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SAFETY
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SAFETY
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; and
●
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
times lower than those they can get from wireless
phones. Base stations are thus not the subject of the
safety questions discussed in this document.
3. What kinds of phones are the subject of
this update?
The term “wireless phone” refers here to handheld
wireless phones with built-in antennas, often called
“cell”, “mobile”, or “PCS” phones. These types of
wireless phones can expose the user to measurable
Radio Frequency (RF) energy because of the short
distance between the phone and the user’s head.
These RF exposures are limited by FCC safety
guidelines that were developed with the advice of the
FDA and other federal health and safety agencies.
When the phone is located at greater distances from
the user, the exposure to RF is drastically lower
because a person's RF exposure decreases rapidly with
increasing distance from the source. The so-called
“cordless phones,” which have a base unit connected
to the telephone wiring in a house, typically operate at
far lower power levels, and thus produce RF exposures
far below the FCC safety limits.
4. What are the results of the research
done already?
The research done thus far has produced conflicting
results, and many studies have suffered from flaws in
their research methods. Animal experiments
investigating the effects of Radio Frequency (RF)
energy exposures characteristic of wireless phones
have yielded conflicting results that often cannot be
repeated in other laboratories. A few animal studies,
however, have suggested that low levels of RF could
accelerate the development of cancer in laboratory
animals. However, many of the studies that showed
increased tumor development used animals that had
been genetically engineered or treated with cancer-
causing chemicals so as to be pre-disposed to develop
cancer in the absence of RF exposure. Other studies
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