Quick start guide

67
Safety
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