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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 for
possible interactions with other
medical devices. Should harmful
interference be found to occur,