User's Manual

U.S. FDA124
BenQ 2006, G:\Mobil\X85\E71_Obsidian\fcc_voher_diese_mail_lesen\FM\STD_FDA_FCC_am.fm
left page (124) of E71 Obsidian, FCC, am, (09.08.2006, 15:36)
Template: Minion, 140x105 mm, Version 1.6; VAR Language: am; VAR issue date: 060714
What is known about cases of human
cancer that have been reported in users
of hand-held mobile phones?
Some people who have used mobile
phones have been diagnosed with brain
cancer. But it is important to understand
that this type of cancer also occurs
among people who have not used mobile
phones. In fact, brain cancer occurs in
the U.S. population at a rate of about 6
new cases per 100,000 people each year.
At that rate, assuming 80 million users of
mobile phones (a number increasing at a
rate of about 1 million per month), about
4800 cases of brain cancer would be ex-
pected each year among those 80 million
people, whether or not they used their
phones. Thus it is not possible to tell
whether any individual's cancer arose
because of the phone, or whether it
would have happened anyway. A key
question is whether the risk of getting a
particular form of cancer is greater
among people who use mobile phones
than among the rest of the population.
One way to answer that question is to
compare the usage of mobile phones
among people with brain cancer with the
use of mobile phones among appropri-
ately matched people without brain can-
cer. This is called a case-control study.
The current case-control study of brain
cancers by the National Cancer Institute,
as well as the follow-up research to be
sponsored by industry, will begin to gen-
erate this type of information.
What is FDA's role concerning the
safety of mobile phones?
Under the law, FDA does not review the
safety of radiation emitting consumer
products such as mobile phones before
marketing, as it does with new drugs or
medical devices. However, the agency
has authority to take action if mobile
phones are shown to emit radiation at a
level that is hazardous to the user. In
such a case, FDA could require the man-
ufacturers of mobile 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 at
this time, FDA has urged the mobile
phone industry to take a number of
steps to assure public safety. The agency
has recommended that the industry:
• Support needed research into possi-
ble biological effects of RF of the type
emitted by mobile phones;
• Design mobile phones in a way that
minimizes any RF exposure to the
user that is not necessary for device
function; and
• Cooperate in providing mobile
phone users with the best possible in-
formation on what is known about
possible effects of mobile phone use
on human health.