“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.
Three large epidemiology studies have been published since December 2000.
Between them, the studies investigated any possible association between the use
of wireless
Devices
and primary brain cancer, glioma, meningioma, or acoustic
neuroma, tumors of the brain or salivary gland, leukemia, or other cancers. None of
the studies demonstrated the existence of any harmful health effects from wireless
Devices
RF exposures. However, none of the studies can answer questions about
long-term exposures, since the average period of
Device
use in these studies was
around three years.
What research is needed to decide whether RF exposure from wireless
Devices
poses a health risk?
A combination of laboratory studies and epidemiological studies of people actually
using wireless
Devices
would provide some of the data that are needed. Lifetime
animal exposure studies could be completed in a few years. However, very large
numbers of animals would be needed to provide reliable proof of a cancer promoting
effect if one exists. Epidemiological studies can provide data that is directly
applicable to human populations, but ten or more years' follow-up may be needed to
provide answers about some health effects, such as cancer. This is because the
interval between the time of exposure to a cancer-causing agent and the time
tumors develop - if they do - may be many, many years. The interpretation of
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