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Health Quick Facts
- When it comes to your wireless device, rest assured that the scientific evidence & expert reviews from leading global heath organizations such as the American Cancer Society, National Cancer Institute, World Health Organization (WHO) & the FDA reflect a consensus based on published impartial scientific research showing there is no reason for concern.
- Several federal agencies have reviewed & endorsed the FCC's guidelines including the EPA, FDA, OSHA & the National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health (NIOSH).
More Information from the Experts:
For more on the government guidelines for exposure levels & how they might pertain to wireless use, please visit these websites:
Wireless Phones and Health
Throughout our everyday lives, we use electronic devices at home, work, and school, and even when getting to and from these places.
When electronic devices are operating, they have electromagnetic fields around them. These fields are found around the appliances, computers, hair dryers, clock radios, music players, cordless phones, and wireless phones we use every day.
Wireless phones are essentially small two-way radios that use low level radiofrequency waves, which are a type of electromagnetic field, to transmit and receive the sounds of our voices. Radiofrequency waves are critical to the ability of wireless phones to work.
The U.S. Wireless Phone Safety Standards
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which regulates the use of wireless phones, has adopted safety standards governing radiofrequency fields from wireless phones, and has determined that all wireless phones that comply with these standards are safe for use by the general public. In adopting the current radiofrequency safety standards, the FCC stated that its standards represent the “best scientific thought and are sufficient to protect the public health.” See In re Guidelines for Evaluating the Environmental Effects of Radiofrequency Radiation, Release No. 96-326, 11 F.C.C.R. 15123, 15184 ¶ 168 (1996). The FCC’s radiofrequency standards governing wireless phones incorporate a 50 fold safety standard.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which also has regulatory power over wireless phones and helped to develop and approve the FCC standard, has similarly concluded that “the weight of scientific evidence has not linked cell phones with any health problems.”
The FCC, FDA, and other government agencies work cooperatively to monitor the ongoing scientific research to determine if the safety standards need to be adjusted.
Health Research on Wireless Phones
There has been a large amount of research conducted into the safety of radiofrequency fields from wireless phone use and other sources.
From time to time, some researchers have reported a possible connection between radiofrequency fields and a health problem. These reports are sometimes the subject of sensational stories in the media and on the Internet.
Of course, responsible expert authorities do not reach their conclusions based on just the latest study – they base their conclusions on an evaluation of all of the relevant scientific research. These expert authorities have consistently found radiofrequency fields from wireless phones have not been shown to cause health problems.
The Interphone project, coordinated by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, is the largest study 
of cell phone use and brain tumors ever undertaken and included substantial numbers of subjects using cell phones for ten years or longer, found that “overall, no increase in risk…was observed with the use of mobile phones.” The World Health Organization (WHO) notes that a large number of studies have been performed over the last two decades to assess whether mobile phones pose a potential health risk. To date, no adverse health effects have been established for mobile phone use.
CTIA and the wireless telecommunications industry have funded and supported independent research on radiofrequency fields and health. For example, in 2000, CTIA entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the FDA. CTIA used the CRADA to fund research that was controlled by the FDA and not by the industry. The FDA and CTIA also used that agreement to contract with the U.S. National Academy of Sciences to identify additional research needs.
Research funded by CTIA and run by the FDA focused on exposure assessment studies and studies to assess whether radiofrequency fields could damage genetic material. As the FDA points out on its website:
All studies funded through the CRADA have been completed, and no association was found between the
exposure to radiofrequency radiation from cell phones and adverse health effects.
Claims about Radiofrequency Fields and Brain Cancer
Because wireless phones are often used next to the head, a considerable amount of research has focused on whether wireless phones cause brain cancer.
The FCC says on its website in its response to Frequently Asked Questions that:
“[t]here is no scientific evidence to date that proves that wireless phone usage can lead to cancer or a variety of other health effects, … .” For additional information click here.
In addition, the U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI) reports that its most recent analysis of the cancer data it collects: “showed no increase between 1987 and 2005 in the age-adjusted incidence of brain or other nervous system cancers despite the dramatic increase in the use of cellular telephones.” For additional information click here.
You can find more information about this topic on these government websites:
Signals from Wireless Transmission Towers
The FCC requires that all wireless phone transmission towers, as well as all TV and radio transmission towers, must meet strict safety standards. The FCC points out on its website that measurements made near typical wireless towers have shown that ground-level power densities are thousands of times less than the FCC's limits for safe exposure. For more information click here.
