Towers & siting

I am submitting this comment to share my personal experience with severe neurological symptoms and debilitating sleep disturbances that I consistently experience in environments with wireless radiofrequency (RF) exposure, particularly near cellular antennas, Wi-Fi routers, and wireless devices. My symptoms are severe, disabling, and have dramatically affected my quality of life. When I am near cellular antennas, I experience intense vertigo, dizziness, and a sensation of movement inside my head, almost as though I am on a rocking boat. I describe it as feeling waves moving through my head, even when I am completely still. However, the most devastating symptom is my inability to sleep. When I am in an environment with elevated RF exposure, particularly near cellular antennas, my brain feels as though it cannot shut down. It is an overwhelming sensation of neurological overstimulation. My mind remains constantly active, even when I am physically exhausted and desperately trying to sleep. The best way I can describe it is as if someone were waking me up millions of times per second, preventing my brain from ever transitioning into restorative sleep. It feels like my brain is trapped in a continuous state of alertness, unable to disengage or rest. This is not simply ordinary insomnia or racing thoughts. It is an intense physical sensation that I experience in certain environments, accompanied by dizziness, internal vibrations, and an inability to achieve sustained sleep. Cellular antennas appear to trigger my most severe reactions, although I also experience symptoms around Wi-Fi routers, wireless phones, and other RF-emitting devices. The severity of these episodes can be extreme. I can spend an entire night unable to sleep, despite being completely exhausted. This has profoundly affected my ability to function, work, recover physically, and live a normal life. I have become so debilitated by these experiences that, without the ability to work remotely, I do not know how I would have maintained employment. I understand that the scientific understanding of RF/EMF exposure and its potential health effects continues to evolve. I am not claiming that my personal experience alone establishes causation. However, the consistency and severity of my symptoms in environments where I perceive higher exposure deserve serious scientific investigation rather than dismissal. I respectfully urge HHS to prioritize research into: 1. The potential relationship between chronic RF exposure and severe sleep disturbances, including repeated nighttime awakenings and disrupted sleep architecture. 2. Neurological symptoms such as vertigo, disequilibrium, internal vibration sensations, and perceived neurological overstimulation. 3. Individual differences in reported sensitivity to RF/EMF exposure, including people who experience disabling symptoms at exposure levels currently considered compliant with safety standards. 4. The potential effects of nighttime exposure from cellular infrastructure, Wi-Fi, and wireless devices on sleep and neurological functioning. 5. Objective, independently conducted studies that investigate these symptoms using exposure measurements, sleep monitoring, and neurological assessments. I also urge HHS to consider the experiences of individuals whose symptoms are so severe that they struggle to remain in their homes, sleep normally, or maintain employment. Sleep is a fundamental biological necessity. When a person cannot sleep night after night, the consequences can be devastating. My experience has changed my entire life. I am asking HHS to take these reports seriously, investigate them rigorously, and ensure that people experiencing debilitating symptoms are included in future research and public health discussions. Thank you for considering my testimony.

EMF exposure has affected the health of my family. We used to live 29 feet away from a 5G tower and had a smart meter outside of our bedroom window. Both my husband and I suffered insomnia, headaches, miscarriage, aches and pains, etc., we never felt well rested and had brain fog. Once we moved, our brain fog disappeared, we started sleeping through the night, and we got pregnant!

I would like for more research and testing on this subject. I began having health issues right around the time 5G went live and several towers went up around our home. I have had all sorts of things tested and it appears that I am sensitive to EMF which may increase other things that are effecting me like mold. There isn't solid information on this subject and it's time for the government to protect people by looking into the issue. We see towers and data centers going up everywhere and no one knows the long term effects. Please help the US citizens know if our concern are valid.

Very sensitive to WiFi/cell. Started by getting welts and torso skin burning when I used my phone after getting Nest doorbell and thermostat. I was unable to sleep for years, body visibly twitches. I didn't get any sleep signal so I was awake mobilized with heart racing all night. My melatonin release was suppressed and my nervous system was being stimulated. Always slept ok away from the city. Bought emf meter and it's around 1-3V in the home even with modem off. Bought a silver thread shielding canopy to sleep in, instant good sleep from night one! In 2023 though I injured my hip area, what should have healed in 4 weeks is still an issue 3 years later. In my home, at work and/or when an event comes to town (a fair or boat show etc), or in certain stores/places my muscles seize up randomly and violently, much worse at the site of injury. Any injury site has inflammation which I was told is a lighting rod for emf, and mast cells degranulate faster etc. I can go from unable to walk at all in a store, body all stiff and locked up, drive half hour away and walk in the canyons for hours or swim in a lake without issue. Then come back home and be unable to walk again. I started wearing a shielding hoodie all day long, with hood up, and it attenuates the response considerably and almost instantly. But it's embarrassing to have to wear. Recently many new cells (small and medium plus 2 large towers) have gone up a few blocks from my home. When events are on I can tell because my skin starts crawling, itching, burning, the hoodie isn't enough to block all the extra. I need to leave home during those times, go into the canyons, and then I'm fine. It's bizarre, and also crippling and expensive, and unsustainable.

I am writing in response to HHS’s Electromagnetic Fields (EMFs), Radiofrequency (RF) Radiation, and Wireless Radiation Exposure and how dangerous these are to humans. In recent times I have advocated for the innocent ones who will grow up in a harmful era and not be protected. As a parent and grandparent, I am concerned for our future generations what these will do to our offspring. Please fight for our freedom to protect and no more cell towers. Be allowed. I have autoimmune health problems, and my doctors that it is due to the Electromagnetic Fields (EMFs), Radiofrequency (RF) Radiation, and Wireless Radiation Exposure. Thank you for your concern

I am an extremely concerned citizen who has done the research to educate myself on the topic of 5G. I know numerous women and children who have been affected by the radiation coming from small cell towars placed within their neighborhoods, school yards, and offices. I actively avoid businesses with 5G small towers on the building. I do become dizzy, nauseous, and irritable near 5G small cell and cell towers. I am concerned for my future children as 5G is scientifically proven to impact male gametes. 5G towers were constructed without the public's knowledge, approval, or consideration. The negative health effects are proving detrimental. It is time to remove 5G cells from our homes, jobs, and community.

Hello, my name is Lisa. I am a mother of 3 living in a Chicago suburb in IL. We live in a house next to a water tower with 5G and everyday I consider moving to protect my children from radiation. I think it’s unlawful to be exposed to 5G and other EMF without consent — knowing that it causes cellular harm/damage. Please help us by regulating where 5G can go and regulation of emf “safe” thresholds. Sincerely, A mom just trying to raise the next healthy generation.

Dear Sir or Madame, It is imperative we, as humans, take care to put an immediate halt to the frenzied build-out of the current wireless and EMF related infrastructure. Updated information has not been provided to the public by the FCC since 1996. This is beyond absurd. People barely had dial-up internet at the time the last information was released by the FCC. It’s been 30 years and the technology has exponentially advanced and infiltrated our everyday lives, publicly and privately with little regard for the harm it presents to all life big and small. Please do what is right and not what the industry, that lines your pockets, tells you. Sincerely, A Very Concerned Parent.

Hi - I live right next to a newly built 5g tower. Although we were aware of some health effects, that it may cause, we did not know the full extent until after the tower was built. My mother who has not had a headache in over 35 years is experiencing them almost every day. I have started experiencing headaches, the worse I’ve had in my life and I never used to get them. Both of my parents are older and live with us on our property and they seem to feel more disoriented than they should. All of our sleeping patterns, including mine my husband’s my parents and my daughters have shifted. My biggest concern is the fact that I have to take an ibuprofen every single day to get rid of this full head headache that i get.

Personal Testimony and Call for Research and Protection for People Reporting Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity (EHS) Public Comment — HHS-OASH-2026-0397 To the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I live in Israel and have practiced complementary and integrative healthcare for approximately 28 years. I write both as a practitioner and as someone whose life was profoundly changed by a severe health crisis that I attribute to prolonged, cumulative exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF). For years, my symptoms were mild and seemed insignificant. Then, within a few months, my health deteriorated rapidly. I experienced weakness, a choking sensation, elevated blood glucose, and other unexplained symptoms. As my condition worsened, I began noticing a recurring association between EMF exposure and my symptoms. I describe this through the “bucket theory”: drops accumulate unnoticed for years until the bucket overflows. For me, symptoms then appeared in an unbearable cascade, like a house of cards collapsing. During this crisis, I also developed severe multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS). About five years ago, the crisis affected multiple body systems. Alongside severe symptoms, I experienced measurable physiological changes: increased blood glucose, hemoglobin (Hb), blood pressure, and heart rate. My recovery continues today. My quality of life, daily functioning, and freedom of movement remain severely restricted. Ordinary activities require planning, environmental adjustments, and major sacrifices. From my own experience, the exposure–symptom connection is clear to me. I recognize that a causal relationship is not established scientific consensus. This gap between patients’ experiences and established knowledge makes rigorous, independent research open to new findings essential. People reporting EHS often describe similar experiences despite diverse symptoms. Reported responses may differ by frequency, exposure type, and over time. These patterns deserve investigation. I urge HHS to take the following steps: 1. Expand existing research: Support independent genetic, physiological, clinical, and epidemiological studies, collaborating with EHS researchers in Europe and elsewhere. 2. Investigate biomarkers: Examine and replicate findings concerning the nervous system, inflammation, and possible myelin damage, alongside blood markers, heart rate, blood pressure, and autonomic function. Identify reliable indicators and potential patient subgroups. 3. Study individual susceptibility: Investigate genetic and physiological differences that might explain reported reactions at exposures below current limits. 4. Reassess exposure standards: Study possible non-thermal effects and prolonged, combined exposure from multiple sources. 5. Review mobile-phone emissions and inform the public: In independent measurements I conducted about five years ago, I recorded 50–70 mW/m² near my phone. Today, during calls on that same phone, I measure pulses of 150–300 mW/m², peaks exceeding 1,800 mW/m², and readings above 2,000 mW/m² near newer smartphones, under broadly similar conditions. The 2012 BioInitiative Report discusses reported biological effects at 0.03 mW/m². These observations warrant investigating changes in exposure over time, reviewing standards, transparently informing the public, and developing safer communication technologies. Reference: BioInitiative Report (2012), Conclusions: https://bioinitiative.org/conclusions/ 6. Reduce environmental exposure and protect basic rights: Reconsider antenna deployment, including relocating transmitters away from residential areas, reducing small-cell and 5G installations, and promoting wired communication. Evaluate public warnings about mobile phones and other wireless technologies. Establish dedicated recovery spaces with electromagnetic exposure as close to zero as technically possible, minimizing both radiofrequency and power-frequency fields for people in severe health crises. Protect freedom of movement, health, and access to essential services, including for those who may develop sensitivity in the future. 7. Train healthcare professionals: Ensure respectful care, thorough medical evaluation, and support without dismissing patients’ symptoms. 8. Include people reporting EHS in research: Involve them in study design and research priorities. Lack of scientific consensus about causation does not justify disregarding symptoms, physical findings, or the need for appropriate medical care and research. I hope this initiative advances recognition, meaningful research, and practical solutions for people reporting EHS worldwide. I am willing to share my experience, provide relevant medical information confidentially with my consent, and participate in suitable studies. Thank you for considering my testimony.