Helio Ocean2 User Manual page 150

FDA CONSUMER UPDATE
SAFETY AND WARRANTY
4. What are the results of the research done already?
The research done thus far has produced conflicting results, and many
studies have suffered from flaws in their research methods. Animal
experiments investigating the effects of radiofrequency energy (RF)
exposures characteristic of wireless handsets have yielded conflicting
results that often cannot be repeated in other laboratories. A few animal
studies, however, have suggested that low levels of RF could accelerate
the development of cancer in laboratory animals. However, many of the
studies that showed increased tumor development used animals that had
been genetically engineered or treated with cancer-causing chemicals so
as to be predisposed to develop cancer in the absence of RF exposure.
Other studies exposed the animals to RF for up to 22 hours per day.
These conditions are not similar to the conditions under which people
use wireless handsets, so we don't know with certainty what the results
of such studies mean for human health. Three large epidemiology stud-
ies have been published since December 2000. Between them, the studies
investigated any possible association between the use of wireless hand-
sets and primary brain cancer, glioma, meningioma, or acoustic neu-
roma, tumors of the brain or salivary gland, leukemia, or other cancers.
None of the studies demonstrated the existence of any harmful health
effects from wireless handset RF exposures. However, none of the studies
can answer questions about long-term exposures, since the average peri-
od of handset use in these studies was around three years.
5. What research is needed to decide whether RF exposure from
wireless handsets poses a health risk?
A combination of laboratory studies and epidemiological studies of
people actually using wireless handsets would provide some of the data
that are needed. Lifetime animal exposure studies could be completed in
a few years. However, very large numbers of animals would be needed
to provide reliable proof of a cancer promoting effect if one exists.
Epidemiological studies can provide data that is directly applicable to
human populations, but 10 or more years' follow-up may be needed to
provide answers about some health effects, such as cancer. This is
because the interval between the time of exposure to a cancer-causing
agent and the time tumors develop - if they do -may be many, many
years. The interpretation of epidemiological studies is hampered by
difficulties in measuring actual RF exposure during day-to-day use of
wireless handsets. Many factors affect this measurement, such as the
angle at which the handset is held, or which model of handset is used.
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