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132
For Your Safety
effects of tablet use on human health.
The 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
• Occupational Safety and Health Administration
• National Telecommunications and Information Administration
The National Institutes of Health participates in some interagency working group
activities, as well.
The FDA shares regulatory responsibilities for tablets with the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC). All tablets that are sold in the United States must comply with FCC
safety guidelines that limit RF exposure. The FCC relies on the FDA and other health
agencies for safety questions about tablets.
The FCC also regulates the base stations that the tablet networks rely upon. While
these base stations operate at higher power than do the tablets themselves, the RF
exposures that people get from these base stations are typically thousands of times
lower than those they can get from tablets. Base stations are thus not the subject of the
safety questions discussed in this document.
3. What kinds of devices are the subject of this update?
The term “wireless device” refers here to handheld wireless devices with built-in
antennas, often called “cell”, “mobile”, or “PCS” devices. These types of wireless
devices can expose the user to measurable Radio Frequency (RF) energy because of the
short distance between the device and the user’s head.
These RF exposures are limited by FCC safety guidelines that were developed with
the advice of the FDA and other federal health and safety agencies. When the device
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