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12. Where can I find additional information?
For additional information, please refer to the following resources:
• FDA web page on wireless phones
(http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/phones/index.html)
• Federal Communications Commission (FCC) RF Safety Program
(http://www.fcc.gov/oet/rfsafety)
• International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection
(http://www.icnirp.de)
• World Health Organization (WHO) International EMF Project
(http://www.who.int/emf)
• National Radiological Protection Board (UK)
(http://www.nrpb.org.uk/)
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 radiofrequency 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?
Radiofrequency energy (RF) from wireless phones can interact with
some electronic devices. For this reason, 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 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.
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 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.
FDA continues to monitor the use of wireless phones for possible
interactions with other medical devices. Should harmful interference
be found to occur, FDA will conduct testing to assess the interference
and work to resolve the problem.