LG Electronics DM110 manual

does with new drugs or medical devices. However, the agency has authority to take action if mobile phones are shown to emit radiation at a level that is hazardous to the user. In such a case, FDA could require the manufacturers of mobile 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 at this time, FDA has urged the mobile phone industry to take a number of steps to assure public safety. The agency has recommended that the industry:

support needed research into possible biological effects of RF of the type emitted by mobile phones;

design mobile phones in a way that minimizes any RF exposure to the user that is not necessary for device function ; and cooperate in providing mobile phone users with the best possible information on what is known about possible effects of mobile phone use on human health.

At the same time, FDA belongs to an interagency working group of the federal agencies that have responsibility for different aspects of mobile phone safety to ensure a coordinated effort at the federal level. These agencies are:

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

Environmental Protection Agency

Federal Communications Commission

Occupational Health and Safety Administration

National Telecommunications and Information Administration

The National Institutes of Health also participates in this group.

In the absence of conclusive information about any possible risk, what can concerned individuals do?

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 people are concerned about avoiding even potential risks, there are simple steps they can take to do so. For example, time is a key factor in how much exposure a person receives. Those persons who spend long periods of time on their hand-held mobile phones could consider holding lengthy conversations on conventional phones and reserving the hand-held models for shorter conversations or for situations when other types of phones are not available.

People who must conduct extended conversations in their cars every day could switch to a type of mobile phone that places more

distance between their bodies and the source of the RF, since the exposure level drops off dramatically with distance. For example, they could switch to a mobile phone in which the antenna is located outside the vehicle, a hand-held phone with a built-in antenna connected to a different antenna mounted on the outside of the car or built into a separate package, or a headset with a remote antenna to a mobile phone carried at the waist.

Again, the scientific data do not demonstrate that mobile phones are harmful. But if people are concerned about the radiofrequency energy from these products, taking the simple precautions outlined above can reduce any possible risk.

Where can I find additional information?

For additional information, see the following websites:

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) RF Safety Program (select “Information on Human Exposure to RF Fields from Cellular and PCS Radio Transmitters”): http://www.fcc.gov/oet/rfsafety

World Health Organization (WHO) International Commission on Non- Ionizing Radiation Protection (select Qs & As): http://www.who.int/emf

United Kingdom, National Radiological Protection Board: http://www.nrpb.org.uk

1.Muscat et al. Epidemiological Study of Cellular Telephone Use and Malignant Brain Tumors. In: State of the Science Symposium;1999 June 20; Long Beach, California.

2.Tice et al. Tests of mobile phone signals for activity in genotoxicity and other laboratory assays. In: Annual Meeting of the Environmental Mutagen Society; March 29, 1999, Washington, D.C.; and personal communication, unpublished results.

3.Preece, AW, Iwi, G, Davies-Smith, A, Wesnes, K, Butler, S, Lim, E, and Varey, A. Effect of a 915-MHz simulated mobile phone signal on cognitive function in man. Int. J. Radiat. Biol., April 8, 1999.

4.Hardell, L, Nasman, A, Pahlson, A, Hallquist, A and Mild, KH. Use of cellular telephones and the risk for brain tumors: a case- control study. Int. J. Oncol., 15: 113-116, 1999.

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