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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:
●National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
●Environmental Protection Agency
●Occupational Safety and Health Administration
●National Telecommunications and Information Administration
The National Institutes of Health participates in some interagency working
group activities, as well.
The 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. The FCC relies on the FDA and other health agencies for safety
questions about wireless phones.
The 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 subject of the safety
questions discussed in this document.
3. What kinds of phones are the subject of this update?
The term “wireless phone” refers here to handheld 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 FCC safety guidelines that were developed
with the advice of the 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 far below
the FCC safety limits.
Safety
Safety
FDA Consumer Update
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Devices and
Radiological Health Consumer Update on Mobile Phones:
1. Do wireless phones pose a health hazard?
The available scientific evidence does not show that any health problems are
associated with using wireless phones. There is no proof, however, that
wireless phones are absolutely safe. Wireless phones emit low levels of
radiofrequency energy (RF) in the microwave range while being used. They
also emit very low levels of RF when in the standby mode. Whereas high
levels of RF can produce health effects (by heating tissue), exposure to low
level RF that does not produce heating effects causes no known adverse
health effects. Many studies of low level RF exposures have not found any
biological effects. Some studies have suggested that some biological effects
may occur, but such findings have not been confirmed by additional
research. In some cases, other researchers have had difficulty in reproducing
those studies, or in determining the reasons for inconsistent results.
2. 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 radiofrequency energy
(RF) 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 do not justify FDA regulatory actions,
the FDA has urged the wireless phone industry to take a number of steps,
including the following:
●Support needed research into possible biological effects of RF of the
type emitted by wireless phones;
●Design wireless phones in a way that minimizes any RF exposure to the
user that is not necessary for device function; and
●Cooperate in providing users of wireless phones with the best possible
information on possible effects of wireless phone use on human health.
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