Section 4A: Safety 155
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:
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Support needed research into possible biological effects of RF of the type
emitted by wireless phones;
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Design wireless phones in a way that minimizes any RF exposure to the user
that is not necessary for device function; and
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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:
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National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
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Environmental Protection Agency
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Federal Communications Commission
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Occupational Safety and Health Administration
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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.
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 power
levels, and thus produce RF exposures well within the FCC’s compliance limits.
