Safety
98
• Design wireless phones in a way
that minimizes any RF exposure
to the user that is not necessary
for device function; and
• Cooperate in providing users of
wireless phones with the best
possible information on possible
effects of wireless phone use on
human health.
The FDA belongs to an interagency
working group of the federal
agencies that have responsibility
for different aspects of RF safety
to ensure coordinated efforts at
the federal level. The following
agencies belong to this working
group:
• National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health
• Environmental Protection
Agency
• Occupational Safety and Health
Administration
• National Telecommunications
and Information Administration
The National Institutes of Health
participates in some interagency
working group activities, as well.
The FDA shares regulatory
responsibilities for wireless phones
with the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC). All phones that
are sold in the United States must
comply with FCC safety guidelines
that limit RF exposure. The FCC
relies on the FDA and other health
agencies for safety questions
about wireless phones.
The FCC also regulates the base
stations that the wireless phone
networks rely upon. While these
base stations operate at higher
power than do the wireless phones
themselves, the RF exposures
that people get from these base
stations are typically thousands of
times lower than those they can
get from wireless phones. Base
stations are thus not the subject of
the safety questions discussed in
this document.
3. What kinds of phones are the
subject of this update?
The term “wireless phone” refers
here to handheld wireless phones
with built-in antennas, often called
“cell”, “mobile”, or “PCS” phones.
These types of wireless phones
can expose the user to measurable
Radio Frequency (RF) energy
because of the short distance
between the phone and the user’s
head.
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