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if you are concerned about the RF exposure from
these products, you can use measures like those
described above to reduce your RF exposure from
wireless phone use.
10. What about children using wireless
phones?
The scientific evidence does not show a danger
to users of wireless phones, including children
and teenagers. If you want to take steps to lower
exposure to Radio Frequency (RF) energy, the
measures described above would apply to children
and teenagers using wireless phones. Reducing
the time of wireless phone use and increasing the
distance between the user and the RF source will
reduce RF exposure.
Some groups sponsored by other national
governments have advised that children be
discouraged from using wireless phones at all.
For example, the government in the United
Kingdom distributed leaflets containing such a
recommendation in December 2000. They noted
that no evidence exists that using a wireless phone
causes brain tumors or other ill effects. Their
recommendation to limit wireless phone use by
children was strictly precautionary; it was not based
on scientific evidence that any health hazard exists.
11. What about wireless phone interference
with medical equipment?
Radio Frequency (RF) energy from wireless phones
can interact with some electronic devices. For this
reason, the FDA helped develop a detailed test
method to measure Electro Magnetic Interference
(EMI) of implanted cardiac pacemakers and
defibrillators from wireless telephones. This test
method is now part of a standard sponsored by
the Association for the Advancement of Medical
Instrumentation (AAMI). The final draft, a joint
effort by the FDA, medical device manufacturers,
and many other groups, was completed in late
2000. This standard will allow manufacturers to
ensure that cardiac pacemakers and defibrillators
are safe from wireless phone EMI.
The FDA has tested hearing aids for interference
from handheld wireless phones and helped
develop a voluntary standard sponsored by the
Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers
(IEEE). This standard specifies test methods and
performance requirements for hearing aids and
wireless phones so that no interference occurs
when a person uses a “compatible” phone and a
“compatible” hearing aid at the same time. This
standard was approved by the IEEE in 2000.
