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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 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.
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;
●
Cooperate in providing users of wireless phones with the best
possible information on possible effects of wireless phone use on
human health.
The 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
●
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
●
National Telecommunications and Information Administration
The National Institutes of Health participates in some interagency
working group activities, as well.
The 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. The FCC relies on the FDA and other health
agencies for safety questions about wireless phones.
The 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