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OTHER FUNCTIONS
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 :
Support needed research into possible biological effects of RF of the type emitted by wireless phones;
Design wireless phones 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 phones with the best possible information on possible effects of
wireless phone 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 phones with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
All phones 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 phones.
FCC also regulates the base stations that the wireless phone networks rely upon. While these base stations
operate at higher power than do the wireless phones themselves, the RF exposures that people get from these
base stations are typically thousands of times lower than those they can get from wireless phones. Base
stations are thus not the primary subject of the safety questions discussed in this document.
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 radiofrequency
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.
