Section 12: Health and Safety Information 197Consumer Information on Wireless PhonesSection 12What research is needed to decide whether RF exposurefrom wireless phones poses a health risk?A combination of laboratory studies andepidemiological studies of people actually using wirelessphones would provide some of the data that are needed.Lifetime animal exposure studies could be completed ina few years. However, very large numbers of animalswould be needed to provide reliable proof of a cancerpromoting effect if one exists. Epidemiological studiescan provide data that is directly applicable to humanpopulations, but ten or more years' follow-up may beneeded to provide answers about some health effects,such as cancer. This is because the interval between thetime of exposure to a cancer-causing agent and the timetumors develop - if they do - may be many, many years.The interpretation of epidemiological studies ishampered by difficulties in measuring actual RF exposureduring day-to-day use of wireless phones. Many factorsaffect this measurement, such as the angle at which thephone is held, or which model of phone is used.What is FDA doing to find out more about the possiblehealth effects of wireless phone RF?FDA is working with the U.S. National ToxicologyProgram and with groups of investigators around theworld to ensure that high priority animal studies areconducted to address important questions about theeffects of exposure to radio frequency energy (RF).FDA has been a leading participant in the World HealthOrganization international Electromagnetic Fields (EMF)Project since its inception in 1996. An influential result of
