Consum er I nfor m a t ion on W ir eless Phones
The U.S. Food and Drug Adm inist rat ion ( FDA) has published a series of
Quest ions and Answ ers for consum ers relating t o radio frequency ( RF)
exposure from wireless phones. The FDA publication includes the
following inform at ion:
W ha t k inds of phones ar e t he subj ect of t his updat e?
The term wireless phone refers here t o hand- held wireless phones wit h
built - in ant ennas, oft en called “ cell,” “ m obile,” or “ PCS” phones. These
types of wireless phones can expose t he user to m easurable radio
frequency energy ( RF) because of the short distance betw een the phone
and t he user's head. These RF exposures are lim ited by Federal
Com m unications Com m ission safet y guidelines t hat were developed wit h
the advice of FDA and ot her federal healt h and safet y agencies. When the
phone is located at greater distances fr om the user, the exposure to RF is
drast ically lower because a person's RF exposure decreases rapidly wit h
increasing distance from the source. The so- called “ cordless phones,”
which have a base unit connect ed to t he telephone wiring in a house,
typically operate at far lower power levels, and t hus produce RF
exposures well wit hin t he FCC's com pliance lim its.
Do w ire le ss phone s pose a hea lt h haza rd?
The available scient ific evidence does not show t hat any health problem s
are associat ed with using wireless phones. There is no proof, however,
that w ir eless phones are absolut ely safe. Wireless phones em it low levels
of radio frequency energy ( RF) in t he m icrowave range while being used.
They also em it very low levels of RF when in t he stand- by m ode. Whereas
high levels of RF can produce healt h effect s ( by heat ing t issue) , exposure
to low level RF t hat does not produce heat ing effect s causes no known
adverse health effects. Many st udies of low level RF exposures have not
found any biological effects. Som e st udies have suggest ed t hat som e
biological effect s m ay occur, but such findings have not been confirm ed
by addit ional research. I n som e cases, ot her researchers have had
difficult y in reproducing t hose st udies, or in det erm ining t he reasons for
inconsist ent result s.
W hat is FDA's role conce rning t he sa fe t y of w ire less phone s?
Under the law, FDA does not review t he safet y of radiation- em itt ing
consum er product s such as wireless phones before they can be sold, as it
does with new drugs or m edical devices. However, t he agency has
aut horit y t o t ake act ion if wir eless phones are shown t o em it radio
frequency energy ( RF) at a level that is hazardous t o the user. I n such a
case, FDA could require the m anufacturers of wireless phones t o notify
users of the health hazard and t o repair, replace or recall the phones so
that t he hazard no longer exist s.
Although t he exist ing scient ific dat a do not justify FDA regulatory act ions,
FDA has urged t he wireless phone indust ry to take a num ber of st eps,
including t he following:
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