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.
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The term “wireless phone” refers here to hand-held wireless
phons 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 phone wiring in a house, typically
operate at far lower power levels, and thus produce RF
exposures far below the FCC safety limits.
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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
longterm exposures, since the average period of phone use in
these studies was around three years.
TIA Safety Information
TIA Safety Information
27
FDA Consumer Update
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Devices and
Radiological Health Consumer Update on Mobile Phones.
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The available scientific evidence does not show that any
health problems are associated with using wireless phones.
There is no proof, however, that wireless phones are
absolutely safe. Wireless phones emit low levels of
radiofrequency energy (RF) in the microwave range while
being used.
They also emit very low levels of RF when in the stand-by
mode. Whereas high levels of RF can produce health effects
(by heating tissue), exposure to low level RF that does not
produce heating effects causes no known adverse health
effects. Many studies of low level RF exposures have not
found any biological effects. Some studies have suggested
that some biological effects may occur, but such findings have
not been confirmed by additional research. In some cases,
other researchers have had difficulty in reproducing those
studies, or in determining the reasons for inconsistent results.
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Under the law, FDA does not review the safety of radiationemitting 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 radiofrequency 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:
ᶀ
Support needed research into possible biological effects of RF
of the type emitted by wireless phones;
ᶀ
Design wireless phones in a way that minimizes any RF
exposure to the user that is not necessary for device function;
and
ᶀ
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:
ᶀ
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
ᶀ
Environmental Protection Agency
ᶀ
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
ᶀ
National Telecommunications and Information Administration
The National Institutes of Health participates in some
interagency working group activities, as well. The FDA shares
regulatory responsibilities for wireless phones with the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC).
TIA Safety Information
TIA Safety Information
26