All Pawtucket All The Time

Monique Coppola

With just a few days left of shopping for Christmas, you might still be on the market for cell phones for the family. If Maine state Representative Andrea Boland has her way, by this time next year cell phones sold in her state would come complete with warning labels.

The legislation is a response to scientific studies linking long-term cell phone use with brain tumors and other health issues. Dr. David Carpenter, director of the Institute for Health and the Environment at the State University of New York at Albany, says evidence shows that the effects of cell phone radiation are especially harmful to children and fetuses.

“We have every indication that children are more vulnerable to developing brain cancers than are adults. In general, the developing human infant is more vulnerable to almost every environmental exposure.”

The dangers of long-term cell phone use are not limited to children and fetuses, says Dr. Carpenter. He adds that there is credible evidence that people of all ages should be aware of the health risks.

“The evidence for hazard from cell phone radiation is just growing very rapidly; it’s coming from multiple laboratories, from competent good investigators, and it’s getting to the point where nobody can afford to ignore that level of evidence.”

The cell phone industry cites other studies that show no links to, or low risks of, health issues related to long-term cell phone radiation exposure.

While studies have shown conflicting information, Dr. Martin Blank, a professor of physiology and biophysics at Columbia University in New York says one thing is certain: human cells react to radiation.

“The fact is, that when you do the scientific measurements of the responses of cells, you find that the cells do react to these kinds of signals.”

Both the Maine House and the Senate have cleared the cell phone warning bill for consideration in the coming year. If the bill passes, Maine would be the first state in the U.S. to carry warning labels on cell phones. Two other states, as well as the city of San Francisco, California, have similar legislation in the works.

Information on Rep. Boland’s bill is at www.maine.gov. More information from experts in the field is at electromagnetichealth.org