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Section 4A: Safety Guidelines 197
Information on site specific licensed facilities can be found the “General Menu
Reports” (GenMen) at http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/genmen/index.hts.
The various FCC Bureaus also publish on at least a weekly basis, bulk extracts
of their licensing databases. Each licensing database has its own unique file
structure. These extracts consist of multiple, very large files. The FCC's Office
of Engineering and Technology (OET) maintains an index to these databases at
http://www.fcc.gov/oet/info/database/fadb.html. Entry points into the various
databases include frequency, state/county, latitude/longitude, call-sign and
licensee name. For further information on the Commission's existing databases,
you can contact Donald Campbell at dcampbel@fcc.gov or 202-418-2405.
Can local and state governmental bodies establish limits for
RF
exposure?
Although some local and state governments have enacted rules and regulations
about human exposure to RF energy in the past, the Telecommunications Act
of 1996 requires the Federal Government to control human exposure to RF
emissions. In particular, Section 704 of the Act states that, “No State or local
government or instrumentality thereof may regulate the placement,
construction, and modification of personal wireless service facilities on the
basis of the environmental effects of radio frequency emissions to the extent
that such facilities comply with the Commission's regulations concerning such
emissions.” Further information on federal authority and FCC policy is available
in a fact sheet from the FCC's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau at
www.fcc.gov/wtb.
Do wireless phones pose a health hazard?
The available scientific evidence does not show that any health problems are
associated with using wireless phones. There is no proof, however, that
wireless phones are absolutely safe. Wireless phones emit low levels of
radiofrequency energy (RF) in the microwave range while being used. They
also emit very low levels of RF when in the stand-by mode. Whereas high levels
of RF can produce health effects (by heating tissue), exposure to low level RF
that does not produce heating effects causes no known adverse health effects.
Many studies of low level RF exposures have not found any biological effects.
Some studies have suggested that some biological effects may occur, but such
findings have not been confirmed by additional research. In some cases, other
researchers have had difficulty in reproducing those studies, or in determining
the reasons for inconsistent results.
What is FDA's role concerning the safety of wireless phones?
Under the law, 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 radiofrequency energy (RF) at a level that is
hazardous to the user. In such a case, 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.