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12 7
CH 5
FDA CONSUMER UPDATE
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 them-
selves, 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 subject of the safety ques-
tions discussed in this document.
3. 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 wire-
less phones can expose the user to measurable
radiofrequency energy (RF) because of the short dis-
tance 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 drasti-
cally lower because a person’s RF exposure decreases
rapidly with increasing distance from the source. The
so-called “cordless phones,” which have a base unit
connected to the telephone wiring in a house, typically
operate at far lower power levels, and thus produce RF
exposures far below the FCC safety limits.
12 6
CH 5
FDA CONSUMER UPDATE
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. Although the existing scientif-
ic data do not justify FDA regulatory actions, FDA has
urged the wireless phone industry to take a number of
steps, including the following:
• Support needed research into possible biological
effects of RF of the type emitted by wireless phones;
•Design wireless phones in a way that minimizes any
RF exposure to the user that is not necessary for
device function; and
•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
inter-agency working group activities, as well.