LG Electronics SD7130 user manual What kinds of phones are the subject of this update?

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3.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 dis- tance 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 per- son'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 far below the FCC safety limits.

4.What are the results of the research done already?

The research done thus far has produced conflicting results, and many studies have suffered from flaws in their research methods. Animal experiments investi- gating 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,

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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 devel- op 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 con- ditions 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 pub- lished 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 neu- roma, tumors of the brain or salivary gland, leukemia, or other cancers. None of the studies demonstrated the existence of any harmful health effects from wire- less phone RF exposures. However, none of the studies can answer questions about long-term expo- sures, since the average period of phone use in these studies was around three years.

5.What research is needed to decide whether RF exposure from wireless phones poses a health risk?

A combination of laboratory studies and epidemio- logical studies of people actually using wireless

Chapter 10

Safety Guidelines

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