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 FCC safety
guidelines that were developed with the advice
of the 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.
4. What are the results of the research done
already?
The research done thus far has produced conflicting
results, and many studies have suffered from flaws
in their research methods. Animal experiments
investigating the effects of radiofrequency energy
(RF) exposures characteristic of wireless phones
have yielded conflicting results that often cannot be
repeated in other laboratories. A few animal studies,
however, have suggested that low levels of RF could
accelerate the development of cancer in laboratory
animals. However, many of the studies that showed
increased tumor development used animals that had
been genetically engineered or treated with cancer-
causing chemicals so as to be pre-disposed to
develop cancer in the absence of RF exposure.
Other studies exposed the animals to RF for up to
22 hours per day. These conditions are not similar
to the conditions under which people use wireless
phones, so we don't know with certainty what the
results of such studies mean for human health.
Three large epidemiology studies have been
published since December 2000. Between them,
the studies investigated any possible association
between the use of wireless phones and primary
brain cancer, glioma, meningioma, or acoustic
neuroma, tumors of the brain or salivary gland,
leukemia, or other cancers. None of the studies
demonstrated the existence of any harmful health
effects from wireless phone RF exposures. However,
none of the studies can answer questions about
long-term exposures, since the average period of
phone use in these studies was around three years.
Safety Guidelines
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