LG G flex2 - FDA Consumer Update

110
Safety
FDA Consumer Update
TheU.S.FoodandDrugAdministration’sCenterforDevicesandRadiological
HealthConsumerUpdateonMobilePhones:
1. Do wireless phones pose a health hazard?
Theavailablescientificevidencedoesnotshowthatanyhealthproblemsareassociated
withusingwirelessphones.Thereisnoproof,however,thatwirelessphonesare
absolutelysafe.WirelessphonesemitlowlevelsofRadioFrequency(RF)energyin
themicrowaverangewhilebeingused.TheyalsoemitverylowlevelsofRFwhenin
standbymode.WhereashighlevelsofRFcanproducehealtheffects(byheatingtissue),
exposuretolowlevelRFthatdoesnotproduceheatingeffectscausesnoknown
adversehealtheffects.ManystudiesoflowlevelRFexposureshavenotfoundany
biologicaleffects.Somestudieshavesuggestedthatsomebiologicaleffectsmayoccur,
butsuchfindingshavenotbeenconfirmedbyadditionalresearch.Insomecases,other
researchershavehaddifficultyinreproducingthosestudies,orindeterminingthe
reasonsforinconsistentresults.
2. What is the FDA's role concerning the safety of wireless phones?
Underthelaw,theFDAdoesnotreviewthesafetyofradiation-emittingconsumer
productssuchaswirelessphonesbeforetheycanbesold,asitdoeswithnewdrugs
ormedicaldevices.However,theagencyhasauthoritytotakeactionifwirelessphones
areshowntoemitRadioFrequency(RF)energyatalevelthatishazardoustotheuser.
Insuchacase,theFDAcouldrequirethemanufacturersofwirelessphonestonotify
usersofthehealthhazardandtorepair,replace,orrecallthephonessothatthehazard
nolongerexists.AlthoughtheexistingscientificdatadonotjustifyFDAregulatory
actions,theFDAhasurgedthewirelessphoneindustrytotakeanumberofsteps,
includingthefollowing:
• SupportneededresearchintopossiblebiologicaleffectsofRFofthetypeemittedby
wirelessphones;
• DesignwirelessphonesinawaythatminimizesanyRFexposuretotheuserthatis
notnecessaryfordevicefunction;and