Safety
115
•
Cooperate in providing users of devices with the best possible
information on possible effects of device use on human health.
The 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
•
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
•
National Telecommunications and Information Administration
The National Institutes of Health participates in some interagency working
group activities, as well.
The FDA shares regulatory responsibilities for devices with the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC). All devices that are sold in the United
States must comply with FCC safety guidelines that limit RF exposure. The
FCC relies on the FDA and other health agencies for safety questions about
devices.
The FCC also regulates the base stations that the device networks rely
upon. While these base stations operate at higher power than do the
devices themselves, the RF exposures that people get from these base
stations are typically thousands of times lower than those they can get
from devices. Base stations are thus not the subject of the safety questions
discussed in this document.
3. What kinds of devices are the subject of this update?
The term “wireless device” refers here to handheld wireless devices with
built-in antennas, often called “cell”, “mobile”, or “PCS” devices. These
types of wireless devices can expose the user to measurable Radio
Frequency (RF) energy because of the short distance between the device
and the user’s head.
These RF exposures are limited by FCC safety guidelines that were
developed with the advice of the FDA and other federal health and safety
