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Section 4: Safety Guidelines and Warranty Information
4A: Safety 121
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.
24. What about wireless phone interference with medical
equipment?
Radio frequency energy (RF) from wireless phones can interact with
some electronic devices. For this reason, FDA helped develop a detailed
test method to measure electromagnetic 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 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.
FDA has tested hearing aids for interference from handheld wireless
phones and helped develop a voluntary standard sponsored by the
Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE). This standard
specifies test methods and performance requirements for hearing aids
and wireless phones so that no interference occurs when a person uses a
“compatible” phone and a “compatible” hearing aid at the same time.
This standard was approved by the IEEE in 2000.
FDA continues to monitor the use of wireless phones for possible
interactions with other medical devices. Should harmful interference be
found to occur, FDA will conduct testing to assess the interference and
work to resolve the problem.
25. Which other federal agencies have responsibilities related to
potential RF health effects?
Certain agencies in the Federal Government have been involved in
monitoring, researching or regulating issues related to human exposure