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Usage guidelines: all about performance and safety 127
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 it 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 a 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 Committee
• Occupational Safety and Health Administration
The National Institutes of Health participates in some
interagency working group activities, as well.
FDA shares regulatory responsibilities about 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