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FDA consumer update
Copied verbatim from: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's
Center for Devices and Radiological Health Consumer Update on
Mobile Phones
FDA has been receiving inquiries about the safety of mobile phones, including
cellular phones and PCS phones. The following summarizes what is known -
and what remains unknown - about whether these products can pose a hazard
to health, and what can be done to minimize any potential risk. This
information may be used to respond to questions.
Why the concern?
Mobile phones emit low levels of radio frequency energy (i.e., radio frequency
radiation) in the microwave range while being used. They also emit very low
levels of radio frequency energy (RF), considered non-significant, when in the
standby mode. It is well known that high levels of RF can produce biological
damage through heating effects (this is how your microwave oven is able to
cook food). However, it is not known whether, to what extent, or through what
mechanism, lower levels of RF might cause adverse health effects as well.
Although some research has been done to address these questions, no clear
picture of the biological effects of this type of radiation has emerged to date.
Thus, the available science does not allow us to conclude that mobile phones
are absolutely safe, or that they are unsafe. However, the available scientific
evidence does not demonstrate any adverse health effects associated with the
use of mobile phones.
What kinds of phones are in question?
Questions have been raised about hand-held mobile phones, the kind that have
a built-in antenna that is positioned close to the user's head during normal
telephone conversation. These types of mobile phones are of concern because
of the short distance between the phone's antenna - the primary source of the
RF - and the person's head. The exposure to RF from mobile phones in which
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