Pivot Verizon TXT8030 User Manual page 103

exposure to RF is drastically lower because a person's RF exposure
decreases rapidly with increasing distance from the source. The so-
called "cordless phones," which have a base unit connected to the
telephone wiring in a house, typically operate at far lower power levels,
and thus produce RF exposures far below the FCC safety limits.
4. What are the results of the research done already?
The research done thus far has produced conflicting results, and many
studies have suffered from flaws in their research methods. Animal
experiments investigating the effects of radiofrequency energy (RF)
exposures characteristic of wireless phones have yielded conflicting
results that often cannot be repeated in other laboratories. A few animal
studies, however, have suggested that low levels of RF could
accelerate the development of cancer in laboratory animals. However,
many of the studies that showed increased tumor development used
animals that had been genetically engineered or treated with cancer-
causing chemicals so as to be predisposed to develop cancer in the
absence of RF exposure. Other studies exposed the animals to RF for
up to 22 hours per day. These conditions are not similar to the
conditions under which people use wireless phones, so we don't know
with certainty what the results of such studies mean for human health.
Three large epidemiology studies have been published since
December 2000. Between them, the studies investigated any possible
association between the use of wireless phones and primary brain
cancer, glioma, meningioma, or acoustic neuroma, tumors of the brain
or salivary gland, leukemia, or other cancers. None of the studies
demonstrated the existence of any harmful health effects from wireless
phone RF exposures. However, none of the studies can answer
questions about long-term exposures, since the average period of
phone use in these studies was around three years.
5. What research is needed to decide whether RF exposure
from wireless phones poses a health risk?
A combination of laboratory studies and epidemiological studies of
people actually
using wireless phones would provide some of the data that are needed.
Lifetime animal exposure studies could be completed in a few years.
However, very large numbers of animals would be needed to provide
reliable proof of a cancer promoting effect if one exists. Epidemiological
studies can provide data that is directly applicable to human populations,
but 10 or more years' follow-up may be needed to provide answers about
some health effects, such as cancer. This is because the interval between
the time of exposure to a cancer-causing agent and the time tumors
develop - if they do -may be many, many years. The interpretation of
epidemiological studies is hampered by difficulties in measuring actual RF
exposure during day-to-day use of wireless phones. Many factors affect
this measurement, such as the angle at which the phone is held, or which
model of phone is used.
6. What is FDA doing to find out more about the possible
health effects of wireless phone RF?
FDA is working with the U.S. National Toxicology Program and with
groups of investigators around the world to ensure that high priority
animal studies are conducted to address important questions about the
effects of exposure to radiofrequency energy (RF). FDA has been a
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