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FDA Update on mobile phone safety
90
sure level drops off dramatically
with distance.For example, they
could switch to
• A mobile phone in which the
antenna is located outside the vehi-
cle,
• A hand-held phone with a built-in
antenna connected to a different
antenna mounted on the outside of
the caror built into a separate
package,or
• A headset with a remote antenna
to a mobile phone carried at the
waist.
Where can I find additional infor-
mation?
Foradditional information, see the
following websites:
Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) RF Safety
Program (select “Information on
Human Exposure to RF Fields from
Cellularand 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
CellularTelecommunications
Industry Association (CTIA):
http://www.wow-com.com
U.S.Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) Centerfor devices and
Radiological Health:
Http://www.fda.gov/cdhr/consumer/
1) Muscat et al.Epidemiological
Study of CellularTelephone 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 foractivity in genotoxicity
and otherlaboratory assays. In:
Annual Meeting of the
Environmental Mutagen Society;
March 29,1999, Washington, DC;
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unpublished results.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 sig-
nal 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
cellulartelephones and the risk for
brain tumors; a case-control study.
Int.J. Oncol, 15: 113-116,1999.
safety.The agency has recom-
mended 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 userthat 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 fordifferent aspects
of mobile phone safety to ensure a
coordinated effort at the federal
level.These agencies are:
• National Institute forOccupational
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 indi-
viduals do?
If there is a risk from these prod-
ucts—and at this point we do not
know that there is—it is probably
very small.But if people are con-
cerned about avoiding even poten-
tial risks,there are simple steps
they can take to do so.
Forexample, 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
considerholding lengthy conversa-
tions on conventional phones and
reserving the hand-held models for
shorterconversations or for situa-
tions when othertypes of phones
are not available.
People who must conduct ex-
tended conversations in theircars
every day could switch to a type of
mobile phone that places more dis-
tance between theirbodies and the
source of the RF,since the expo-
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