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sponsored by the Association for the Advancement of Medical instrumentation
(AAMI). The final draft, a joint effort by FDA, medical device manufacturers, and
many other groups, was completed in late 2000. This standard will allow
manufacturers to ensure that cardiac pacemakers and defibrillators are safe from
wireless phone EMI. FDA has tested wireless phones and helped develop a voluntary
standard sponsored by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE). This
standard specifies test methods and performance requirements for hearing aids and
wireless phones so that no interference occurs when a person uses a compatible
phone and a compatible hearing aid at the same time. This standard was approved
by the IEEE in 2000.
FDA continues to monitor the use of wireless phones for possible interactions with
other medical devices. Should harmful interference be found to occur, FDA will
conduct testing to assess the interference and work to resolve the problem.
Additional information on the safety of RF exposures from various sources can be
obtained from the following organizations:
•
FCC RF Safety Program:
http://www.fcc.gov/oet/rfsafety/
•
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA):
http://www.epa.gov/radiation/
•
Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA):
http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/radiofrequencyradiation/index.html
•
National institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH):
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/emf/
•
World health Organization (WHO):
http://www.who.int/peh-emf/
•
International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection:
http://www.icnirp.de
•
National Radiation Protection Board (UK):
http://www.hpa.org.uk/radiation/
•
US food and Drug Administration
http://www.fda.gov/cellphones
Road Safety
Your wireless phone gives you the powerful ability to communicate by voice, almost
anywhere, anytime. But an important responsibility accompanies the benefits of
wireless phones, one that every user must uphold.
