Page
54
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.
11. What about wireless phone interference with medical
equipment?
Radiofrequency energy (RF) from wireless phones can interact
with some electronic devices. For this reason, FDA helped
develop a detailed test method to measure electromagnetic
interference (EMI) of implanted cardiac pacemakers and
defibrillators from wireless telephones. This test method is now
part of a standard sponsored by the Association for the
Advancement of Medical instrumentation (AAMI). The final draft,
a joint effort by FDA, medical device manufacturers, and many
other groups, was completed in late 2000 This standard will allow
