Fda Consumer Update - LG VX10 Manual Del Usuario

FDA Consumer Update

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Center for
Devices and Radiological Health Consumer Update on
Mobile Phones.
1. Do wireless phones pose a health hazard?
The available scientific evidence does not show that any health
problems are associated with using wireless phones. There is no proof,
however, that wireless phones are absolutely safe. Wireless phones
emit low levels of radiofrequency energy (RF) in the microwave range
while being used. They also emit very low levels of RF when in the
stand-by mode. Whereas high levels of RF can produce health effects
(by heating tissue), exposure to low level RF that does not produce
heating effects causes no known adverse health effects. Many studies
of low level RF exposures have not found any biological effects. Some
studies have suggested that some biological effects may occur, but
such findings have not been confirmed by additional research. In some
cases, other researchers have had difficulty in reproducing those
studies, or in determining the reasons for inconsistent results.
2. What is FDA's role concerning the safety of wireless phones?
Under the law, 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
radiofrequency 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 do not justify FDA regulatory
actions, 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.
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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 Institutes of Health participates in some interagency
working group activities, as well.
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. FCC relies on FDA and other health
agencies for safety questions about wireless phones.
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 subject of the safety questions discussed
in this document.
3. What kinds of phones are the subject of this update?
The term "wireless phone" refers here to hand-held wireless phones
with built-in antennas, often called "cell," "mobile," or "PCS" phones.
These types of wireless phones can expose the user to measurable
radiofrequency energy (RF) because of the short distance between the
phone and the user's head.
These RF exposures are limited by Federal Communications
Commission safety guidelines that were developed with the advice of
FDA and other federal health and safety agencies. When the phone is
located at greater distances from the user, the exposure to RF is
drastically lower because a person's RF exposure decreases rapidly
with increasing distance from the source. The so-called "cordless
phones," which have a base unit connected to the telephone wiring in
a house, typically operate at far lower power levels, and thus produce
RF exposures far below the FCC safety limits.
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