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Section 4: Safety Guidelines and Warranty Information
118 4A: Safety
ᮣ
Cooperate in providing users of wireless phones with the best possible
information on possible effects of wireless phone use on human
health
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 level. The following agencies belong to this working
group:
ᮣ
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
ᮣ
Environmental Protection Agency
ᮣ
Federal Communications Commission
ᮣ
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
ᮣ
National Telecommunications and Information Administration
The National Institutes of Health participates in some interagency
working group activities, as well.
FDA shares regulatory responsibilities for wireless phones with the
Federal Communications Commission (FCC). All phones that are sold in
the United States must comply with FCC safety guidelines that limit RF
exposure. FCC relies on FDA and other health agencies for safety
questions about wireless phones.
FCC also regulates the base stations that the wireless phone networks rely
upon. While these base stations operate at higher power than do the
wireless phones themselves, the RF exposures that people get from these
base stations are typically thousands of times lower than those they can
get from wireless phones. Base stations are thus not the primary subject
of the safety questions discussed in this document.
18. What kinds of phones are the subject of this update?
The term “wireless phone” refers here to hand-held wireless phones with
built-in antennas, often called “cell,” “mobile,” or “PCS” phones. These
types of wireless phones can expose the user to measurable radio
frequency energy (RF) because of the short distance between the phone
and the user’s head. These RF exposures are limited by Federal
Communications Commission safety guidelines that were developed with
the advice of FDA and other federal health and safety agencies. When the
phone is located at greater distances from the user, the exposure to RF is
drastically lower because a person's RF exposure decreases rapidly with
Sprint FM OUG NO BROWSER CTIA-3a.book Page 118 Wednesday, October 9, 2002 1:42 PM