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VX3100
109
VX3100
108
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 hand-held
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 Federal
Communications Commission safety guidelines that
were developed with the advice of 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
S
AFETY
G
UIDELINES
• Cooperate in providing users of wireless phones
with the best possible information on possible
effects of wireless phone use on human health.
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
Asministration
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. FCC relies on FDA
and other health agencies for safety questions about
wireless phones.
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