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21Safety Guidelines
potential risks, you can take a few simple steps to minimize your exposure to
radiofrequency energy (RF). Since time is a key factor in how much exposure a
person receives, reducing the amount of time spent using a wireless phone will
reduce RF exposure. If you must conduct extended conversations by wireless
phone every day, you could place more distance between your body and the
source of the RF, since the exposure level drops off dramatically with distance. For
example, you could use a headset and carry the wireless phone away from your
body or use a wireless phone connected to a remote antenna. Again, the scientific
data does not demonstrate that wireless phones are harmful. But if you are
concerned about the RF exposure from these products, you can use measures like
those described above to reduce your RF exposure from wireless phone use.
10. What about children using wireless phones?
The scientific evidence does not show a danger to users of wireless phones,
including children and teenagers. If you want to take steps to lower exposure
to radiofrequency energy (RF), the measures described above would apply to
children and teenagers using wireless phones. Reducing the time of wireless
phone use and increasing the distance between the user and the RF source will
reduce RF exposure. 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.
11. What about wireless phone interference with medical
equipment?
Radiofrequency energy (RF) from wireless phones can interact with some
electronic devices. For this reason, the 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 the 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. The FDA has tested hearing aids
for interference from handheld wireless phones and helped develop a voluntary
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