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Appendix C: Consumer Update 99
• 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-emf
• United Kingdom, National Radiological
Protection Board: http://www.nrpb.org.uk
• Cellular Telecommunications Industry
Association (CTIA): http://www.wow-
com.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.
4 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.