Quick start guide

77
Safety
to children and teenagers using wireless
phones. Reducing the time of wireless
phone use and increasing the distance
between the user and the RF source will
reduce RF exposure.
Some groups sponsored by other
national governments have advised
that children be discouraged from using
wireless phones at all. For example,
the government in the United Kingdom
distributed leaflets containing such a
recommendation in December 2000.
They noted that no evidence exists
that using a wireless phone causes
brain tumors or other ill effects. Their
recommendation to limit wireless
phone use by children was strictly
precautionary; it was not based on
scientific evidence that any health hazard
exists.
11. What about wireless phone
interference with medical
equipment?
Radio Frequency (RF) energy from
wireless phones can interact with some
electronic devices. For this reason, the
FDA helped develop a detailed test
method to measure Electro Magnetic
Interference (EMI) of implanted cardiac
pacemakers and defibrillators from
wireless telephones. This test method
is now part of a standard sponsored by
the Association for the Advancement
of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI).
The final draft, a joint effort by the FDA,
medical device manufacturers, and
many other groups, was completed
in late 2000. This standard will allow
manufacturers to ensure that cardiac
pacemakers and defibrillators are safe
from wireless phone EMI.