Samsung SGH-i717 User Manual page 10

case, FDA could require t he m anufact urers of w ireless phones t o not ify
users of t he healt h hazard and t o repair, replace or recall t he phones so
t hat t he hazard no longer exist s.
Alt hough t he exist ing scient ific dat a do not j ust ify FDA regulat ory act ions,
FDA has urged t he wireless phone indust ry t o t ake a num ber of st eps,
including t he following:
 " Support needed research int o possible biological effect s of RF of
t he t ype em it t ed by wireless phones;
 " Design wireless phones in a way t hat m inim izes any RF exposure
t o t he user t hat is not necessary for device funct ion; and
 " Cooperat e in providing users of wireless phones wit h t he best
possible inform at ion on possible effect s of wireless phone use on
hum an healt h.
FDA belongs t o an int eragency working group of t he federal agencies t hat
have responsibilit y for different aspect s of RF safet y t o ensure coordinat ed
effort s at t he federal level. The following agencies belong t o t his working
group:
 " Nat ional I nst it ut e for Occupat ional Safet y and Healt h
 " Environm ent al Prot ect ion Agency
 " Federal Com m unicat ions Com m ission
 " Occupat ional Safet y and Healt h Adm inist rat ion
 " Nat ional Telecom m unicat ions and I nform at ion Adm inist rat ion
The Nat ional I nst it ut es of Healt h part icipat es in som e int eragency working
group act ivit ies, as well.
FDA shares regulat ory responsibilit ies for wireless phones wit h t he Federal
Com m unicat ions Com m ission ( FCC) . All phones t hat are sold in t he Unit ed
St at es m ust com ply wit h FCC safet y guidelines t hat lim it RF exposure.
FCC relies on FDA and ot her healt h agencies for safet y quest ions about
wireless phones.
FCC also regulat es t he base st at ions t hat t he wireless phone net works
rely upon. While t hese base st at ions operat e at higher power t han do t he
wireless phones t hem selves, t he RF exposures t hat people get from t hese
base st at ions are t ypically t housands of t im es lower t han t hose t hey can
get from wireless phones. Base st at ions are t hus not t he prim ary subj ect
of t he safet y quest ions discussed in t his docum ent .
W h a t a r e t h e r e su lt s of t h e r e se a r ch don e a lr e a dy?
The research done t hus far has produced conflict ing result s, and m any
st udies have suffered from flaws in t heir research m et hods. Anim al
experim ent s invest igat ing t he effect s of radio frequency energy ( RF)
exposures charact erist ic of wireless phones have yielded conflict ing
result s t hat oft en cannot be repeat ed in ot her laborat ories. A few anim al
st udies, however, have suggest ed t hat low levels of RF could accelerat e
t he developm ent of cancer in laborat ory anim als. However, m any of t he
st udies t hat showed increased t um or developm ent used anim als t hat had
been genet ically engineered or t reat ed wit h cancer- causing chem icals so