User's Manual

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Performance, Maintenance, and Safety
Although the existing scientific data do not justify FDA regulatory actions, FDA has urged
the wireless phone industry to take a number of steps, including the following:
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Support needed research into possible biological effects of RF of the type emitted
by wireless phones
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Design wireless phones in a way that minimizes any RF exposure to the user that is
not necessary for device function
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Cooperate in providing users of wireless phones with current information on possible
effects of wireless phone use on human health
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:
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National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
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Environmental Protection Agency
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Federal Communications Commission
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Occupational Safety and Health Administration
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National Telecommunications and Information Administration
The National Institutes of Health participates in some interagency working group activities,
as well.
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. FCC relies on FDA and other
health agencies for safety questions about wireless phones.
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
primary subject of the safety questions discussed in this document.
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 energy (RF) because of the short distance
between the phone and the user’s head. These RF exposures are limited by Federal
Communications Commission safety guidelines that were developed with the advice of
FDA and other federal health and safety agencies.