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What is FDA's role concerning the safety of wireless phones?
Under the law, FDA does not review the safety of radiation-emitting consumer products such as wireless phones
before they can be sold, as it does with new drugs or medical devices. However, the agency has authority to take
action if wireless phones are shown to emit radio frequency energy (RF) at a 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 these base stations
are typically thousands of times lower than those they can get from wireless phones.
Base stations are thus not the primary subject of the safety questions discussed in this document.