Safety
8.What has the FDA done to measure the Radio Frequency energy coming from wireless phones?
The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) is developing a technical standard for measuring the Radio Frequency energy (RF) exposure from wireless phones and other wireless handsets with the participation and leadership of FDA scientists and engineers. The standard, “Recommended Practice for Determining the
9.What steps can I take to reduce my exposure to Radio Frequency energy from my wireless phone?
If there is a risk from these products — and at this point we do not know that there is — it is probably very small. But if you are concerned about avoiding even potential risks, you can take a few simple steps to minimize your exposure to Radio Frequency energy (RF). Since time is a key factor in how much exposure a person receives, reducing the amount of time spent using a wireless phone will reduce RF exposure. If you must conduct extended conversations by wireless phone every day, you could place more distance between your body and the source of the RF, since the exposure level drops off dramatically with distance. For example, you could use a headset and carry the wireless phone away from your body or use a wireless phone connected to a remote antenna. Again, the scientific data do not demonstrate that wireless phones are harmful. But 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 energy (RF), 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
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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 energy (RF) from wireless phones can interact with some electronic devices. For this reason, the FDA helped develop a detailed test method to measure electromagnetic 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.
The FDA continues to monitor the use of wireless phones for possible interactions with other medical devices. Should harmful interference be found to occur, the FDA will conduct testing to assess the interference and work to resolve the problem.
12.Where can I find additional information?
For additional information, please refer to the following resources:
FDA web page on wireless phones (http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/phones/index.html)
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) RF Safety Program (http://www.fcc.gov/oet/rfsafety)
International Commission on
World Health Organization (WHO) International EMF Project (http://www.who.int/emf)
National Radiological Protection Board (UK) (http://www.nrpb.org.uk/)
variations in measurements.
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