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Health and Safety Information 110
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.
Although the existing scientific 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
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