Although the existing scientific data do not justify FDA regulatory actions, FDA has urged
the wireless
device
industry to take a number of steps, including the following:
•”Support needed research into possible biological effects of RF of the type emitted by
wireless
devices
;
•”Design wireless
devices
in a way that minimizes any RF exposure to the user that is not
necessary for device function; and
•”Cooperate in providing users of wireless
devices
with the best possible information on
possible effects of wireless
device
use on human health.
FDA belongs to an interagency working group of the federal agencies that have
responsibility for different aspects of RF safety to ensure coordinated efforts at the
federal level. The following agencies belong to this working group:
•”National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
•”Environmental Protection Agency
•”Federal Communications Commission
•”Occupational Safety and Health Administration
•”National Telecommunications and Information Administration
The National Institutes of Health participates in some interagency working group activities,
as well.
FDA shares regulatory responsibilities for wireless
devices
with the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC). All
devices
that are sold in the United States must
comply with FCC safety guidelines that limit RF exposure. FCC relies on FDA and other
health agencies for safety questions about wireless
devices
.
FCC also regulates the base stations that the wireless
device
networks rely upon. While
these base stations operate at higher power than do the wireless
devices
themselves, the
RF exposures that people get from these base stations are typically thousands of times
lower than those they can get from wireless
devices
. Base stations are thus not the primary
subject of the safety questions discussed in this document.
What are the results of the research done already?
The research done thus far has produced conflicting results, and many studies have
suffered from flaws in their research methods. Animal experiments investigating the effects
of radio frequency energy (RF) exposures characteristic of wireless
devices
have yielded
conflicting results that often cannot be repeated in other laboratories. A few animal studies,
however, have suggested that low levels of RF could accelerate the development of cancer
in laboratory animals. However, many of the studies that showed increased tumor
development used animals that had been genetically engineered or treated with cancer-
causing chemicals so as to be pre-disposed to develop cancer in absence of RF exposure.
Other studies exposed the animals to RF for up to 22 hours per day. These conditions are
not similar to the conditions under which people use wireless
devices
, so we don¡¯t know
with certainty what the results of such studies mean for human health.
