Towers, antennas & siting

I do not believe most are considering the cumulative effects of emf radiation. You cannot escape it. I have personally been involved in fighting against cel towers placed in 1st a residential neighborhood back yard! & 2ndly in a small neighborhood park in a picnic area that both Verizon & the City of San Diego felt was just fine to have a picnic with a cel tower overhead! Honestly we should be able to use health issues to fight these towers or 5g on street lights in our neighborhoods in our parks and schools. It is getting out of hand and from my personal experience the powers that be will erect and or place these towers and or cells without regard to human safety. Thank you

The FCC says it operates under a "Public Interest Mandate", however by ignoring mounting evidence that radio frequency radiation is harmful, it is not fulfilling that mandate. There are many, many scientific studies that provide evidence that this technology is harmful. FCC should have exercised the Precautionary Principle ("When an activity raises threats of harm to human health or the environment, precautionary measures should be taken even if some cause-and-effect relationships are not fully established scientifically") when cellular technology was first being introduced instead of believing the industry "experts" who were just interested in selling and expanding this technology as fast as possible. My job required that I used a cell phone as soon as they became widely available. I now have a brain tumor behind my right ear - exactly where I used to hold my cell phone to my head. The technology is dangerous and it is the job of the FCC to exercise its "Public Interest Mandate" and protect the public and not cave to the interests of corporations who just want to make a buck even if their products are harmful - sound like the tobacco industry? There are many experts in this area that can provide technical guidance and guidelines to the FCC. Some suggestions may include limiting cell tower locations, limiting the RF power of cell phones, requiring wired internet access to all homes, requiring copper wire land lines in all homes, the list can go on and on. Please have the courage to protect the citizens of the US.

I am writing regarding the FCC’s response to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals’ remand concerning its decades-old radiofrequency (RF) radiation exposure guidelines. The Court directed the FCC to provide a reasoned explanation for its determination that its guidelines adequately protect humans against harmful effects of RF radiation unrelated to cancer. Specifically, the court required the FCC to address the impacts of RF radiation on children, the health implications of long-term exposure, the ubiquity of wireless devices and technological developments, impacts on the environment, and the adequacy of the FCC’s testing procedures for cell phones and other portable devices. The FCC should fully consider evidence and real-world experiences concerning the health and environmental impacts of wireless radiation, including non-cancer health effects, impacts on children, long-term and cumulative exposure, cancer, and impacts on wildlife and the environment. The FCC is not a health agency and does not have expertise in medicine, biology or public health. Yet, the agency continues to assert authority over RF exposure standards and is preparing to reach conclusions about whether its existing guidelines adequately protect the public. I urge the FCC to recognize the critical role of federal health agencies, including the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and to rely on appropriate health and biological expertise when addressing the issues identified by the court. This issue matters to me personally because: I am a 34 year old woman whose life has been profoundly affected by a chronic, debilitating health condition, and who has spent nearly two decades searching for answers. My chronic migraines began when I was 15 years old. Around that time, a cell tower was constructed approximately 0.2 miles directly behind my family’s home. I cannot claim that this tower caused my illness, but the timing of these events has remained significant to me throughout my health journey. My symptoms quickly became so severe that I had to reduce my high school schedule. I woke up nearly every morning with debilitating migraines and vertigo, often unable to function. At one point, I missed more than 30 consecutive days of school. My family and I went from doctor to doctor, desperately searching for the underlying cause. I was prescribed countless medications in an effort to manage my symptoms, many of which came with adverse effects. My education suffered, my grades declined, and what should have been a formative, exciting period of my life became a daily struggle to get through the day. Rather than improving with age, my condition became progressively more severe. By age 26, I was experiencing symptoms that I associated with exposure to wireless devices and infrastructure. My arms would go numb while using my phone. I experienced stabbing pains in my head and stomach when people with cell phones came near me or when I was in areas near cell towers. As newer wireless technologies were introduced, I became increasingly concerned about the relationship between these exposures and my symptoms. My family went to extraordinary lengths to try to help me. We invested significant money in completely hardwiring our home and removing all wireless devices in an effort to reduce my potential exposure and find some measure of relief. This was not a casual lifestyle choice; it was a response to the debilitating reality of my daily life and our desperation to find answers. My family has had to make significant adjustments to our home and way of living because of the severity of my condition. The fact that my health concerns have required these kinds of sacrifices speaks to just how profoundly this has affected not only my life, but the lives of the people who love and support me. Also, when 5G technology was introduced in stadiums, attending sporting events became extraordinarily difficult for me because of the debilitating migraines I experienced. Travel became another challenge. Wi-Fi on airplanes, Bluetooth connections, and the wireless devices used by people around me became sources of concern as I struggled to manage my symptoms. Activities that most people take for granted; attending a game, boarding a plane, going into public spaces, or simply being around other people, became obstacles I had to weigh against the possibility of becoming severely ill. The consequences have extended far beyond physical pain. This condition has isolated me from experiences, relationships, opportunities, and the independence that most adults work toward building. I have struggled to maintain the health necessary to work consistently and support myself. Today, at 34 years old, I remain financially and physically dependent on my parents in ways I never imagined would define my adult life. I would give anything to have the freedom to attend a sporting event without fearing the consequences, travel without anticipating debilitating pain, work toward financial independence, and participate in everyday life without having to calculate the potential cost to my health. No one should have to spend nearly two decades fighting to reclaim a life they feel they have lost, while wondering whether an environmental exposure could be contributing to their suffering. People deserve answers. They deserve rigorous science, transparency, and a regulatory process willing to examine difficult questions. I urge the FCC to give meaningful consideration to the experiences and evidence before it and to fully address each of the issues identified by the court.

Can only use my mobile phone on 4G, 5G rapidly creates nausea, headaches and generalised substantial discomfort, disappearing quite quickly after change from 5G to 4G. Updating my mobile phone on wifi always creates a headache within a few minutes, wifi off after completion. This reflects research such as: "Rev Environ Health. 2017 Sep 26;32(3):291-299. doi: 10.1515/reveh-2017-0014. Functional brain MRI in patients complaining of electrohypersensitivity after long term exposure to electromagnetic fields. Gunnar Heuser 1, Sylvia A Heuser 1" showing emf sensitivity is associated with distinct fMRI scans. "Electromagn Biol Med. 2006;25(4):245-58. doi: 10.1080/15368370601044150. Electrohypersensitivity: state-of-the-art of a functional impairment. Olle Johansson 1" Where in Sweden: "In Sweden, electrohypersensitivity (EHS) is an officially fully recognized functional impairment (i.e., it is not regarded as a disease). Survey studies show that somewhere between 230,000-290,000 Swedish men and women report a variety of symptoms when being in contact with electromagnetic field (EMF) sources." "Int J Prev Med. 2018 Jul 20:9:61. doi: 10.4103/ijpvm.IJPVM_70_17. eCollection 2018. Mobile Phone Distance from Head and Temperature Changes of Radio Frequency Waves on Brain Tissue Farhad Forouharmajd 1, Hossein Ebrahimi 1, Siamak Pourabdian 1" recorded tissue temperature changes from emf. and: "Environ Res. 2018 Jul:164:405-416. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2018.01.035. Epub 2018 Mar 21. Wi-Fi is an important threat to human health. Martin L Pall 1" Summarises the effects of emf on human biology. These papers are part of a growing body of research confirming the experience of many like my self who have direct experience of discomfort in emf fields. That was brought home most clearly years ago when using a laptop on wifi, on initiating a video call, it felt as though my arms were burning, an experience that subsided quite quickly after the call finished.

Before addressing the core matter of this submission, I must formally object to the absurd and needlessly restrictive architecture of the FCC’s public comment system. It is painfully obvious that this interface is designed to suppress public participation rather than encourage it, effectively shutting out the average citizen from participating in having their concerns heard and considered. Unlike the Department of Health and Human Services, which transparently routes public feedback through their centralized, user-friendly Regulations.gov portal, the FCC forces the public to navigate its own proprietary Electronic Comment Filing System. The FCC’s system does not even allow simple keywords and instead the user must use a highly specific numeric docket number (13-84) just to find the submission box. Unless you are actively tracking the court transcripts of current lawsuits against this agency, you will not know about this bracket number. By burying public comment portals behind an obscure and independent interface, the FCC has built a systemic barrier to entry. If a regulatory agency genuinely cares about public input, its systems should be built for the public, not just for corporate lawyers in insider litigants. But this is not merely a problem with how the FCC receives public comments. It is a problem with what happens when those comments are made and the agency fails to adequately respond to the human consequences. My complaint is real. It is personal, documented, and ongoing. As you are fully aware, the current RF exposure guidelines date back to 1996. In more than 30 years since those guidelines were established, wireless technology and the number and proximity of wireless transmitting facilities have changed dramatically. Yet the regulatory framework governing RF exposure has not kept pace with those changes. I live in Florida where state law allows communication facilities, including small wireless facilities, to be placed within public right of ways; Florida Statute 337.401. In my case, that regulatory framework resulted in a 5G small cell installation being placed on the swale adjacent to my property, 32 feet from my bedroom window. The combination of expansive telecommunications citing laws and outdated RF exposure standards has had a real consequence for my family. We have been forced to move from our home due to sickness directly related to RF exposure. I contacted the FCC directly. I explained my circumstances, documented my concerns, and provided two independent third-party reports specifically addressing the RF exposure situation at my property. I asked the agency responsible for this technology, you…the FCC, to consider what was happening to my family. I received no intervention. Looking back, you know what the court ordered you to do. The D.C. Court of Appeals found that the FCC had failed to provide a reasoned conclusion that its RF exposure guidelines adequately protected the public from harmful effects. You were directed to address those deficiencies. Yet five years later, I am living with the consequences of a regulatory system that has failed to adequately account for those concerns. I am asking the FCC to recognize that this issue is no longer theoretical. Families are living in close proximity to increasingly ubiquitous wireless infrastructure, and existing regulations must account for the realities of that environment. The public should not have to sacrifice access to their homes in order to accommodate an expanding wireless infrastructure. The FCC must comply with the law, meaningfully address the scientific evidence before it, and consider human consequences of its regulatory decisions. Public safety cannot be treated as an afterthought. -Amanda Albertelli

I'm writing in regards to the FCCs lack of response to the D.C Court of Appeals remand concerning it's decades old - radio frequency (RF) radiofrequency exposure guidelines. The FCC has had more than enough time to review and address the evidence by the 9th Circuit Court win, on August 13, 2021. This has to be done! Enough lives have already been taken and ruined! This will effect the most vulnerable and already has. I've done extensive research and the ITU BDT (R-T-D) IPEC-WB-WRC-GSR- Plenipotentiary, via the Department of State has to be stopped! We have an industry and government that are both rogue. Not only is wireless harmful it DOES cause cancers! The new P25 warnings out of CA state on the new 5GHz phones "May cause reproductive harm." Since when do we test (never tested) cell phones for RF harm, using a plastic head! Now we are dealing with smart meters, smart grid, Broadband, Wi-fi, satellites, etc. 5GHz now going to over 8GHz via WRC27. Enough is enough and start doing what is right! It may be your own lives you are saving. TRUST ME...losing my son from a cell-tower/cell-phone RF has destroyed my life and I've witnessed many others being harmed. This has to be covered by disabilities. I know people that are so disabled from being exposed that they pray to make it to another day. All of this has to be reigned in. The WEF-WB are not in charge! Sincerely, Virginia Farver

I and others in my circle are very sensitive to EMFs and wireless radiation. We experience headaches, joint aches, cannot think/process clearly, dizziness - and I have read that some people have seizures when exposed to any amount of radiation. There are studies showing that cell phones emit more radiation than is allowed according to current FCC limits. This is multiplied in children, who have smaller bodies/brains (which are still developing). There are wi-fi towers EVERYWHERE, making it very difficult for those who suffer to participate for very long (or at all) in any public place, be it restaurants, libraries, public buildings, and even peoples' houses. Multiple studies show that we do NOT need 5G, as the current speed is sufficient for most needs, yet they keep making signals stronger and forcing us to use them. We are told that EVERYONE needs wi-fi in their homes, so in an apartment building you will have multiple full-strength signals on 24/7. Manufacturers make it difficult to turn routers on and off quickly. All of this radiation is impossible to get away from. EMF protective clothing is not enough. Most of us have ethernet in our homes because we are forced to have wi-fi/computers in order to do anything in life. Alternative measures such as ethernet or landlines are made so expensive that many cannot afford them. Manufacturers do not provide alternatives for sufferers like us. Many people have sued to get masts off of school buildings, as studies have shown higher rates of cancer in students attending those schools. Multiple studies show tumors or weakened bone structure directly under places where people place their phones next to their bodies. Multiple studies show lower sperm counts for men who insist on putting their phones in their pockets. It is outrageous that these studies are not being made public. We are not made aware of the dangers of keeping cell phones on and next to the body for ANY length of time. This is only stated in the VERY SMALL print in cell phone inserts, which are worded in legalese and so small that no one takes the time to read them. Manufacturers should be forced to fully disclose the dangers of cell phone and "smart" machine use to the public. "Smart" meters, TVs, appliances, etc. are another major source of cancer of which no one is aware. Utility companies also make it more expensive and more difficult to stop "smart meters" from being installed on one's property. We are literally killing ourselves by allowing this radiation in every part of our lives. If we want to have a healthy nation, we must fund scientists who can find ways to make communication healthier. Please take a long, hard look at ALL studies, who funded them, how they were set up, and who stands to gain by the outcomes. We need to get back to HONEST scientific reasoning and studies that are not driven by profit and market share. The FCC needs to work for the PUBLIC and IT'S SAFETY once again.

Across the nation many residents are concerned about the small cell wireless antennas being deployed in our community. These powerful antennas, part of the next generation of wireless technology (5G), are being placed in close proximity to our homes, schools and other places where we engage in the activities of our daily lives, even though there is no science that assures their safety. This is an undeniable risk. The rapid rollout of the next generation in wireless communications known as “5G." In neighborhoods like ours across America, so-called “small cell” antennas need to be installed close to homes and apartments to facilitate this new technology. The deployment raises serious issues that should concern everyone in our community: safety, security, privacy, property values and health. The FCC’s human exposure guidelines for the radio frequency (RF) microwave radiation used for this technology are decades out of date and the agency has dismissed the results of decade-long research on RF microwave radiation and human health completed last year by the National Toxicology Program that showed “clear evidence of carcinogenicity.” Because the health and safety of our families is at stake, we demand a moratorium on further deployment of 5G until it can be proven safe. NOTE: This is a security and privacy issue. Wireless networks are relatively easy to hack compared to fiber-optic wired networks. Data from your phone and other wireless personal or home devices can be easily captured and marketed. In addition, small cell installations have the capacity to house cameras for facial recognition, as they do in China. What guarantees do we have that the technology will not be abused? This is a safety issue. Local zoning codes are meant to protect our safety, but the wireless industry is fighting those codes. Most existing utility poles (the preferred location for small cell antennas because it’s cheap) were not designed to withstand the hundreds of pounds of additional equipment, and severe weather events could bring down the poles, causing damage to our homes and property. Our local officials should have the right to decide where those new antennas and their equipment are placed. But perhaps most troubling is the news about our health. A recent (2018) peer-reviewed study by the National Toxicology Program of the National Institutes of Health – the most prestigious health research organization in the world – proved that exposure to radio frequency (RF) radiation, the kind emitted from all wireless devices and their infrastructure, causes cancer and DNA damage. Not maybe. Their language says there was “clear evidence of carcinogenicity.” We urge you to visit www.AmericansForResponsibleTech.org to learn more about these issues and what you can do to protect your home and family.

I urge the FCC to take a careful, science-based look at the potential health effects of long-term exposure to radiofrequency (RF) radiation and to reconsider whether the current exposure limits are adequately protective. The FCC's existing limits date back to 1996, while wireless exposure has increased dramatically with cell phones, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cell towers, and newer 5G technologies. Research has raised concerns about biological effects that are not adequately addressed by limits based primarily on thermal effects, including oxidative stress, DNA damage, reproductive effects, neurological effects, and effects on children. The scientific evidence deserves a thorough and independent review. Research has reported potential effects involving children's exposure, prenatal and developmental outcomes, oxidative stress, DNA damage, reproductive health, neurological function, long-term exposure, and wildlife. I ask the FCC to fully address this evidence, including potential effects from long-term and cumulative exposure and the particular vulnerability of children, before continuing to rely on exposure standards developed three decades ago. Public health protections should keep pace with the technology and the current scientific evidence. **References** 1. Gandhi, O. P., et al. (2012). *Exposure limits: The underestimation of absorbed cell phone radiation, especially in children.* Electromagnetic Biology and Medicine, 31(1), 34–51. doi:10.3109/15368378.2011.622827. 2. Fernández, C., et al. (2018). *Absorption of wireless radiation in the child versus adult brain and eye from cell phone conversation or virtual reality.* Environmental Research, 167, 694–699. 3. Aldad, T. S., Gan, G., Gao, X. B., & Taylor, H. S. (2012). *Fetal radiofrequency radiation exposure from 800–1900 MHz-rated cellular telephones affects neurodevelopment and behavior in mice.* Scientific Reports, 2, 312. doi:10.1038/srep00312. 4. Foerster, M., et al. (2018). *A prospective cohort study of adolescents' memory performance and individual brain dose of microwave radiation from wireless communication.* Environmental Health Perspectives, 126(7). 5. Yakymenko, I., et al. (2016). *Oxidative mechanisms of biological activity of low-intensity radiofrequency radiation.* Electromagnetic Biology and Medicine. 6. Güler, G., et al. (2012). *The effect of radiofrequency radiation on DNA and lipid damage in female and male infant rabbits.* International Journal of Radiation Biology, 88(4), 367–373. doi:10.3109/09553002.2012.646349. 7. Zothansiama, et al. (2017). *Impact of radiofrequency radiation on DNA damage and antioxidants in peripheral blood lymphocytes of humans residing in the vicinity of mobile phone base stations.* Electromagnetic Biology and Medicine. 8. Panagopoulos, D. J. (2019). *Comparing DNA damage induced by mobile telephony and other types of man-made electric fields.* Mutation Research – Reviews in Mutation Research, 781, 53–62. 9. Adams, J. A., et al. (2014). *Effect of mobile telephones on sperm quality: A systematic review and meta-analysis.* Environment International, 70, 106–112. 10. Houston, B., et al. (2016). *The effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation on sperm function.* Reproduction. 11. Altun, A., et al. (2018). *Effects of mobile phone exposure on metabolomics in the male and female reproductive systems.* Environmental Research, 167, 700–707. 12. Yahyazadeh, A., Deniz, Ö. G., & Kaplan, A. A. (2018). *The genomic effects of cell phone exposure on the reproductive system.* Environmental Research, 167, 684–693. 13. Falcioni, L., et al. (2018). *Report of final results regarding brain and heart tumors in Sprague-Dawley rats exposed from prenatal life until natural death to mobile phone radiofrequency field representative of a 1.8 GHz GSM base station environmental emission.* Environmental Research, 165, 496–503. 14. Belpomme, D., Hardell, L., Belyaev, I., Burgio, E., & Carpenter, D. O. (2018). *Thermal and non-thermal health effects of low intensity non-ionizing radiation: An international perspective.* Environmental Pollution, 242, 643–658. 15. Balmori, A. (2015). *Anthropogenic radiofrequency electromagnetic fields as an emerging threat to wildlife orientation.* Science of the Total Environment, 518–519, 58–60. 16. Cucurachi, S., et al. (2013). *A review of the ecological effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF).* Environment International, 51, 116–140. doi:10.1016/j.envint.2012.10.009. 17. Thielens, A., et al. (2018). *Exposure of Insects to Radio-Frequency Electromagnetic Fields from 2 to 120 GHz.* Scientific Reports, 8, 3924.

I developed electrical hypersensitivity and health issues when I lived near a cell tower. My issues have continued since and I have had to make drastic changes in my living and work situations to try to be well. Electromagnetic radiation has a thermal effect and launching countless numbers of satellites is essentially microwaving our planet and contributing to global warming and climate change. Please protect the planet, its people, and future generations by limiting and controlling our exposure to electromagnetic radiation. Abigail Haberman MD