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SAFETY
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.
11. What about wireless phone interference
with medical equipment?
Radio Frequency (RF) energy from wireless phones
can interact with some electronic devices. For this
reason, the FDA helped develop a detailed test
method to measure Electro Magnetic Interference
(EMI) of implanted cardiac pacemakers and
defibrillators from wireless telephones. This test
method is now part of a standard sponsored by the
Association for the Advancement of Medical
Instrumentation (AAMI). The final draft, a joint effort
by the FDA, medical device manufacturers, and many
other groups, was completed in late 2000. This
standard will allow manufacturers to ensure that
cardiac pacemakers and defibrillators are safe from
wireless phone EMI.
The FDA has tested hearing aids for interference from
handheld wireless phones and helped develop a
voluntary standard sponsored by the Institute of
Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE). This
standard specifies test methods and performance
requirements for hearing aids and wireless phones so
that no interference occurs when a person uses a
“compatible” phone and a “compatible” hearing aid at
the same time. This standard was approved by the
IEEE in 2000.
The FDA continues to monitor the use of wireless
phones for possible interactions with other medical
devices. Should harmful interference be found to
occur, the FDA will conduct testing to assess the
interference and work to resolve the problem.
12. Where can I find additional
information?
For additional information, please refer to the
following resources:
FDA web page on wireless phones
(http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/phones/index.html)
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) RF Safety
Program
(http://www.fcc.gov/oet/rfsafety)
International Commission on Non-lonizing Radiation
Protection
(http://www.icnirp.de)
World Health Organization (WHO) International EMF
Project
(http://www.who.int/emf)
National Radiological Protection Board (UK)
(http://www.nrpb.org.uk/)
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