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more and more of us will take advantage of the
benefits of wireless telephones. And, as we take to
the roads, we all have a responsibility to drive
safely.
“The wireless industry reminds you to use your
phone safely when driving.”
Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association
For more information, please call 1-888-901-SAFE.
For updates: http://www.wow-com.com/consumer/
issues/driving/articles.cfm?ID =85
Appendix C: Consumer Update on
Wireless Phones
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
1. What kinds of phones are the subject of this
update?
The term wireless phone refers here to hand-held
wireless phones with built-in antennas, often called
cell, mobile, or PCS phones. These types of wireless
phones can expose the user to measurable radio
frequency energy (RF) because of the short
distance between the phone and the user s head.
These RF exposures are limited by Federal
Communications Commission safety guidelines that
were developed with the advice of 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 well within the FCC’s
compliance limits.
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153
2. 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 radio frequency energy
(RF) in the microwave range while being used. They
also emit very low levels of RF when in the stand-by
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.
3. What is FDA’s role concerning the safety of
wireless phones?
Under the law, 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 radio frequency energy
(RF) at a level that is hazardous to the user. In such
a case, 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, FDA has urged the wireless
phone industry to take a number of steps, including
the following:
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