Safe
ty
102
Sa
fe
ty
wir
ele
ss phone RF e
xposur
es
.
Ho
w
ev
er,
none of the studie
s can
answ
er que
stions about long
-
term e
xposur
es, since the
av
er
age period of phone use in
the
se studie
s w
as ar
ound thr
ee
year
s.
5.
Wha
t r
esear
ch is needed t
o
decide whe
ther RF e
xposur
e
fr
om wir
ele
ss phone
s pose
s a
health risk?
A combina
tion of labor
atory
studie
s and epidemiological
studie
s of people actuall
y using
wir
ele
ss phone
s w
ould pr
ovide
some of the da
ta
tha
t ar
e
needed. Life
time animal e
xposur
e
studie
s could be comple
ted in a
fe
w y
ear
s. Ho
w
ev
er,
v
ery lar
ge
number
s of animals w
ould be
needed t
o pr
ovide r
eliable pr
oof
of a cancer pr
omo
ting effect if
one e
xist
s. Epidemiological
studie
s can pr
ovide da
ta
tha
t is
dir
ectl
y applicable t
o h
uman
popula
tions, but t
en or mor
e
year
s follo
w
-up ma
y be needed
to
pr
ovide answ
er
s about some
health effect
s, such a
s cancer
.
This is because the int
erv
al
be
tw
een the time of e
xposur
e t
o
a cancer
-causing agent and the
time tumor
s de
velop — if the
y
do — ma
y be man
y, man
y y
ear
s.
The int
erpr
et
ation of
epidemiological studie
s is
hamper
ed b
y difficultie
s in
mea
suring actual RF e
xposur
e
during da
y-
to-da
y use of wir
ele
ss
phone
s. Man
y fact
or
s affect this
mea
sur
ement, such a
s the angle
at
which the phone is held, or
which model of phone is used.
6.
Wha
t is the FD
A doing t
o
find out mor
e about the
possible health effect
s of
wir
ele
ss phone RF?
The FD
A is w
orking with the U.S.
Na
tional T
oxicology Pr
ogr
am and
with gr
oups of in
ve
stiga
to
rs
ar
ound the w
orld t
o ensur
e tha
t
