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If you must conduct extended conversations by wireless phone every day,
you could place more distance between your body and the source of the RF,
since the exposure level drops off dramatically with distance. For example,
you could use a headset and carry the wireless phone away from your body
or use a wireless phone connected to a remote antenna.
Again, the scientific data do not 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 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 no
interference occurs when a person uses a compatible phone and a accompanied
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.