Safety
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absorbed in tissue, either by the whole body or a small part of the body. It is
measured in watts/kg (or milliwatts/g) of matter. This measurement is used
to determine whether a wireless phone complies with safety guidelines.
9. 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 (RF) energy. 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 does 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.
10. 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 Frequency (RF) energy, 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