Occupational exposure

10 years ago in Sept 2016 I was a healthy 24 year old who just found out I was expecting my first baby. That month my small office sold my parking spot for a big cell tower to be built. That next month my health completely plummeted. A rash completely took over my face, arms, neck, and chest and I soon miscarried the baby (blighted ovum) took me years to fully recover. Interesting in my small office about half of the people had a health crisis that month. The secretary walked in one day, got to work and then couldnt stand up again. She had to get wheeled out in her office chair and was diagnosed with some sort of fungal infection. Took her months of rehab to walk again. My boss had a terrible diverticulitis flair and another person had a mini stroke. Other factors I wonder about is the susceptibility of those with hEDS or those with additional mold exposure as these other factors for me. I'm very suspicious that it was a combination of these factors. And that's why not everyone experiences the same reactions.

I was poisoned in a sick building incident in 1993 in Downers Grove, IL with new carpets and glues. I became incapacitated with MCS - Multuple Chemical Sensitivities. I was on full disability for months. Then the company got a major hospital to say since I had been allergies to pollen, grasses, weeds, trees (and cockroaches!) I HAD A PRE-EXISTING CONDITION and they weren't culpable. I use the holistic medical system. They did their best but I didn't improve much. Adrenal support helped. A plant detox powder helped to stop the debilitating symptoms. It took me 17 difficult years to find out that under the MSC was severe ElectroMagnetic Frequency Sensitivity. When my body and home were remediated, I improved greatly! I was so much less sensitive! My life was able to expand and my health improved. So, being in facets of the holistic field, I became a missionary on my EMF soapbox. I gave lectures on it, wrote articles, tried to sell remediation products to help others. Most people were not at all interested. I understand that it asks of them to believe that the industry and government didn't have their best interests in mind. But I was so disappointed that most didn't want to learn, change and protect themselves and their kids. I am grateful that one practitioner told me about EMF sensitivity, and sold me some remediation products for my body and home. She said our home was the worst she ever saw for EMF and dirty electricity pollution. Thank you, Gina Orlando Forest Park, IL

Re: HHS-OASH-2026-0397 — Occupational RF/EMF exposure and radar-maintenance workers I ask HHS to include current and retired radar-maintenance technicians in its evaluation of RF/EMF exposure and health. My Illinois Air National Guard work ran from 1981–1989; my FAA civilian employment ran from 1990–2017. Please consider this comment with both attachments: 1. “01 HHS response - numbered questions.pdf” answers Questions 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 16, 17 and 18. 2. “02 Supporting attachment - ANG and FAA radar maintenance.pdf” provides a partial maintenance account, historical FAA and AFOSH requirements, reproduced source material, research references, records-access concerns and seven policy recommendations. My work included energized radar and communications equipment, close working positions, simultaneous transmitter operation and troubleshooting under conditions different from ordinary operation. During ANG and FAA work, I removed covers and protective shields and energized equipment for troubleshooting and alignment near exposed high-voltage circuitry, discharge thyratrons, magnetrons, and klystrons. Assessments should represent actual maintenance conditions: worker position, task duration, open cabinets, altered shielding and simultaneous sources. They should also address indoor work in the building nearest the emitters, including possible reflections and standing waves. Equipment and building information and measurements are needed; external antenna calculations alone do not resolve indoor exposure. The RFI concerns non-ionizing RF/EMF. The attachment also addresses possible equipment-generated ionizing X-rays as a separate pathway that may coexist with RF. I ask researchers to evaluate each pathway and possible combined effects. Historical hazard descriptions and my recollections do not establish my individual dose or prove disease causation. I ask HHS to include endocrine outcomes, parathyroid disease and calcium regulation in long-term occupational research. The attachment distinguishes proposed mechanisms and experimental findings from established clinical evidence. Occupational-health processes should connect abnormal findings with appropriate medical evaluation and review of continuing workplace exposures. Written safety and occupational-health programs existed. I recall a Safety and Environmental Compliance Manager, but I do not recall ever receiving medical surveillance related to radiation exposure during my FAA employment. That recollection does not establish that no assessment occurred. The question is how requirements were implemented: what conditions were assessed, how findings were communicated, what monitoring decisions were made, and what referrals or follow-up were provided. Obtaining evidence has itself become a burden. Through FOIA, I have requested RF surveys, equipment configurations, technical manuals, safety training and occupational-health records. Despite multiple requests, follow-ups and an appeal, the records needed to evaluate my maintenance conditions are not readily available to me. An FAA response identified radiation-safety course updates in 2018 and 2023 without supplying those materials. FAA's historical requirements called for radiation-survey data, employee exposure records and related medical evaluations to be retained for employment plus 30 years. Employee exposure records were to be catalogued and readily accessible. I ask HHS to address the difference between required retention and effective worker access. Agencies should identify custodians, locate records and explain documented transfers or disposition. Unavailable evidence should not be treated as proof of no exposure or no harm. I ask HHS to coordinate with FAA/DOT, the Department of Defense, the Air Force, ANG and occupational-health agencies to evaluate actual maintenance exposures, provide relevant records, support long-term research involving retired technicians, clarify medical-referral and follow-up responsibilities, and assess workforce and public-safety consequences where gaps are identified. I also ask HHS to cooperate with Congress on a coordinated compensation pathway for occupational radiation harm. VA permits post service disability claims without a filing deadline; FECA generally has a three-year filing rule, with special provisions for latent disability. Workers with military and federal civilian exposure histories can encounter different rules for the same diagnosed illness. Related claims should receive coordinated or parallel evaluation using shared evidence and clear eligibility and benefit-coordination guidance. Please read both attachments as parts of this response. They provide the experience, evidence, limitations and recommendations supporting these requests.

My husband was disabled from wi-fi 2 years ago when his job (public teaching) put in so many wireless devices in his classroom that he his system was overwhelmed by the toxicity. He had to flee the city for 5 days as even basic electricity was making him extremely sick. These cases are well documented and there is NO doubt that it is Wi-fi and EMR that is causing this. He is now home bound and can only leave the house for a very short amount of time before the cell towers around town make him extremely sick. PLEASE, HHS, put restrictions on EMR exposure before this happens to more people. Make actual safety guidelines that companies, cities, neighborhoods, etc have to abide by to protect people from this harmful toxin. The federal government denied my husband's disability request because you people don't know this is a real condition yet. Please get informed! This condition is well documented! There is no excuse for remaining willfully ignorant.

We need as much information as possible to help those or live or work and get exposed to EMFs. I hope this topic will be made a priority to improve the health and well being of a lot of US citizens .

"Radiation" just means energy traveling as waves. 5G uses radio waves, the same family as FM radio, TV, and Wi-Fi. These waves are non-ionizing, meaning they can't break chemical bonds or damage DNA. Even 5G's highest bands carry about 0.0002 electron-volts per photon. Visible light carries about 2 eV, and damaging UV and X-rays start around 10 eV. 5G falls short of that by a factor of tens of thousands. The one established biological effect of radio waves is mild tissue heating, and safety rules exist to prevent exactly that. ICNIRP (the international standard) and the FCC set public limits about 50 times below the level where measurable heating begins. Reaching the limit doesn't mean harm. It means you still have a wide safety margin. Radio power falls with the square of distance. At twice the distance you get a quarter of the power, and at ten times the distance you get 1/100th. Tower antennas are mounted high and aimed at the horizon, not at people standing below. Measurement surveys around 5G sites consistently find public exposure at around 1% of the limit or less. Midday sunlight delivers about 1,000 watts per square meter to your skin. The public limit for 5G millimeter waves is 10 W/m², which is 100 times lower, and real-world tower exposure is far below even that. A few minutes outside on a summer day puts more energy into your skin than living next to a tower. A higher frequency doesn't make a wave more dangerous. 5G's high-band (mmWave) signals are absorbed in roughly the top millimeter of skin and can't reach your organs. Walls, windows, leaves, and even your hand block them, which is why mmWave needs so many small cells. Your skin sheds much larger heat loads every day through blood flow and sweat. Most US 5G doesn't use mmWave at all. It runs on low and mid bands (600 MHz to about 4 GHz), similar to 4G and Wi-Fi. At rest, your body generates about 80–100 watts of heat. A phone transmits at most a watt or two, and much less when the signal is strong. The energy from a tower that actually reaches you is a tiny fraction of a watt. When a phone feels warm, the heat comes from its battery and processor, not from radio waves. A microwave oven concentrates about 1,000 watts inside a sealed metal box. Wi-Fi uses the same 2.4 GHz frequency at about a tenth of a watt, spread in every direction. The danger comes from concentrated power, not the frequency itself. Cell towers deliver neither high concentration nor close proximity. Radio-frequency energy has been researched for over 60 years across radar, broadcasting, and the millimeter-wave body scanners used at airports. The World Health Organization states that no adverse health effect has been causally linked to wireless technology exposure within the limits. In 2011, IARC classified RF fields as "possibly carcinogenic" (Group 2B). That was based on limited, inconsistent data about heavy phone use held against the head, not towers. The same category includes aloe vera extract and pickled vegetables. Brain cancer rates have stayed flat despite billions of people adopting phones. Some researchers want more long-term mmWave studies, since widespread public use is relatively new. A minority argue for non-thermal effects, but those haven't been reliably reproduced. Workers right in front of rooftop antennas are a different situation. That's why access is restricted and occupational rules apply. Bottom line: 5G towers emit low-energy, non-ionizing waves. By the time those waves reach you, they're a sliver of a limit that is itself set 50 times below the point of any measurable heating. The sun, your own metabolism, and a hot shower all put far more heat into your body.

I believe I may have already submitted a comment but I wanted to be sure as this may be a different submission. I have been dealing with sensitivity to cell phones for the past 9 years- as I’m a Registered Dental Hygienist and was also feeling pain in my face and neck when I took radiographs. I resigned from hygiene and started a new position selling dental supplies. For the last 7 or so years I have been better as I haven’t been taking radiographs. Up until Aug of this year- when I moved into a “newer” apartment home and had to move because the home was making me so sick. I have since moved again, and now am being affected by the smart meter on the home. I feel healthy and well when I’m in spaces that don’t have smart meters on them. I am a 44 year old woman and otherwise healthy. I’m on NO prescription meds, and feel incredibly well when I stay away from the heavy hitters of EMF. I’m very worried about my future- and I sure hope that soon I can have the option to opt out of the smart meter on my home because soon I may not be able to live anywhere and feel good. I’m a career woman who enjoys working and taking care of my family but this has been a daunting experience and again I’m incredibly worried about my future and health. Please please help us and create some kind of safety net for individuals who are sensitive!

I feel it and I know that the radiation affects my health. For over 20 years I was a computer teacher and I battled respiratory infections 2 to 3 times a year. I was prescribed antibiotics, antihistamines, steroids, cough meds, an inhaler, and I used a netti pot. When I retired 2015, I did not get sick for 4 years. During those years I developed tinnitus. I am able to control the respiratory issues by using supplements and other remedies. I have been relieved from the tinnitus whenever I can get away from the 5G and wifi. This past year has been worse than previous years. Our area has strong radiation now as my phone often shows 5G+ and we don't need Wifi extender in our house. I pray you can do something to help!

My daughter was born with cancer. She was the first case in Puerto Rico. She was born on the day of my birthday without previous sings and it was one of the most aggressive cases. The name of the cancer was Rapdosarcoma. During the first months of pregnancy I was working with a metal detector and had to walk through it every day. My daughter lived for 7 months. I also had a coworker who was pregnant as well, with just one month of difference between the pregnancies. She had to go through the metal detector every day as well. A few months after she had her son, it resulted that he also developed cancer and ended up dying like my daughter. We were the only two pregnant women in that building and we both lost our babies.

My daughter was born with cancer. She was the first case in Puerto Rico. She was born on the day of my birthday without previous sings and it was one of the most aggressive cases. The name of the cancer was Rapdosarcoma. During the first months of pregnancy I was working with a metal detector and had to walk through it every day. My daughter lived for 7 months. I also had a coworker who was pregnant as well, with just one month of difference between the pregnancies. She had to go through the metal detector every day as well. A few months after she had her son, it resulted that he also developed cancer and ended up dying like my daughter. We were the only two pregnant women in that building and we both lost our babies.