Over half of the world’s population has a cell phone and no idea that long-term use is dangerous to their health. Cell phone use began in Europe in the 1980’s, but did not come into widespread use in America until the 1990’s. According to California State Senator Mark Leno, “Everywhere you look, from schoolyards to the halls of government, people are glued to their cell phones.” Senator Leno argues current cell phone risk studies are significantly flawed. “Serious concerns have been raised about the possible health risks of cell phone radiation.” Senator Leno contends cell phones “emit radio frequency radiation that…have human health effects.”

The FCC, a federal agency handling communication matters, established specific absorption rate (SAR) limits without any pre-market safety testing. The FCC standards protecting citizens from microwave radiation were developed in the 1950’s and are the weakest in the world. Currently, FCC standards only aim to protect humans from the thermal effect, which is heating caused by excessive frequencies. FCC guidelines are outdated, and these inadequate standards are “illegitimate.” The FCC currently maintains that all cell phones are completely safe, but hypocritically posts safety precautions on their website. In addition, the current SAR levels are based on a 200-pound military recruit failing to take women or children into account.

A potential global public health epidemic can be avoided through simple means of precaution. Even if we agree to disagree on the results of current scientific studies, we should make the compromise that simple precautionary measures are absolutely necessary to ensure global public health. State Senator Leno believes that “as we wait for the science to become more conclusive on the potential risks of cell phone radiation, it is common sense that we make this information easily accessible to consumers. As the saying goes, better safe than sorry.