Motorola 4500 Manual page 36

Reference
T T h h e e U U . . S S . . F F o o o o d d a a n n d d D D r r u u g g A A d d m m i i n n i i s s t t r r a a t t i i o o n n ' ' s s
C C e e n n t t e e r r f f o o r r D D e e v v i i c c e e s s a a n n d d R R a a d d i i o o l l o o g g i i c c a a l l H H e e a a l l t t h h
C C o o n n s s u u m m e e r r U U p p d d a a t t e e o o n n M M o o b b i i l l e e P P h h o o n n e e s s
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.
W W h h y y t t h h e e c c o o n n c c e e r r n n ? ?
Mobile phones emit low levels of radiofrequency
energy (i.e., radiofrequency radiation) in the
microwave range while being used. They also emit
very low levels of radiofrequency energy (RF),
considered non-significant, when in the stand-by
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.
W W h h a a t t k k i i n n d d s s o o f f p p h h o o n n e e s s a a r r e e i i n n q q u u e e s s t t i i o o n n ? ?
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
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the RF--and the person's head. The exposure to RF
from mobile phones in which the antenna is located
at greater distances from the user (on the outside of
a car, for example) is drastically lower than that from
hand-held phones, because a person's RF exposure
decreases rapidly with distance from the source. The
safety of so-called "cordless phones," which have a
base unit connected to the telephone wiring in a
house and which operate at far lower power levels
and frequencies, has not been questioned.
H H o o w w m m u u c c h h e e v v i i d d e e n n c c e e i i s s t t h h e e r r e e t t h h a a t t h h a a n n d d - - h h e e l l d d m m o o b b i i l l e e
p p h h o o n n e e s s m m i i g g h h t t b b e e h h a a r r m m f f u u l l ? ?
Briefly, there is not enough evidence to know for
sure, either way; however, research efforts are on-
going. The existing scientific evidence is conflicting
and many of the studies that have been done to date
have suffered from flaws in their research methods.
Animal experiments investigating the effects of RF
exposures characteristic of mobile phones have
yielded conflicting results. A few animal studies,
however, have suggested that low levels of RF could
accelerate the development of cancer in laboratory
animals. In one study, mice genetically altered to be
predisposed to developing one type of cancer
developed more than twice as many such cancers
when they were exposed to RF energy compared to
controls. There is much uncertainty among scientists
about whether results obtained from animal studies
apply to the use of mobile phones. First, it is
uncertain how to apply the results obtained in rats
and mice to humans. Second, many of the studies
that showed increased tumor development used
animals that had already been treated with cancer-
causing chemicals, and other studies exposed the
animals to the RF virtually continuously--up to 22
hours per day.
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