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2. What is the FDA’s role concerning the
safety of wireless phones?
Under the law, the FDA does not
review the safety of radiation emitting
consumer products such as wireless
phones before they can be sold, as it
does with new drugs or medical devices.
However, the agency has authority to
take action if wireless phones are shown
to emit radio frequency energy (RF) at
a level that is hazardous to the user. In
such a case, the FDA could require the
manufacturers of wireless phones to
notify users of the health hazard and to
repair, replace, or recall the phones so
that the hazard no longer exists.
Although the existing scienti c 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 e ects 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 of wireless
phones with the best possible
information on possible e ects of
wireless phone use on human health.
The FDA belongs to an interagency
working group of the federal agencies
that have responsibility for di erent
aspects of RF safety to ensure
coordinated e orts 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