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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.
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:
• National Institute for Occupational Safety and
Health
• Environmental Protection Agency
• Occupational Safety and Health Administration
• 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 phones can expose the user to
measurable Radio Frequency (RF) energy because
of the short distance between the phone and the
user’s head.
These RF exposures are limited by FCC safety
guidelines that were developed with the advice
of the FDA and other federal health and safety
agencies. When the phone is located at greater
distances from the user, the exposure to RF is
drastically lower because a person’s RF exposure
decreases rapidly with increasing distance from
the source. The so-called “cordless phones,” which
