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Safety
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 (RF)
energy 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 scientific
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 effects 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 users
of wireless phones with the
best possible information on
possible effects of wireless
phone use on human health.
The 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