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power levels, and thus produce RF exposures far below the FCC safety
limits.
4. What are the results of the research done already?
The research done thus far has produced conflicting results, and many
studies have suffered from flaws in their research methods. Animal
experiments investigating the effects of radiofrequency energy (RF)
exposures characteristic of wireless phones have yielded conflicting
results that often cannot be repeated in other laboratories. A few animal
studies, however, have suggested that low levels of RF could accelerate the
development of cancer in laboratory animals. However, many of the
studies that showed increased tumor development used animals that had
been genetically engineered or treated with cancer-causing chemicals so
as to be pre-disposed to develop cancer in the absence of RF exposure.
Other studies exposed the animals to RF for up to 22 hours per day. These
conditions are not similar to the conditions under which people use
wireless phones, so we don’t know with certainty what the results of such
studies mean for human health.
Three large epidemiology studies have been published since December 2000. Between
them, the studies investigated any possible association between the use of wireless
phones and primary brain cancer, glioma, meningioma, or acoustic neuroma,
tumors of the brain or salivary gland, leukemia, or other cancers. None of the studies
demonstrated the existence of any harmful health effects from wireless phone RF
exposures. However, none of the studies can answer questions about long-term
exposures, since the average period of phone use in these studies was around three
years.
5. What research is needed to decide whether RF exposure from
wireless phones poses a health risk?
A combination of laboratory studies and epidemiological studies of people
actually using wireless phones would provide some of the data that are
needed. Lifetime animal exposure studies could be completed in a few
years. However, very large numbers of animals would be needed to provide
reliable proof of a cancer promoting effect if one exists. Epidemiological
studies can provide data that is directly applicable to human populations,
but 10 or more years’ follow-up may be needed to provide answers about
some health effects, such as cancer. This is because the interval between
the time of exposure to a cancer-causing agent and the time tumors
develop - if they do - may be many, many years. The interpretation of
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4A: Safety 191
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 subject of the
safety questions 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 wireless phones can expose the user to measurable radiofrequency
energy (RF) because of the short distance 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 drastically 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
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