, it was for me too. Right before I got dizzy and fell, I heard something akin to an old 1920's or 1930's radio sound in the back of my head. I then fell ,and was taken to the hospital. They didn't do any kind of scan, though they said they would, I recovered and left. No known cause. In December, I had the same sort of episodes several times in one day. Again, I heard the radio sound in the background of my head, not through my ears. This preceeded the seizures each time. This time they were so bad I went to the hospital, driven by my significant other, cause I couldn't see properly as my vision kept disappearing. This time they found I had a tumor, (Gbm). Which they began to address immediately with known techniques. That is, surgery, radiation and chemo. After I returned home and began to discuss the issues asscociated with GBM (Glioblastoma multiforme) I began to form my own opinion that my cancer was cell phone related. My reasoning then was, I practically had the thing glued to my head for work and they opened me up on the side I used it on. Also, at this time my cell phone would ring and make my computer screen go crazy if it was near. I even went so far as to film this. This was so unusual to me that I voiced this to others and was kinda mocked for the thought. I took what little heat I was given and kept it to myself more. In either case, I am of the same opinion still. It's been over a year, and I'm still fighting to live, but now I'm beginning to see that my original idea may have been correct, and, now with this radio frequency stuff, I'm actually wondering, did this somehow account for the radio sound, I was hearing prior to my seizures? Let's say for the sake of argument that my tumor was created by some sort of radio frequency emission. Could it be that my tumor could pick this up at some point and send it to my mind? The fact that I I heard radio prior to my seizures might now have some direct backup evidence! Weird as this is, I'd like to do my part to get this cancer slowed and If this helps someone, great. BTW, I've started Avastin, and am hoping to get some more time out of it.