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3. What is FDA's role concerning the safety of wireless phones?
Under the law, FDA does not review the safety of radiation emitting
consumer products such as wireless phones before they can be sold, as
it does with new drugs or medical devices. However, the agency has
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 base stations are typically thousands of times lower than those
they can get from wireless phones. Base stations are thus not the
primary subject of the safety questions discussed in this document.
4. What is FDA doing to find out more about the possible health effects
of wireless phone RF?
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