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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
(RF) energy, 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 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