Thursday, January 5, 2017

Top Cell Phone and Wireless Radiation News Stories in 2016

In the U.S., two major events occurred in 2016 regarding cell phone radiation—release of the long-awaited results from the cell phone cancer study conducted by the National Toxicology Program and enactment of the first cell phone "right to know" law in Berkeley, California.

In addition, two major national newspapers, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, published articles about cell phone radiation warnings.
National Toxicology Program Cell Phone Cancer Study

The National Institute of Environmental Health Science released partial results of the $25 million National Toxicology Program study on the effects of exposure to cell phone radiation. The FDA called for this study in 1999. Cell phone radiation was found to cause two types of cancer in male rats and DNA damage in male and female mice and rats.


Berkeley’s Landmark Cell Phone "Right to Know" Law Takes Effect

The Berkeley cell phone "right to know" law which was adopted on a 9-0 unanimous vote of the City Council in May, 2015, took effect in March of 2016. Berkeley is the first city in the United States to pass a cell phone radiation ordinance since San Francisco disbanded its ordinance after a two-year court battle with the CTIA, the wireless industry's lobbying organization. 
The CTIA has sued Berkeley, and the case is currently being adjudicated in the Federal courts. Links to more than two hundred news stories from fourteen countries can be found on the EMR Safety website.

Two national news stories

Last January, the New York Times published an exposé about CDC’s retraction of cell phone warnings from its website after protests from industry-funded scientists.

In May, the Wall Street Journal invited two experts, Joel Moskowitz from the University of California, Berkeley and Larry Junck from the University of Michigan, to debate the need for cell phone radiation warning labels in its Journal Reports series.



Other Major Stories and Updates on Electromagnetic Radiation Safety

Cell Phone Radiation Health Risks



The Politics of Wireless Radiation