Email: info@audiology.org
Internet: www.audiology.org
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
National Institutes of Health
31 Center Drive, MSC 2320 Bethesda, MD USA 20892-2320
Voice: (301) 496-7243
Email: nidcdinfo@nih.gov
Internet: http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
Hubert H. Humphrey Bldg. 200 Independence Ave., SW Washington, DC 20201
Voice: 1-800-35-NIOSH (1-800-356- 4674)
Internet: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/noise/default.html
FDA CONSUMER UPDATE
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health Consumer Update on
Mobile Phones:
1. What is the FDA's role concerning the safety of wireless phones?
Under the law, the 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 (RF) energy at a level that is
hazardous to the user. In such a case, the 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 does not justify FDA regulatory actions, the FDA has urged the wireless
phone industry to take a number of steps, including the following:
1. Support needed research into possible biological effects of RF of the type emitted by wireless phones;
2. Design wireless phones in a way that minimizes any RF exposure to the user that is not necessary for
device function; and
3. Cooperate in providing users of wireless phones with the best possible information on possible effects of
wireless phone use on human health.
The 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:
