Safety Guidelines
107
number of steps, including the following:
Ź
Support needed research into possible
biological effects of RF of the type emitted
by wireless phones;
Ź
Design wireless phones in a way that
minimizes any RF exposure to the user that
is not necessary for device function; and
Ź
Cooperate in providing users of wireless
phones with the best possible information
on possible effects of wireless phone use
on human health.
Ź
The 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:
Ź
National Institute for Occupational Safety
and Health
Ź
Environmental Protection Agency
Ź
Occupational Safety and Health
Administration
Ź
National Telecommunications and
Information Administration
The National Institutes of Health
participates in some interagency working
group activities, as well.
The 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. The FCC relies on
the FDA and other health agencies for
safety questions about wireless phones.
The 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 subject
of the safety questions discussed in this
document.
3. What kinds of phones are the subject
of this update?
The term ‘wireless phone’ refers here to
handheld wireless phones with built-in
antennas, often called ‘cell’, ‘mobile’, or
‘PCS’ phones. These types of wireless
