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Safety
continues. In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”)
and the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) set policies and
procedures for wireless phones. The FDA issued a website publication on
health issues related to cell phone usage where it states, “The scientific
community at large … believes that the weight of scientific evidence does
not show an association between exposure to radiofrequency (RF) from cell
phones and adverse health outcomes. Still the scientific community does
recommend conducting additional research to address gaps in knowledge.
That research is being conducted around the world and FDA continues to
monitor developments in this field. You can access the joint FDA/FCC
website at http://www.fda.gov (under “c”in the subject index, select Cell
Phones > Research). You can also contact the FDA toll-free at (888)
463-6332 or (888) INFO-FDA. In June 2000, the FDA entered into a
cooperative research and development agreement through which additional
scientific research is being conducted. The FCC issued its own website
publication stating that “there is no scientific evidence that proves that
wireless phone usage can lead to cancer or a variety of other problems,
including headaches, dizziness or memory loss.” This publication is
available at http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/ cellular.html or through the FCC at
(888) 225-5322 or (888) CALL-FCC.
What does “SAR” mean?
In 1996, the FCC, working with the FDA, the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, and other agencies, established RF exposure safety guidelines for
wireless phones in the United States. Before a wireless phone model is
available for sale to the public, it must be tested by the manufacturer and
certified to the FCC that it does not exceed limits established by the FCC.
One of these limits is expressed as a Specific Absorption Rate, or “SAR.”
SAR is a measure of the rate of absorption of RF energy in the body. Tests
for SAR are conducted with the phone transmitting at its highest power
level in all tested frequency bands. Since 1996, the FCC has required that
the SAR of handheld wireless phones not exceed 1.6 watts per kilogram,
averaged over one gram of tissue.
Although the SAR is determined at the highest power level, the actual SAR
value of a wireless phone while operating can be less than the reported