U.S.Cellular Cdm-2080 User Manual page 34

energy absorbed in tissue, either by the whole body or a small part of the body. It is
measured in watts/ kg (or milliwatts/g) of matter. This measurement is used to
determine whether a wireless phone complies with safety guidelines.
9. What steps can I take to reduce my exposure to radiofrequency energy
from my wireless phone?
If there is a risk from these products—and at this point we do not know that there is—it
is probably very small. But if you are concerned about avoiding even potential risks, you
can take a few simple steps to minimize your exposure to radiofrequency energy (RF).
Since time is a key factor in how much exposure a person receives, reducing the amount
of time spent using a wireless phone will reduce RF exposure.
• If you must conduct extended conversations by wireless phone every day, you could
place more distance between your body and the source of the RF, since the exposure
level drops off dramatically with distance.
For example, you could use a headset and carry the wireless phone away from your
body or use a wireless phone connected to a remote antenna. Again, the scientific data
do not demonstrate that wireless phones are harmful. But if you are concerned about
the RF exposure from these products, you can use measures like those described above
to reduce your RF exposure from wireless phone use.
10. What about children using wireless phones?
The scientific evidence does not show a danger to users of wireless phones, including
children and teenagers. If you want to take steps to lower exposure to radiofrequency
energy (RF), the measures described above would apply to children and teenagers using
wireless phones. Reducing the time of wireless phone use and increasing the distance
between the user and the RF source will reduce RF exposure. Some groups sponsored
by other national governments have advised that children be discouraged from using
wireless phones at all. For example, the government in the United Kingdom distributed
leaflets containing such a recommendation in December 2000. They noted that no
evidence exists that using a wireless phone causes brain tumors or other ill effects. Their
recommendation to limit wireless phone use by children was strictly precautionary; it
was not based on scientific evidence that any health hazard exists.
11. What about wireless phone interference with medical equipment?
Radiofrequency energy (RF) from wireless phones can interact with some electronic
devices. For this reason, FDA helped develop a detailed test method to measure
electromagnetic interference (EMI) of implanted cardiac pacemakers and defibrillators
from wireless telephones. This test method is now part of a standard sponsored by the
Association for the Advancement of Medical instrumentation (AAMI). The final draft, a
joint effort by FDA, medical device manufacturers, and many other groups, was
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