Filter
Top Products
97
At the same time, FDA belongs to an interagency working
group of the federal agencies that have responsibility for dif-
ferent aspects of mobile phone safety to ensure a coordinated
effort at the federal level. These agencies are:
■
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
■
Environmental Protection Agency
■
Federal Communications Commission
■
Occupational Health and Safety Administration
■
National Telecommunications and Information Administra-
tion
The National Institutes of Health also participates in this group.
In the absence of conclusive information about any pos-
sible risk, what can concerned individuals do?
If there is a risk from these products—and at this point we do
not know that there is—it is probably very small. But if people
are concerned about avoiding even potential risks, there are
simple steps they can take to do so. For example, time is a
key factor in how much exposure a person receives. Those
persons who spend long periods of time on their hand-held
mobile phones could consider holding lengthy conversations
on conventional phones and reserving the hand-held models
for shorter conversations or for situations when other types of
phones are not available.
People who must conduct extended conversations in their cars
every day could switch to a type of mobile phone that places
more distance between their bodies and the
source of the RF, since the exposure level drops off dramati-
cally with distance. For example, they could switch to:
■
a mobile phone in which the antenna is located outside the
vehicle,
■
a hand-held phone with a built-in antenna connected to a
different antenna mounted on the outside of the car or built
into a separate package, or
■
a headset with a remote antenna to a mobile phone carried
at the waist.
Again, the scientific data do not demonstrate that mobile
phones are harmful. But if people are concerned about the
radiofrequency energy from these products, taking the simple
precautions outlined above can reduce any possible risk.
Where can I find additional information?
For additional information, see the following websites:
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) RF Safety
Program (select “Information on Human Exposure to RF Fields
from Cellular and PCS Radio Transmitters”): http://
www.fcc.gov/oet/rfsafety
World Health Organization (WHO) International Commission
on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (select Qs & As): http://
www.who.int/emf
United Kingdom, National Radiological Protection Board:
http://www.nrpb.org.uk
Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association (CTIA):
http://www.wow-com.com
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center for De-
vices and Radiological Health: http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/con-
sumer/