Siemens SX56 User Manual page 132

Although the existing scientific data do not
justify FDA regulatory actions at this time,
FDA has urged the mobile phone industry to
take a number of steps to assure public safety.
The agency has recommended that the
industry:
•
Support needed research into possible
biological effects of RF of the type emitted
by mobile phones;
•
Design mobile phones in a way that
minimizes any RF exposure to the user that
is not necessary for device function; and
•
Cooperate in providing mobile phone users
with the best possible information on what
is known about possible effects of mobile
phone use on human health.
At the same time, FDA belongs to an
interagency working group of the federal
agencies that have responsibility for different
aspects of mobile phone safety to ensure a
coordinated effort at the federal level. These
agencies are:
•
National Institute for Occupational Safety
and Health
•
Environmental Protection Agency
•
Federal Communications Commission
•
Occupational Health and Safety
Administration
•
National Telecommunications and
Information Administration
The National Institutes of Health also
participates in this group.
U.S. FDA
In the absence of conclusive information
about any possible risk, what can
concerned individuals do?
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 people are
concerned about avoiding even potential risks,
there are simple steps they can take to do so.
For example, time is a key factor in how much
exposure a person receives. Those persons
who spend long periods of time on their
hand-held mobile phones could consider
holding lengthy conversations on
conventional phones and reserving the
hand-held models for shorter conversations or
for situations when other types of phones are
not available.
People who must conduct extended
conversations in their cars every day could
switch to a type of mobile phone that places
more distance between their bodies and the
source of the RF, since the exposure level
drops off dramatically with distance. For
example, they could switch to:
•
a mobile phone in which the antenna is
located outside the vehicle,
•
a hand-held phone with a built-in antenna
connected to a different antenna mounted
on the outside of the car or built into a
separate package, or
•
a headset with a remote antenna to a
mobile phone carried at the waist.