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Health and safety information
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.
6. 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.
7. Do hands-free kits for wireless phones reduce
risks from exposure to RF emissions?
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Health and safety information
Since there are no known risks from exposure to
RF emissions from wireless phones, there is no
reason to believe that hands-free kits reduce
risks. Handsfree kits can be used with wireless
phones for convenience and comfort. These
systems reduce the absorption of RF energy in the
head because the phone, which is the source of
the RF emissions, will not be placed against the
head. On the other hand, if the phone is mounted
against the waist or other part of the body during
use, then that part of the body will absorb more
RF energy. Wireless phones marketed in the U.S.
are required to meet safety requirements
regardless of whether they are used against the
head or against the body. Either configuration
should result in compliance with the safety limit.
8. Do wireless phone accessories that claim to
shield the head from RF radiation work?
Since there are no known risks from exposure to
RF emissions from wireless phones, there is no
reason to believe that accessories that claim to
shield the head from those emissions reduce risks.
Some products that claim to shield the user from
RF absorption use special phone cases, while
others involve nothing more than a metallic
accessory attached to the phone. Studies have
shown that these products generally do not work
as advertised. Unlike "hand-free" kits, these so-
called "shields"may interfere with proper
operation of the phone. The phone may be forced
to boost its power to compensate, leading to an
increase in RF absorption. In February 2002, the
Federal trade Commission (FTC) charged two
companies that sold devices that claimed to
protect wireless phone users from radiation with
making false and unsubstantiated claims.
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