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demonstrate that wireless phones are harmful. But if you are concerned
about the RF exposure from these products, you can use measures like
those described above to reduce your RF exposure from wireless phone use.
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 energy (RF), 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 energy (RF) from wireless phones can interact with some
electronic devices. For this reason, the FDA helped develop a detailed test
method to measure electromagnetic 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
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