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Safety Guidelines
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; 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
radiofrequency energy (RF) because of the short
distance between the phone and the user’s head.
LG240 Canada Rogers ENG_0825 2006.8.25 4:24 PM ˘`83