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San Francisco mandating cellphone radiation notice
BY TREVOR HUNNICUTT The Associated Press

    SAN FRANCISCO — The city’s Board of Supervisors on Tuesday gave final approval to the country’s first law requiring cellphone retailers to post the amount of radiation emitted by the phones they sell.
    The board voted 10-1 to approve the first-of-its-kind ordinance that requires stores to disclose each phone’s specific absorption rate, or SAR.
    The measure is backed by Mayor Gavin Newsom, who is expected to sign it within 10 days.
    “From our perspective, this is a very reasonable and quite modest measure that will provide greater transparency and information to consumers for whom this is an area of interest or concern,” said Newsom spokesman Tony Winnicker, who noted that the mayor is an iPhone user. “We’re playing a role that we’ve often played, which is to be at the forefront of a debate.”
    But opponents say the city is perhaps too far ahead of the issue.
    “We’re disappointed that the Board of Supervisors chose to ignore the science in this case,” said John Walls, a spokesman for industry trade group CTIA-The Wireless Association. He said the law was based on “unfounded concern” and “could very likely confuse and mislead consumers.”
    Supervisor Sean Elsbernd was the lone dissenter. He has cited the lack of certainty about the issue as a reason for his opposition.
    Whether or not the radiation produced by cellphones causes cancer or other health problems is still a matter of debate among scientists. A major U.N. study released last month found no clear link between cellphones and the risk of developing brain cancer. .................>>>>................>>>>.................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r00504&AppName=1