Consumer Update On Wireless Phones - Pantech TX-1000C User Manual

SAFETY AND WARRANTY
U.S. Food and Drug Administration -
Center for Devices and Radiological Health

Consumer Update on Wireless Phones

1. Do wireless phones pose a health hazard?
The available scientific evidence does not show that any health problems are associ-
ated with using wireless phones. There is no proof, however, that wireless phones are
absolutely safe. Wireless phones emit low levels of radiofrequency energy (RF) in the
microwave range while being used. They also emit very low levels of RF when in the
stand-by mode. Whereas high levels of RF can produce health effects (by heating tis-
sue), exposure to low level RF that does not produce heating effects causes no known
adverse health effects. Many studies of low level RF exposures have not found any
biological effects. Some studies have suggested that some biological effects may oc-
cur, but such findings have not been confirmed by additional research. In some cases,
other researchers have had difficulty in reproducing those studies, or in determining
the reasons for inconsistent results.
2. What is FDA's role concerning the safety of wireless phones?
Under the law, FDA does not review the safety of radiation-emitting consumer
products such as wireless phones before they can be sold, as it does with new drugs
or medical devices. However, the agency has authority to take action if wireless
phones are shown to emit radiofrequency energy (RF) at a level that is hazardous to
the user. In such a case, FDA could require the manufacturers of wireless phones to
notify users of the health hazard and to repair, replace or recall the phones so that
the hazard no longer exists. Although the existing scientific data do not justify FDA
regulatory actions, FDA has urged the wireless phone industry to take a number of
steps, including the following:
• Support needed research into possible biological effects of RF of the type emitted
by wireless phones;
• Design wireless phones in a way that minimizes any RF exposure to the user that is
not necessary for device function;
and
• Cooperate in providing users of wireless phones with the best possible information
on possible effects of wireless phone use on human health.
FDA belongs to an interagency working group of the federal agencies that have
responsibility for different aspects of RF safety to ensure coordinated efforts at the
federal level. The following agencies belong to this working group:
• National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Environmental Protection Agency
• Federal Communications Commission
• Occupational Safety and Health Administration
• National Telecommunications and Information Administration
The National Institutes of Health participates in some inter-agency working group
activities, as well.
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FDA CONSUMER UPDATE FDA CONSUMER UPDATE
FDA shares regulatory responsibilities for wireless phones with the Federal Com-
munications Commission (FCC). All phones that are sold in the United States must
comply with FCC safety guidelines that limit RF exposure. FCC relies on FDA and other
health agencies for safety questions about wireless phones. FCC also regulates the
base stations that the wireless phone networks rely upon. While these base stations
operate at higher power than do the wireless phones themselves, the RF exposures
that people get from these base stations are typically thousands of times lower than
those they can get from wireless phones. Base stations are thus not the subject of the
safety questions discussed in this document.
3. What kinds of phones are the subject of this update?
The term "wireless phone" refers here to hand-held wireless phones with built-in
antennas, often called "cell," "mobile," or "PCS" phones.
These types of wireless phones can expose the user to measurable radiofrequency
energy (RF) because of the short distance between the phone and the user's head.
These RF exposures are limited by Federal Communications Commission safety guide-
lines that were developed with the advice of FDA and other federal health and safety
agencies. When the phone is located at greater distances from the user, the exposure
to RF is drastically lower because a person's RF exposure decreases rapidly with
increasing distance from the source. The so-called "cordless phones," which have a
base unit connected to the telephone wiring in a house, typically operate at far lower
power levels, and thus produce RF exposures far below the FCC safety limits.
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 phones
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 pre-disposed 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 phones, so we don't know with certainty what the results
of such studies mean for human health. Three large epidemiology studies have been
published since December 2000. Between them, the studies investigated any possible
association between the use of wireless phones and primary brain cancer, glioma,
meningioma, or acoustic neuroma, 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 phone RF exposures. However, none of the studies can answer
questions about long-term exposures, since the average period of phone use in these
studies was around three years.
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