Siemens SX66 - Manual (Page 22)

SX66 User Manual 22 SX66 User Manual 23
What is known about cases of human cancer that have
been reported in users of hand-held mobile phones?
Some people who have used mobile phones have been diagnosed with brain cancer. But it is
important to understand that this type of cancer also occurs among people who have not used
mobile phones. In fact, brain cancer occurs in the U.S. population at a rate of about 6 new cases
per 100,000 people each year. At that rate, assuming 80 million users of mobile phones (a number
increasing at a rate of about 1 million per month), about 4800 cases of brain cancer would be
expected each year among those 80 million people, whether or not they used their phones. Thus
it is not possible to tell whether any individual’s cancer arose because of the phone, or whether
it would have happened anyway. A key question is whether the risk of getting a particular form of
cancer is greater among people who use mobile phones than among the rest of the population.
One way to answer that question is to compare the usage of mobile phones among people with
brain cancer with the use of mobile phones among appropriately matched people without brain
cancer. This is called a case-control study. The current case-control study of brain cancers by
the National Cancer Institute, as well as the follow-up research to be sponsored by industry, will
begin to generate this type of information.
What is FDA’s role concerning the safety of mobile phones?
Under the law, FDA does not review the safety of radiation emitting consumer products such as
mobile phones before marketing, as it does with new drugs or medical devices. However, the
agency has authority to take action if mobile phones are shown to emit radiation at a level that
is hazardous to the user. In such a case, FDA could require the manufacturers of mobile phones
to notify users of the health hazard and to repair, replace or recall the phones so that the hazard
no longer exists.
Although the existing scientific data do not justify FDA regulatory actions at this time, FDA has
urged the mobile phone industry to take a number of steps to assure public safety. The agency
has recommended that the industry:
• Support needed research into possible biological effects of RF of the type emitted by mobile
phones;
• Design mobile phones in a way that minimizes any RF exposure to the user that is not necessary
for device function; and
• Cooperate in providing mobile phone users with the best possible information on what is known
about possible effects of mobile phone use on human health.
At the same time, FDA belongs to an interagency working group of the federal agencies that
have responsibility for different aspects of mobile phone safety to ensure a coordinated effort at
the federal level. These agencies are:
• National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Environmental Protection Agency