177
Safety
3OMESTUDIESHAVESUGGESTEDTHATSOMEBIOLOGICALEFFECTSMAYOCCURBUTSUCH
lNDINGSHAVENOTBEENCONlRMEDBYADDITIONALRESEARCH)NSOMECASESOTHER
RESEARCHERSHAVEHADDIFlCULTYINREPRODUCINGTHOSESTUDIESORINDETERMINING
THEREASONSFORINCONSISTENTRESULTS
2. What is the FDA's role concerning the safety of wireless
phones?
5NDERTHELAWTHE&$!DOESNOTREVIEWTHESAFETYOFRADIATIONEMITTING
CONSUMERPRODUCTSSUCHASWIRELESSPHONESBEFORETHEYCANBESOLDASIT
DOESWITHNEWDRUGSORMEDICALDEVICES(OWEVERTHEAGENCYHAS
AUTHORITYTOTAKEACTIONIFWIRELESSPHONESARESHOWNTOEMIT2ADIO
&REQUENCY2& ENERGYATALEVELTHATISHAZARDOUSTOTHEUSER)NSUCHA
CASETHE&$!COULDREQUIRETHEMANUFACTURERSOFWIRELESSPHONESTONOTIFY
USERSOFTHEHEALTHHAZARDANDTOREPAIRREPLACEORRECALLTHEPHONESSO
THATTHEHAZARDNOLONGEREXISTS
!LTHOUGHTHEEXISTINGSCIENTIlCDATADONOTJUSTIFY&$!REGULATORYACTIONS
THE&$!HASURGEDTHEWIRELESSPHONEINDUSTRYTOTAKEANUMBEROFSTEPS
INCLUDINGTHEFOLLOWING
s 3UPPORTNEEDEDRESEARCHINTOPOSSIBLEBIOLOGICALEFFECTSOF2&OFTHETYPE
EMITTEDBYWIRELESSPHONES
s $ESIGNWIRELESSPHONESINAWAYTHATMINIMIZESANY2&EXPOSURETOTHE
USERTHATISNOTNECESSARYFORDEVICEFUNCTIONAND
s #OOPERATEINPROVIDINGUSERSOFWIRELESSPHONESWITHTHEBESTPOSSIBLE
INFORMATIONONPOSSIBLEEFFECTSOFWIRELESSPHONEUSEONHUMANHEALTH
4HE&$!BELONGSTOANINTERAGENCYWORKINGGROUPOFTHEFEDERALAGENCIES
THATHAVERESPONSIBILITYFORDIFFERENTASPECTSOF2&SAFETYTOENSURE
COORDINATEDEFFORTSATTHEFEDERALLEVEL4HEFOLLOWINGAGENCIESBELONGTO
THISWORKINGGROUP
s .ATIONAL)NSTITUTEFOR/CCUPATIONAL3AFETYAND(EALTH
s %NVIRONMENTAL0ROTECTION!GENCY
s /CCUPATIONAL3AFETYAND(EALTH!DMINISTRATION
s .ATIONAL4ELECOMMUNICATIONSAND)NFORMATION!DMINISTRATION