User's Manual

 “ Support needed research int o possible biological effect s of RF of
the t ype em it t ed by wireless phones;
 “ Design wireless phones in a way t hat m inim izes any RF exposure
to t he user t hat is not necessary for device funct ion; and
 “ Cooperate in providing users of wireless phones with t he best
possible inform ation on possible effect s of wireless phone use on
hum an health.
FDA belongs t o an interagency working group of t he federal agencies that
have responsibilit y for different aspect s of RF safety t o ensure coordinated
effort s at t he federal level. The following agencies belong to t his working
group:
 “ Nat ional I nst it ut e for Occupational Safet y and Healt h
 “ Environm ental Prot ect ion Agency
 “ Federal Com m unications Com m ission
 “ Occupational Safety and Healt h Adm inist ration
 “ Nat ional Telecom m unications and I nform ation Adm inist ration
The National I nstitutes of Health part icipates in som e int eragency working
group act ivities, as well.
FDA shares regulatory responsibilit ies for wireless phones wit h t he Federal
Com m unications Com m ission ( FCC) . All phones t hat are sold in t he Unit ed
St at es m ust com ply wit h FCC safety guidelines t hat lim it RF exposure.
FCC relies on FDA and other health agencies for safety quest ions about
wireless phones.
FCC also regulat es t he base st ations t hat the wireless phone networks
rely upon. While t hese base st ations operate at higher power t han do the
wireless phones them selves, t he RF exposures t hat people get from t hese
base st ations are t ypically t housands of t im es lower t han t hose t hey can
get from wireless phones. Base stations are t hus not t he prim ary subj ect
of t he safety quest ions discussed in t his docum ent .
W hat a r e t he result s of t he r e sea r ch done alr e a dy?
The research done t hus far has produced conflict ing results, and m any
studies have suffered from flaws in t heir research m ethods. Anim al
experim ent s invest igat ing t he effect s of radio frequency energy ( RF)
exposures charact eristic of wireless phones have yielded conflict ing
results that oft en cannot be repeat ed in ot her laboratories. A few anim al
studies, however, have suggest ed t hat low levels of RF could accelerate
the developm ent of cancer in laboratory anim als. However, m any of t he
studies t hat showed increased t um or developm ent used anim als t hat had
been genetically engineered or t reat ed with cancer- causing chem icals so
as t o be pre- disposed t o develop cancer in absence of RF exposure. Ot her
studies exposed t he anim als t o RF for up t o 22 hours per day. These
condit ions are not sim ilar t o the condit ions under which people use
wireless phones, so we don't know with cert aint y what the results of such
studies m ean for hum an healt h.
Three large epidem iology st udies have been published since Decem ber