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Consumer Update
or recall the phones so that the hazard no longer exists. Although the
existing scientific data do not justify FDA regulatory actions at this time, FDA
has urged the mobile phone industry to take a number of steps to assure
public safety. The agency has recommended that the industry:
• support needed research into possible biological effects of RF of the
type emitted by mobile phones;
• design mobile phones in a way that minimizes any RF exposure to the
user that is not necessary for device function; and Personal Settings
• cooperate in providing mobile phone users with the best possible
information on what is known about possible effects of mobile phone use
on human health.
At the same time, FDA belongs to an interagency working group of the
federal agencies that have responsibility for different aspects of mobile
phone safety to ensure a coordinated effort at the federal level. These
agencies are:
• National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Environmental Protection Agency
• Federal Communications Commission
• Occupational Health and Safety Administration
• National Telecommunications and Information Administration
The National Institutes of Health also participates in this group.
In the absence of conclusive information about any possible
risk, what can concerned individuals do?
If there is a risk from these products and at this point we do not know that
there is
–
it is probably very small. But if people are concerned about
avoiding even potential risks, there are simple steps they can take to do so.
For example, time is a key factor in how much exposure a person receives.
Those persons who spend long periods of time on their hand-held mobile
phones could consider holding lengthy conversations on conventional
phones and reserving the hand-held models for shorter conversations or
for situations when other types of phones are not available. People who
must conduct extended conversations in their cars every day could switch
to a type of mobile phone that places more distance between their bodies
and the source of the RF, since the exposure level drops off dramatically
with distance. For example, they could switch to
• a mobile phone in which the antenna is located outside the vehicle,
• a hand-held phone with a built-in antenna connected to a different
antenna mounted on the outside of the car or built into a separate
package, or
• a headset with a remote antenna to a mobile phone carried at the waist.
Again, the scientific data do not demonstrate that mobile phones are
harmful. But if people are concerned about the radiofrequency energy
from these products, taking the simple precautions outlined above can
reduce any possible risk.
Where can I find additional information?
For additional information, see the following websites:
• Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
RF Safety Program (select “Information on Human Exposure to RF
Fields from Cellular and PCD Radio Transmitters”):
http://www.fcc.gov/oet/rfsafety
• World Health Organization (WHO)
International Commission on Non-lonizing
Radiation Protection (select Qs & As):
http://www.who.int/peh-em
f
• United Kingdom, National Radiological Protection Board:
http://www.nrpb.org.uk
• Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA):
http://www.wowcom. com
• U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center for Devices and
Radiological Health:
http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/consumer/
1. Muscat et al. “Epidemiological Study of Cellular Telephone Use and
Malignant Brain Tumors”. In: State of the Science Symposium; 1999 June
20; Long Beach, California.
2.Tice et al. “Tests of mobile phone signals for activity in genotoxicity and
other laboratory assays”. In: Annual Meeting of the Environmental
Mutagen Society. March 29,1999, Washington, D.C. and personal
communication, unpublished results.
3.Preece, AW, Iwi, G, Davies-Smith, A, Wesnes, K, Butler, S, Lim, E, and
Varey, A. “Effect of a 915-MHz simulated mobile phone signal on cognitive
function in man”. Int. J. Radiat. Biol., April 8, 1999.
Hardell, L, Nasman, A, Pahlson, A, Hallquist, Aand Mild, KH.
“Use of cellular telephones and the risk for brain tumors: a case-control
study”. Int. J. Oncol., 15: 113-116, 1999.