Pantech COACH User Manual

consumer products such as wireless phones before they can be sold, as itdoes with new drugs or medical devices. However, the agency hasauthority to take action if wireless phones are shown to emit radiofrequencyenergy (RF) at a level that is hazardous to the user. In such a case, FDAcould require the manufacturers of wireless phones to notify users of thehealth hazard and to repair, replace or recall the phones so that the hazardno longer exists. Although the existing scientific data do not justify FDAregulatory actions, FDA has urged the wireless phone industry to take anumber of steps, including the following:• Support needed research into possible biological effects of RF of thetype emitted by wireless phones;• Design wireless phones in a way that minimizes any RF exposure tothe user that is not necessary for device function;and• Cooperate in providing users of wireless phones with the best possibleinformation on possible effects of wireless phone use on human health.FDA belongs to an interagency working group of the federal agencies thathave responsibility for different aspects of RF safety to ensure coordinatedefforts at the federal level. The following agencies belong to this workinggroup:• National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health• Environmental Protection Agency• Federal Communications Commission• Occupational Safety and Health Administration• National Telecommunications and Information AdministrationThe National Institutes of Health participates in some inter-agency workinggroup activities, as well. FDA shares regulatory responsibilities for wirelessphones with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). All phonesthat are sold in the United States must comply with FCC safety guidelinesthat limit RF exposure. FCC relies on FDA and other health agencies forsafety questions about wireless phones. FCC also regulates the basestations that the wireless phone networks rely upon. While these basestations operate at higher power than do the wireless phones themselves,the RF exposures that people get from these base stations are typicallythousands of times lower than those they can get from wireless phones.Base stations are thus not the subject of the safety questions discussed inthis document.3. What kinds of phones are the subject of this update?The term “wireless phone” refers here to hand-held wireless phones withbuilt-in antennas, often called “cell,” “mobile,” or “PCS” phones. Thesetypes of wireless phones can expose the user to measurableradiofrequency energy (RF) because of the short distance between thephone and the user’s head. These RF exposures are limited by FederalCommunications Commission safety guidelines that were developed withthe advice of FDA and other federal health and safety agencies. When thephone is located at greater distances from the user, the exposure to RF isdrastically lower because a person’s RF exposure decreases rapidly withincreasing 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