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104
Safety
• Cooperateinprovidingusersofwirelessphoneswiththebestpossibleinformationon
possibleeffectsofwirelessphoneuseonhumanhealth.
TheFDAbelongstoaninteragencyworkinggroupofthefederalagenciesthathave
responsibilityfordifferentaspectsofRFsafetytoensurecoordinatedeffortsatthe
federallevel.Thefollowingagenciesbelongtothisworkinggroup:
• NationalInstituteforOccupationalSafetyandHealth
• EnvironmentalProtectionAgency
• OccupationalSafetyandHealthAdministration
• NationalTelecommunicationsandInformationAdministration
TheNationalInstitutesofHealthparticipatesinsomeinteragencyworkinggroup
activities,aswell.TheFDAsharesregulatoryresponsibilitiesforwirelessphoneswith
theFederalCommunicationsCommission(FCC).AllphonesthataresoldintheUnited
StatesmustcomplywithFCCsafetyguidelinesthatlimitRFexposure.
TheFCCreliesontheFDAandotherhealthagenciesforsafetyquestionsabout
wirelessphones.
TheFCCalsoregulatesthebasestationsthatthewirelessphonenetworksrelyupon.
Whilethesebasestationsoperateathigherpowerthandothewirelessphones
themselves,theRFexposuresthatpeoplegetfromthesebasestationsaretypically
thousandsoftimeslowerthanthosetheycangetfromwirelessphones.Basestations
arethusnotthesubjectofthesafetyquestionsdiscussedinthisdocument.
3. What kinds of phones are the subject of this update?
Theterm“wirelessphone”refersheretohandheldwirelessphoneswithbuilt-in
antennas,oftencalled“cell”,“mobile”,or“PCS”phones.Thesetypesofwirelessphones
canexposetheusertomeasurableRadioFrequency(RF)energybecauseoftheshort
distancebetweenthephoneandtheuser’shead.
TheseRFexposuresarelimitedbyFCCsafetyguidelinesthatweredevelopedwith
theadviceoftheFDAandotherfederalhealthandsafetyagencies.Whenthephone
islocatedatgreaterdistancesfromtheuser,theexposuretoRFisdrasticallylower
becauseaperson'sRFexposuredecreasesrapidlywithincreasingdistancefrom
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