178
Safety
4HE.ATIONAL)NSTITUTESOF(EALTHPARTICIPATESINSOMEINTERAGENCYWORKING
GROUPACTIVITIESASWELL4HE&$!SHARESREGULATORYRESPONSIBILITIESFOR
WIRELESSPHONESWITHTHE&EDERAL#OMMUNICATIONS#OMMISSION&## !LL
PHONESTHATARESOLDINTHE5NITED3TATESMUSTCOMPLYWITH&##SAFETY
GUIDELINESTHATLIMIT2&EXPOSURE
4HE&##RELIESONTHE&$!ANDOTHERHEALTHAGENCIESFORSAFETYQUESTIONS
ABOUTWIRELESSPHONES
4HE&##ALSOREGULATESTHEBASESTATIONSTHATTHEWIRELESSPHONENETWORKS
RELYUPON7HILETHESEBASESTATIONSOPERATEATHIGHERPOWERTHANDOTHE
WIRELESSPHONESTHEMSELVESTHE2&EXPOSURESTHATPEOPLEGETFROMTHESE
BASESTATIONSARETYPICALLYTHOUSANDSOFTIMESLOWERTHANTHOSETHEYCAN
GETFROMWIRELESSPHONES"ASESTATIONSARETHUSNOTTHESUBJECTOFTHE
SAFETYQUESTIONSDISCUSSEDINTHISDOCUMENT
3. What kinds of phones are the subject of this update?
4HETERMhWIRELESSPHONEvREFERSHERETOHANDHELDWIRELESSPHONESWITH
BUILTINANTENNASOFTENCALLEDhCELLvhMOBILEvORh0#3vPHONES4HESE
TYPESOFWIRELESSPHONESCANEXPOSETHEUSERTOMEASURABLE2ADIO
&REQUENCY2& ENERGYBECAUSEOFTHESHORTDISTANCEBETWEENTHEPHONE
ANDTHEUSERSHEAD
4HESE2&EXPOSURESARELIMITEDBY&##SAFETYGUIDELINESTHATWERE
DEVELOPEDWITHTHEADVICEOFTHE&$!ANDOTHERFEDERALHEALTHANDSAFETY
AGENCIES7HENTHEPHONEISLOCATEDATGREATERDISTANCESFROMTHEUSER
THEEXPOSURETO2&ISDRASTICALLYLOWERBECAUSEAPERSONgS2&EXPOSURE
DECREASESRAPIDLYWITHINCREASINGDISTANCEFROMTHESOURCE4HESOCALLED
hCORDLESSPHONESvWHICHHAVEABASEUNITCONNECTEDTOTHETELEPHONE
WIRINGINAHOUSETYPICALLYOPERATEATFARLOWERPOWERLEVELSANDTHUS
PRODUCE2&EXPOSURESFARBELOWTHE&##SAFETYLIMITS
4. What are the results of the research done already?
4HERESEARCHDONETHUSFARHASPRODUCEDCONmICTINGRESULTSANDMANY
STUDIESHAVESUFFEREDFROMmAWSINTHEIRRESEARCHMETHODS!NIMAL
EXPERIMENTSINVESTIGATINGTHEEFFECTSOF2ADIO&REQUENCY2& ENERGY
EXPOSURESCHARACTERISTICOFWIRELESSPHONESHAVEYIELDEDCONmICTINGRESULTS