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Safety Guidelines
95
determine whether a wireless phone
complies with safety guidelines.
9. What steps can I take to reduce my
exposure to radiofrequency energy
from my wireless phone?
I
f 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 you are
concerned about avoiding even potential
risks, you can take a few simple steps to
minimize your exposure to radiofrequency
energy (RF). Since time is a key factor in
how much exposure a person receives,
reducing the amount of time spent using a
wireless phone will reduce RF exposure. If
you must conduct extended conversations
by wireless phone every day, you could
place more distance between your body
and the source of the RF, since the exposure
level drops off dramatically with distance.
For example, you could use a headset and
carry the wireless phone away from your
body or use a wireless phone connected to
a remote antenna. Again, the scientific data
do not demonstrate that wireless phones
are harmful. But if you are concerned about
the RF exposure from these products, you
can use measures like those described
above to reduce your RF exposure from
wireless phone use.
10. What about children using wireless
phones?
The scientific evidence does not show a
danger to users of wireless phones, including
children and teenagers. If you want to take
steps to lower exposure to radiofrequency
energy (RF), the measures described above
would apply to children and teenagers
using wireless phones. Reducing the time
of wireless phone use and increasing the
distance between the user and the RF source
will reduce RF exposure. Some groups
sponsored by other national governments
have advised that children be discouraged
from using wireless phones at all. For
example, the government in the United
Kingdom distributed leaflets containing such
a recommendation in December 2000. They
noted that no evidence exists that using a
wireless phone causes brain tumors or other
ill effects. Their recommendation to limit
wireless phone use by children was strictly
precautionary; it was not based on scientific
evidence that any health hazard exists.