result in com pliance wit h t he safet y lim it .
Do w ire le ss phone a cce ssories t ha t cla im t o shield t h e hea d from
RF r adia t ion w ork?
Since t here are no known risks from exposure to RF em issions from
wireless phones, there is no reason t o believe that accessories t hat claim
to shield t he head from those em issions reduce risks. Som e product s t hat
claim t o shield t he user from RF absorpt ion use special phone cases, while
ot hers involve not hing m ore t han a m et allic accessory at tached t o t he
phone. St udies hav e shown t hat t hese products generally do not work as
advert ised. Unlike “ hand- free” kits, t hese so- called “ shields” m ay int erfere
wit h proper operation of the phone. The phone m ay be forced to boost its
power t o com pensat e, leading t o an increase in RF absorption. I n
February 2002, the Federal t rade Com m ission ( FTC) charged t wo
com panies that sold devices t hat claim ed t o prot ect wireless phone users
from radiation wit h m aking false and unsubstantiated claim s. According to
FTC, t hese defendants lacked a reasonable basis t o substant iat e t heir
claim .
W hat a bout w ire less phon e int e rfe re nce w it h m edical equipm ent ?
Radio frequency energy ( RF) from wireless phones can interact wit h som e
elect ronic devices. For this reason, FDA helped develop a det ailed t est
m ethod to m easure elect rom agnet ic int erference (EMI ) of im planted
car diac pacem akers and defibrillat ors from wireless t elephones. This test
m ethod is now part of a standard sponsored by t he Associat ion for the
Advancem ent of Medical inst rum ent ation ( AAMI ) . The final draft , a j oint
effort by FDA, m edical device m anufact urers, and m any ot her groups,
was com pleted in lat e 2000. This st andard will allow m anufacturers to
ensure t hat cardiac pacem akers and defibrillat ors are safe from wireless
phone EMI . FDA has test ed wireless phones and helped develop a
volunt ary st andard sponsored by the I nstit ute of Elect rical and Electronic
Engineers ( I EEE) . This st andard specifies t est m et hods and perform ance
requirem ents for hearing aids and wireless phones so t hat no int erference
occurs when a person uses a com pat ible phone and a com pat ible hearing
aid at t he sam e t im e. This st andard was approved by t he I EEE in 2000.
FDA cont inues t o m onitor t he use of wireless phones for possible
int eractions wit h ot her m edical devices. Should harm ful interference be
found to occur, FDA will conduct t est ing t o assess t he interference and
work to resolve t he problem .
Additional inform ation on t he safet y of RF exposures from various sources
can be obtained from the following organizations:
z FCC RF Safet y Program :
ht tp: / / www.fcc.gov/ oet / rfsafet y/
z Environm ental Protection Agency (EPA) :
ht tp: / / www.epa.gov/ radiat ion/
z Occupat ional Safet y and Healt h Adm inist ration's ( OSHA) :
htt p: / / www.osha.gov/ SLTC/ radiofrequencyradiat ion/ index.ht m l
To Next Page
Loading...
