San Francisco Passes Cellphone Radiation Law

Imposing roughly the same cautionary standards for cellphones as for fatty food or sugary soda, this city voted on Tuesday to require all retailers to display the amount of radiation each phone emits. The law — believed to be the first of its kind in the nation — came despite a lack of conclusive scientific evidence showing that the devices are dangerous, and amid opposition from the wireless telephone industry, which views the labeling ordinance as a potential business-killing precedent. But the administration of Mayor Gavin Newsom called the vote a major victory for cell phone shoppers' right to know.