User's Manual

82 FDA consumer information on wireless phones
In such a case, FDA could require the manufacturers of wireless
phones to notify users of the health hazard and to repair, replace or
recall the phones so that the hazard no longer exists.
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.
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