173
Section 12: Maintenance, Safety, and
Troubleshooting
What is the FDA's role concerning the safety of wireless phones?
Under the law, the 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 radio
frequency 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 does not justify FDA regulatory
actions, the 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.
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
Federal Communications Commission
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
National Telecommunications and Information Administration
The National Institute of Health participates in some interagency
working group activities, as well.
The FDA shares regulatory responsibilities for wireless phones with the
Federal Communications Commission (FCC). All phones that are sold in
the United States must comply with FCC safety guidelines that limit RF
exposure. The FCC relies on FDA and other health agencies for safety
questions about wireless phones.
The 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
primary subject of the safety questions discussed in this document.
