Safety Guidelines
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, the 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 the 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. The FDA has tested
hearing aids for interference from handheld wireless phones and helped develop a
voluntary standard sponsored by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers
(IEEE). This standard specifies test methods and performance requirements for
hearing aids and wireless phones so that no interference occurs when a person uses
a 'compatible' phone and a 'compatible' hearing aid at the same time. This standard
was approved by the IEEE in 2000. The FDA continues to monitor the use of wireless
phones for possible interactions with other medical devices. Should harmful interference
be found to occur, the FDA will conduct testing to assess the interference and work to
resolve the problem.
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