Samsung SCH-U485 User Manual page 13

RF r a dia t ion w or k ?
Since t here are no known risks from exposure t o RF em issions from
wireless phones, t here is no reason t o believe t hat accessories t hat claim
t o shield t he head from t hose em issions reduce risks. Som e product s t hat
claim t o shield t he user from RF absorpt ion use special phone cases, while
ot hers involve not hing m ore t han a m et allic accessory at t ached t o t he
phone. St udies have shown t hat t hese product s generally do not work as
advert ised. Unlike " hand- free" kit s, t hese so- called " shields" m ay int erfere
wit h proper operat ion of t he phone. The phone m ay be forced t o boost it s
power t o com pensat e, leading t o an increase in RF absorpt ion. I n
February 2002, t he Federal t rade Com m ission ( FTC) charged t wo
com panies t hat sold devices t hat claim ed t o prot ect wireless phone users
from radiat ion wit h m aking false and unsubst ant iat ed claim s. According t o
FTC, t hese defendant s lacked a reasonable basis t o subst ant iat e t heir
claim .
W h a t a bou t w ir e le ss ph on e in t e r fe r e n ce w it h m e dica l e qu ipm e n t ?
Radio frequency energy ( RF) from wireless phones can int eract wit h som e
elect ronic devices. For t his reason, FDA helped develop a det ailed t est
m et hod t o m easure elect rom agnet ic int erference ( EMI ) of im plant ed
cardiac pacem akers and defibrillat ors from wireless t elephones. This t est
m et hod is now part of a st andard sponsored by t he Associat ion for t he
Advancem ent of Medical inst rum ent at ion ( AAMI ) . The final draft , a j oint
effort by FDA, m edical device m anufact urers, and m any ot her groups,
was com plet ed in lat e 2000. This st andard will allow m anufact urers t o
ensure t hat cardiac pacem akers and defibrillat ors are safe from wireless
phone EMI . FDA has t est ed wireless phones and helped develop a
volunt ary st andard sponsored by t he I nst it ut e of Elect rical and Elect ronic
Engineers ( I EEE) . This st andard specifies t est m et hods and perform ance
requirem ent s for hearing aids and wireless phones so t hat no int erference
occurs when a person uses a com pat ible phone and a com pat ible hearing
aid at t he sam e t im e. This st andard was approved by t he I EEE in 2000.
FDA cont inues t o m onit or t he use of wireless phones for possible
int eract ions wit h ot her m edical devices. Should harm ful int erference be
found t o occur, FDA will conduct t est ing t o assess t he int erference and
work t o resolve t he problem .
Addit ional inform at ion on t he safet y of RF exposures from various sources
can be obt ained from t he following organizat ions:
 FCC RF Safet y Program :
ht t p: / / www.fcc.gov/ oet / rfsafet y/
 Environm ent al Prot ect ion Agency ( EPA) :
ht t p: / / www.epa.gov/ radiat ion/
 Occupat ional Safet y and Healt h Adm inist rat ion's ( OSHA) :
ht t p: / / www.osha.gov/ SLTC/ radiofrequencyradiat ion/ index.ht m l
 Nat ional inst it ut e for Occupat ional Safet y and Healt h ( NI OSH) :
ht t p: / / www.cdc.gov/ niosh/ em fpg.ht m l