Filter
Top Products
83
Safety Guidelines
]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
(Administración de la seguridad y salud laborales)
]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.
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.