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much exposure a person receives, reducing the amount of time spent using a
wireless phone will reduce RF exposure.
If you must conduct extended conversations by wireless phone every day, you
could place more distance between your body and the source of the RF, since
the exposure level drops off dramatically with distance. For example, you
could use a headset and carry the wireless phone away from your body or use
a wireless phone connected to a remote antenna.
Again, the scientific data do not demonstrate that wireless phones are
harmful. But if you are concerned about the RF exposure from these products,
you can use measures like those described above to reduce your RF exposure
from wireless phone use.
10.What about children using wireless phones?
The scientific evidence does not show a danger to users of 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 manufacturers to ensure that cardiac
pacemakers and defibrillators are safe from wireless phone EMI. FDA has
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