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Section 4: Safety Guidelines and Warranty Information
4A: Safety 117
authority to take action if wireless phones are shown to emit radio
frequency energy (RF) at a level that is hazardous to the user. In such a
case, FDA could require the manufacturers of wireless phones to notify
users of the health hazard and to repair, replace or recall the phones so
that the hazard no longer exists.
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:
ᮣ Support needed research into possible biological effects of RF of the
type emitted by wireless phones;
ᮣ Design wireless phones in a way that minimizes any RF exposure to
the user that is not necessary for device function; and
ᮣ Cooperate in providing users of wireless phones with the best possible
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:
ᮣ National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
ᮣ Environmental Protection Agency
ᮣ Federal Communications Commission
ᮣ Occupational Safety and Health Administration
ᮣ 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