The Bay Area is a cradle of environmentalism and a region with a rich trove of health and medical research and resources. In this blog, we’ll report on the deepening understanding of how the places we inhabit and the lifestyles we adopt contribute to our own health and the health of our communities.
San Francisco's cell phone radiation ordinance won't go into effect next Tuesday as planned, the Associated Press reported.
On Thursday, the city agreed to delay enacting the law until a U.S. district court judge rules on the cell phone industry's request to block the law until their case is resolved.
The law requires cell phone retailers to post warnings about the radiation phones emit and disseminate information about how to minimize exposure.
Judge William Alsup heard arguments Thursday but deferred ruling on a bid by a cellphone industry group for a preliminary injunction blocking a city ordinance known as the "Right to Know" law.
The measure would require cellphone retailers to provide customers with information about alleged possible dangers associated with radiation from the devices and ways that users can reduce their exposure.
San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera said U.S. District Judge William Alsup estimated that he will issue a written decision on whether to grant the injunction within one to two weeks.
In the meantime, Herrera said, his office has agreed to postpone the Oct. 25 implementation of the measure until after Alsup rules.
The industry group, known as CTIA, claims the city ordinance violates retailers' free speech rights by forcing them to display information they consider "grossly misleading."
The group also contends the ordinance conflicts with federal law. Herrera said after the hearing that the city's position on the law is that "this is about public information."
"It's about informing consumers of a possible risk and measures they can take to avoid it," Herrera said.
"Freedom of speech should be about encouraging the exchange of ideas, not keeping people in the dark," he said.
The CTIA argued in papers submitted to Alsup that the allegedly "alarmist" warnings will hurt the wireless industry.
"The public interest will be harmed by the city's misleading warnings and its efforts to discourage cell phone use," the group's lawyers wrote.
Research findings on the health effects of cell phones are mixed, The Bay Citizen has reported. In May, cellphone radiation landed a spot on the World Health Organization’s list of “possible carcinogens." But the WHO's review of hundreds of scientific articles also called for “further study,” noting that an increased risk of brain tumors was “not established.”
© The Bay Citizen, 2012
