User's Manual

2000. Between them , t he studies invest igat ed any possible associat ion
between t he use of wireless phones and prim ary brain cancer, gliom a,
m eningiom a, or acoust ic neurom a, t um ors of t he brain or salivary gland,
leukem ia, or other cancers. None of t he st udies dem onstrat ed t he
exist ence of any harm ful health effect s from wireless phones RF
exposures. However, none of t he studies can answer questions about
long- t erm exposures, since the average period of phone use in t hese
studies was around t hree years.
W hat r e sea rch is ne e ded t o decide w het he r RF exposu r e from
w ireless phones pose s a healt h r isk?
A com binat ion of laboratory st udies and epidem iological st udies of people
act ually using wireless phones would provide som e of t he data t hat are
needed. Lifetim e anim al exposure st udies could be com plet ed in a few
years. However, very large num bers of anim als would be needed t o
provide reliable proof of a cancer prom oting effect if one exist s.
Epidem iological st udies can provide dat a t hat is direct ly applicable t o
hum an populations, but t en or m ore years' follow- up m ay be needed t o
provide answers about som e healt h effect s, such as cancer. This is
because the int erval between t he tim e of exposure t o a cancer- causing
agent and t he t im e tum ors develop - if t hey do - m ay be m any, m any
years. The interpret ation of epidem iological st udies is ham pered by
difficult ies in m easuring act ual RF exposure during day- to-day use of
wireless phones. Many fact ors affect t his m easurem ent , such as t he angle
at which t he phone is held, or which m odel of phone is used.
W hat is FD A doin g t o find out m ore about t he possible healt h
effe cts of w ireless phone RF?
FDA is working wit h t he U.S. National Toxicology Program and with
groups of invest igators around t he world t o ensure t hat high priorit y
anim al studies are conducted t o address im port ant questions about t he
effect s of exposure t o radio frequency energy ( RF).
FDA has been a leading part icipant in t he World Healt h Organization
int ernational Elect rom agnetic Fields ( EMF) Project since its inception in
1996. An influent ial result of this work has been t he developm ent of a
detailed agenda of research needs that has driven the est ablishm ent of
new research program s around t he world. The Project has also helped
develop a series of public inform ation docum ent s on EMF issues.
FDA and Cellular Telecom m unications & I nt ernet Association ( CTI A) have
a form al Cooperative Research and Developm ent Agreem ent ( CRADA) t o
do research on wireless phone safety. FDA provides t he scient ific
oversight , obt aining input from expert s in governm ent , industry, and
academ ic organizations. CTI A- funded research is conducted t hrough
cont ract s to independent invest igat ors. The init ial research will include
both laboratory st udies and st udies of wireless phone users. The CRADA
will also include a broad assessm ent of additional research needs in the
cont ext of the lat est research developm ent s around t he world.