Workers’ Compensation Benefits for Occupational Exposure to Cellphone Radiation

Abstract

Last week, the French government requested that Apple stop selling the iPhone 12 model because of excessive radiation detected during recent tests. The Agence National des Fréquences [ANFR] stated that “…Apple must immediately take all measures to prevent the availability on the market of the phones concerned present in the supply chain.

Some state workers’ compensation acts, including New Jersey, recognize radiation exposure as an occupational disease and afford injured workers and their dependents a remedy.

The controversy over cellphone use and illness and disease is ongoing. It is a debate that mirrors such exposures as asbestos, tobacco, opioid use, and artificial sweeteners. In those cases, the US regulatory agencies reversed their opinions as more scientific research became readily available, and a torrent of litigation ensued. For now, as in the past, the workers’ compensation system will assume the role of the decision-maker in this ongoing argument over safety in the workplace.

Keywords: Apple, myelogenous leukemia, ICNIRP, ANFR, cell phone radiation, glioma, cancer, IARC, occupational exposure, firefighters, public safety workers, presumption, workers' compensation, radio frequency electromagnetic fields

JEL Classification: K31, I13