Health and safety information187can take a few simple steps to minimize your exposure toradio frequency energy (RF). Since time is a key factor inhow much exposure a person receives, reducing theamount of time spent using a wireless phone will reduce RFexposure.• “If you must conduct extended conversations by wirelessphone every day, you could place more distance betweenyour body and the source of the RF, since the exposure leveldrops off dramatically with distance. For example, you coulduse a headset and carry the wireless phone away from yourbody or use a wireless phone connected to a remoteantenna.Again, the scientific data do not demonstrate that wirelessphones are harmful. But if you are concerned about the RFexposure from these products, you can use measures likethose described above to reduce your RF exposure fromwireless phone use.What about children using wireless phones?The scientific evidence does not show a danger to users ofwireless phones, including children and teenagers. If youwant to take steps to lower exposure to radio frequencyenergy (RF), the measures described above would apply tochildren and teenagers using wireless phones. Reducing thetime of wireless phone use and increasing the distancebetween the user and the RF source will reduce RFexposure.Some groups sponsored by other national governmentshave advised that children be discouraged from usingwireless phones at all. For example, the government in theUnited Kingdom distributed leaflets containing such arecommendation in December 2000. They noted that noevidence exists that using a wireless phone causes braintumors or other ill effects. Their recommendation to limitwireless phone use by children was strictly precautionary; itwas not based on scientific evidence that any health hazardexists.
