User manual

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of steps, including the following:
1. Support current and future research regarding possible biological effects of the
type of RF emitted by wireless phones;
2. Design wireless phones in a way that minimizes any RF exposure to the user that
is not necessary for device function; and
3. Cooperate in providing users of wireless phones with complete and accurate
information regarding possible effects of wireless phone use on human health
and safety.
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:
1. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
2. Environmental Protection Agency
3. Occupational Safety and Health Administration
4. 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 act to 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.