Cell phone safety advocates call on FCC, FDA to update rules, radiation standards

As concerns rise over the potential health risks posed by cellphone radiation, advocates of cell phone safety are urging federal regulators to do more to protect users of wireless gadgets.

In a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski, the American Association for Cell Phone Safety wrote that while the popularity of cellphones has soared, federal health and communications regulators are relying on outdated standards to evaluate phone safety.

"The FCC is clearly not a health agency and makes no mention of the agency's qualifications to set health and safety standards with cell phones and wireless PDA's," the group wrote in its letter dated July 11. A similar letter was sent to Food and Drug Administration Commission Margaret Hamburg. The group asked the FCC to review its role in ensuring that radiation emissions from mobile phones are at safe levels. It also requested that the agency study how it informs the public about the impact of cellphone radiation on human body tissue.