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• Head: 1.45 W/Kg.
• Body-worn: . 1.02 W/Kg.
SAR information on this and other model phones can be viewed on-line at www.fcc.gov/oet/fccid. To find information that pertains to a particular model phone, this site uses the phone FCC ID number which is usually printed somewhere on the case of the phone.
Sometimes it may be necessary to remove the battery pack to find the number. Once you have the FCC ID number for a particular phone, follow the instructions on the website and it should provide values for typical or maximum SAR for a particular phone. Additional product specific SAR information can also be obtained at www.fcc.gov/cgb/sar.
Consumer Information on Wireless Phones
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has published a series of Questions and Answers for consumers relating to radio frequency (RF) exposure from wireless phones. The FDA publication includes the following information:
What kinds of phones are the subject of this update?
The term wireless phone refers here to hand-held wireless phones with built-in antennas, often called
"cell," "mobile," or "PCS" phones. These types of wireless phones can expose the user to measurable radio frequency energy (RF) because of the short distance between the phone and the user's head. These
RF exposures are limited by Federal Communications
Commission safety guidelines that were developed with the advice of FDA and other federal health and
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Consumer Information on Wireless Phones safety agencies. When the phone is located at greater distances from the user, the exposure to RF is drastically lower because a person's RF exposure decreases rapidly with increasing distance from the source. The so-called "cordless phones," which have a base unit connected to the telephone wiring in a house, typically operate at far lower power levels, and thus produce RF exposures well within the FCC's compliance limits.
Do wireless phones pose a health hazard?
The available scientific evidence does not show that any health problems are associated with using wireless phones. There is no proof, however, that wireless phones are absolutely safe. Wireless phones emit low levels of radio frequency energy (RF) in the microwave range while being used. They also emit very low levels of RF when in the stand-by mode. Whereas high levels of RF can produce health effects (by heating tissue), exposure to low level RF that does not produce heating effects causes no known adverse health effects. Many studies of low level RF exposures have not found any biological effects. Some studies have suggested that some biological effects may occur, but such findings have not been confirmed by additional research. In some cases, other researchers have had difficulty in reproducing those studies, or in determining the reasons for inconsistent results.
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What is FDA's role concerning the safety of wireless phones?
Under the law, FDA does not review the safety of radiation-emitting consumer products such as wireless phones before they can be sold, as it does with new drugs or medical devices. However, the agency has authority to take action if wireless phones are shown to emit radio frequency energy (RF) at a level that is hazardous to the user. In such a case, FDA could require the manufacturers of wireless 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, FDA has urged the wireless phone industry to take a number of steps, including the following:
• "Support needed research into possible biological effects of RF of the type emitted by wireless phones;
• "Design wireless phones in a way that minimizes any RF exposure to the user that is not necessary for device function; and
• "Cooperate in providing users of wireless phones with the best possible information on possible effects of wireless phone use on human health.
FDA belongs to an interagency working group of the federal agencies that have responsibility for different aspects of RF safety to ensure coordinated efforts at the federal level. The following agencies belong to this working group:
• "National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• "Environmental Protection Agency
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Consumer Information on Wireless Phones
• "Federal Communications Commission
• "Occupational Safety and Health Administration
• "National Telecommunications and Information Administration
The National Institutes of Health participates in some interagency working group activities, as well.
FDA shares regulatory responsibilities for wireless phones with the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC). All phones that are sold in the United States must comply with FCC safety guidelines that limit RF exposure. FCC relies on FDA and other health agencies for safety questions about wireless phones.
FCC also regulates the base stations that the wireless phone networks rely upon. While these base stations operate at higher power than do the wireless phones themselves, the RF exposures that people get from these base stations are typically thousands of times lower than those they can get from wireless phones.
Base stations are thus not the primary subject of the safety questions discussed in this document.
What are the results of the research done already?
The research done thus far has produced conflicting results, and many studies have suffered from flaws in their research methods. Animal experiments investigating the effects of radio frequency energy (RF) exposures characteristic of wireless phones have yielded conflicting results that often cannot be repeated in other laboratories. A few animal studies, however, have suggested that low levels of RF could accelerate the development of cancer in laboratory animals.
However, many of the studies that showed increased
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tumor development used animals that had been genetically engineered or treated with cancer-causing chemicals so as to be pre-disposed to develop cancer in absence of RF exposure. Other studies exposed the animals to RF for up to 22 hours per day. These conditions are not similar to the conditions under which people use wireless phones, so we don't know with certainty what the results of such studies mean for human health.
Three large epidemiology studies have been published since December 2000. Between them, the studies investigated any possible association between the use of wireless phones and primary brain cancer, glioma, meningioma, or acoustic neuroma, tumors of the brain or salivary gland, leukemia, or other cancers. None of the studies demonstrated the existence of any harmful health effects from wireless phones RF exposures.
However, none of the studies can answer questions about long-term exposures, since the average period of phone use in these studies was around three years.
What research is needed to decide whether RF exposure from wireless phones poses a health risk?
A combination of laboratory studies and epidemiological studies of people actually using wireless phones would provide some of the data that are needed. Lifetime animal exposure studies could be completed in a few years. However, very large numbers of animals would be needed to provide reliable proof of a cancer promoting effect if one exists.
Epidemiological studies can provide data that is directly applicable to human populations, but ten or
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Consumer Information on Wireless Phones more years' follow-up may be needed to provide answers about some health effects, such as cancer. This is because the interval between the time of exposure to a cancer-causing agent and the time tumors develop - if they do - may be many, many years. The interpretation of epidemiological studies is hampered by difficulties in measuring actual RF exposure during day-to-day use of wireless phones. Many factors affect this measurement, such as the angle at which the phone is held, or which model of phone is used.
What is FDA doing to find out more about the possible health effects of wireless phone RF?
FDA is working with the U.S. National Toxicology
Program and with groups of investigators around the world to ensure that high priority animal studies are conducted to address important questions about the effects of exposure to radio frequency energy (RF).
FDA has been a leading participant in the World Health
Organization international Electromagnetic Fields
(EMF) Project since its inception in 1996. An influential result of this work has been the development of a detailed agenda of research needs that has driven the establishment of new research programs around the world. The Project has also helped develop a series of public information documents on EMF issues.
FDA and Cellular Telecommunications & Internet
Association (CTIA) have a formal Cooperative
Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) to do research on wireless phone safety. FDA provides the scientific oversight, obtaining input from experts in government, industry, and academic organizations.
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CTIA-funded research is conducted through contracts to independent investigators. The initial research will include both laboratory studies and studies of wireless phone users. The CRADA will also include a broad assessment of additional research needs in the context of the latest research developments around the world.
What steps can I take to reduce my exposure to radio frequency energy from my wireless phone?
If there is a risk from these products - and at this point we do not know that there is - it is probably very small.
But if you are concerned about avoiding even potential risks, you can take a few simple steps to minimize your exposure to radio frequency energy (RF). Since time is a key factor in how much exposure a person receives, reducing the amount of time spent using a wireless phone will reduce RF exposure.
• If you must conduct extended conversations by wireless phone every day, you could place more distance between your body and the source of the RF, since the exposure level drops off dramatically with distance. For example, you could use a headset and carry the wireless phone away from your body or use a wireless phone connected to a remote antenna.
Again, the scientific data do not demonstrate that wireless phones are harmful. But if you are concerned about the RF exposure from these products, you can use measures like those described above to reduce your
RF exposure from wireless phone use.
What about children using wireless phones?
The scientific evidence does not show a danger to users of wireless phones, including children and teenagers. If you want to take steps to lower exposure to radio
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Consumer Information on Wireless Phones frequency energy (RF), the measures described above would apply to children and teenagers using wireless phones. Reducing the time of wireless phone use and increasing the distance between the user and the RF source will reduce RF exposure.
Some groups sponsored by other national governments have advised that children be discouraged from using wireless phones at all. For example, the government in the United Kingdom distributed leaflets containing such a recommendation in December 2000. They noted that no evidence exists that using a wireless phone causes brain tumors or other ill effects. Their recommendation to limit wireless phone use by children was strictly precautionary; it was not based on scientific evidence that any health hazard exists.
Do hands-free kits for wireless phones reduce risks from exposure to RF emissions?
Since there are no known risks from exposure to RF emissions from wireless phones, there is no reason to believe that hands-free kits reduce risks. Hands-free kits can be used with wireless phones for convenience and comfort. These systems reduce the absorption of
RF energy in the head because the phone, which is the source of the RF emissions, will not be placed against the head. On the other hand, if the phone is mounted against the waist or other part of the body during use, then that part of the body will absorb more RF energy.
Wireless phones marketed in the U.S. are required to meet safety requirements regardless of whether they are used against the head or against the body. Either
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configuration should result in compliance with the safety limit.
Do wireless phone accessories that claim to shield the head from RF radiation work?
Since there are no known risks from exposure to RF emissions from wireless phones, there is no reason to believe that accessories that claim to shield the head from those emissions reduce risks. Some products that claim to shield the user from RF absorption use special phone cases, while others involve nothing more than a metallic accessory attached to the phone. Studies have shown that these products generally do not work as advertised. Unlike "hand-free" kits, these so-called
"shields" may interfere with proper operation of the phone. The phone may be forced to boost its power to compensate, leading to an increase in RF absorption. In
February 2002, the Federal trade Commission (FTC) charged two companies that sold devices that claimed to protect wireless phone users from radiation with making false and unsubstantiated claims. According to
FTC, these defendants lacked a reasonable basis to substantiate their claim.
What about wireless phone interference with medical equipment?
Radio frequency energy (RF) from wireless phones can interact with some electronic devices. For this reason,
FDA helped develop a detailed test method to measure electromagnetic interference (EMI) of implanted cardiac pacemakers and defibrillators from wireless telephones. This test method is now part of a standard
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Consumer Information on Wireless Phones sponsored by the Association for the Advancement of
Medical instrumentation (AAMI). The final draft, a joint effort by FDA, medical device manufacturers, and many other groups, was completed in late 2000. This standard will allow manufacturers to ensure that cardiac pacemakers and defibrillators are safe from wireless phone EMI. FDA has tested wireless phones and helped develop a voluntary standard sponsored by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers
(IEEE). This standard specifies test methods and performance requirements for hearing aids and wireless phones so that no interference occurs when a person uses a compatible phone and a compatible hearing aid at the same time. This standard was approved by the IEEE in 2000.
FDA continues to monitor the use of wireless phones for possible interactions with other medical devices.
Should harmful interference be found to occur, FDA will conduct testing to assess the interference and work to resolve the problem.
Additional information on the safety of RF exposures from various sources can be obtained from the following organizations:
• FCC RF Safety Program: http://www.fcc.gov/oet/rfsafety/
• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): http://www.epa.gov/radiation/
• Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA): http://www.osha.slc.gov/SLTC/radiofrequencyradiation/ index.html
• National institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH): http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/emfpg.html
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