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Section 4A: Safety 154
licensing (e.g., PCS, cellular), the licensee is granted the authority to operate a radio
communications system in a geographic area using as many facilities as are
required, and the licensee is not required to provide the FCC with specific location
and operating parameters of these facilities.
Information on site specific licensed facilities can be found the “General Menu
Reports”(GenMen) at h
ttp://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/genmen/index.hts.
The various FCC Bureaus also publish on at least a weekly basis, bulk extracts of their
licensing databases. Each licensing database has its own unique file structure. These
extracts consist of multiple, very large files. The FCC’s Office of Engineering and
Technology (OET) maintains an index to these databases at
h
ttp://www.fcc.gov/oet/info/database/fadb.html. Entry points into the various
databases include frequency, state/county, latitude/longitude, call-sign and
licensee name. For further information on the Commission’s existing databases, you
can contact Donald Campbell at dcampbel@f
cc
.gov
or 202-418-2405.
Can local and state governmental bodies establish limits for
RF exposure?
Although some local and state governments have enacted rules and regulations
about human exposure to RF energy in the past, the Telecommunications Act of
1996 requires the Federal Government to control human exposure to RF emissions.
In particular, Section 704 of the Act states that, “No State or local government or
instrumentality thereof may regulate the placement, construction, and
modification of personal wireless service facilities on the basis of the environmental
effects of radio frequency emissions to the extent that such facilities comply with
the Commission’s regulations concerning such emissions.”Further information on
federal authority and FCC policy is available in a fact sheetfrom the FCC’s Wireless
Telecommunications Bureau at w
ww.fcc.gov/wtb.
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 radiofrequency
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.
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 radiofrequency energy (RF) at a level that is hazardous to