User's Manual

FDA has been receiving inquiries about the safety of mobile
phones, including cellular phones and
PCS phones. The follow -
ing summarizes what is known -- and what remains unknown --
about whether these products can pose a hazard to health, and
what can be done to minimize any potential risk. This informa
-
tion may be used to respond to questions.
Why the concern?
Mobile phones emit low levels of radiofrequency energy (i.e.,
radio frequency radiation) in the microwave range while being
used. They also emit very low levels of radio frequency energy
(RF), considered non - significant, when in the stand - by mode. It
is well known that high levels of RF can produce biological dam -
age through heating effects (this is how your microwave oven is
able to cook food). However, it is not known whether, to what
extent, or through what mechanism, lower levels of RF might
cause adverse health effects
as well. Although some research
has been done to address these questions, no clear picture of
the biological effects of this type of radiation has emerged to
date. Thus, the available science does not allow us to conclude
that mobile phones are absolutely safe, or that they are unsafe.
However, the available scientific evidence does not demonstrate
any adverse health effects associated with the use of mobile
phones.
What kinds of phones are in question?
Questions have been raised about hand - held mobile phones, the
kind that have
a built - in antenna that is positioned close to the
user's head during normal telephone conversation. These types
of mobile phones are of concern because of the short distance
between the phone's antenna
-- the primary source of the RF --
and the person's head. The exposure to RF from mobile phones
in which the antenna
is located at greater distances from the
user (on the outside of
a car, for example) is drastically lower
than
that from hand - held phones, because a person's RF expo -
sure decreases rapidly with distance from the source. The safety
of so
- called " cordless phones,'' which have a base unit con -
nected to the telephone wiring in a house and which operate at