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microwave range while being used. They also emit very low

levels of RF when in the 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.

• What is FDA's role concerning the safety of wireless phones?

Under the law, 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 energy (RF) at a level

that is hazardous to the user. In such a case, 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, 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 Cooperate in

providing users of wireless phones with the best possible

information on possible effects of wireless phone use on human

health. 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 Federal Communications Commission

Occupational Safety and Health Administration National

Telecommunications and Information Administration The

National Institutes of Health participates in some interagency

working group activities, as well. 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. FCC relies on FDA and other health

agencies for safety questions about wireless phones. 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.

• What kinds of phones are the subject of this update? The term

wireless phone refers here to hand-held wireless phones with

built-in antennas, often called cell mobile or PCS phones. These

types of wireless phones can expose the user to measurable

radiofrequency energy (RF) because of the short distance

between the phone and the user’s head. These RF exposures are

limited by Federal Communications Commission safety

guidelines that were developed with the advice of FDA and

other federal health and safety agencies. When the phone is

located at greater distances from the user, the exposure to RF is

drastically lower because a person's RF exposure decreases

rapidly with increasing distance from the source. The so-called

cordless phones; which have a base unit connected to the

telephone wiring in a house, typically operate at far lower

power levels, and thus produce RF exposures far below the FCC

safety limits.