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risks, you can take a few simple steps to minimize your
exposure to Radio Frequency (RF) energy. 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 con-
cerned 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 Radio
Frequency 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 distrib-
uted 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 energy (RF) from wireless phones can
interact with some electronic devices. For this reason,
the FDA helped develop a detailed test method to meas-
ure electromagnetic interference (EMI) of implanted car-
diac pacemakers and defibrillators from wireless tele-
phones. This test method is now part of a standard spon-
sored 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 volun-
tary 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 “com-
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