User manual

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Voice: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]
Internet: http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
Hubert H. Humphrey Bldg. 200 Independence Ave., SW Washington, DC 20201
Voice: 1-800-35-NIOSH (1-800-232-4636)
Internet: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/noise/default.html
FDA Consumer Update
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Devices and Radiological Health Consumer Update on
Mobile Phones:
1. What is the FDA's role concerning the safety of wireless phones?
Under the law, the FDA does not review the safety of radiation-emitting consumer products such as wireless phones
before they can be sold, as it does with new drugs or medical devices. However, the agency has authority to take action
if wireless phones are shown to emit Radio Frequency (RF) energy at a level that is hazardous to the user. In such a
case, the 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 does not justify FDA regulatory actions, the FDA has urged the wireless phone
industry to take a number 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
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