Li-Fi, fiber & alternatives

I am submitting this comment in response to HHS’s Request for Information on Electromagnetic Fields (EMFs), Radiofrequency (RF) Radiation, and Wireless Radiation Exposure. I am responding from the perspective of someone who is personally affected, a mother of two daughters who are affected, and a concerned member of society. For some reason that is not entirely clear to me, I am acutely aware of the disabling effect of electromagnetic fields on the human body and have been since the early 80’s when these devices first came into our lives. Mainly, I have managed over the years by removing myself from the source of the electromagnetic field. I live out in the country, drive an old car, avoid LED lighting when possible, avoid driving under electronic tolling, avoid biometric face scanning technologies - my old computer is wired via ethernet and I have found technologies for my phone and other devices which seem to help make the effect of the electronic field more bio-compatible - but still, removing oneself from the source of the radiation remains to be the most effective solution. However as these technologies become more and more prevalent, it is becoming more and more difficult to avoid. My first experience with wireless radiation was in 1986, when I returned to Canada from a teaching job in South India. I went to my sister's house and the phone rang. I picked it up and noticed that it did not have a cord. Not having any prior knowledge of this new invention, I wasn’t expecting anything other than what you normally expect to happen when you picked up the phone prior to the advent of cordless phones. I picked it up, noticed that it didn't have a cord and then right away, noticed an extremely intense and disturbing feeling. I would try to describe the feeling by saying, “imagine you were a person who didn't drink coffee and you just had 10 cups of strong coffee”. I felt everything spinning along with an intense, extremely uncomfortable feeling. The feeling began to subside after I put the phone down. The feeling was something I really had never felt before and had no words to describe, but "radiation burn” might come close. I said to myself, Whatever that is, I am never picking up one of those again. Little did I know that there was more to come. A bit more time went by. 3G flip-phones were becoming more popular. I never bought one, and continued to use my old cord phone. I remember that if one of my family members was on the flip phone, and the person on the line wanted to speak to me - I would always vehemently decline. The same feeling that I noticed coming from the cord phone was coming from the flip phone. Fast forward to 2011, I had moved to Seattle, living on the west side and working on the east side. I drove across the 520 bridge several times a week. I knew they were installing tolling hardware on the bridge but it was still not scheduled to start for several months. So, one day .. I was driving across the bridge as usual, not expecting anything unusual, and as I drove under the overhead bar that was being installed I had the most bizarre experience. I felt hundreds of pencil thin rays of burning radiation piercing my body. And, as I was driving along over the bridge I noticed that something like a shadow body fell out of my body as if it was mortally wounded. This is not at all something that I expected, or created from apprehension as I had absolutely no anticipation of anything being any different from any other day that I had driven over the bridge. It took several days for me to actually feel normal again after that. I was so incredulous that this was happening to me that I actually drove over the bridge one more time - thinking that this could not possibly be happening to me. And once again, experienced the same thing. Since then, I have not driven over that bridge. I don't know anything about what kind of technology they are actually using, but it felt like some kind of laser. I support HHS taking an active role in examining the potential health and environmental effects of wireless radiation. Questions about human health should be addressed by federal agencies with appropriate expertise in medicine, biology, epidemiology, and public health, and the experiences of individuals and families who report being affected should be considered alongside the scientific evidence. I urge HHS to carefully evaluate these experiences and the scientific evidence, identify gaps in current research, give particular attention to children and other potentially vulnerable populations, and establish appropriate federal research priorities regarding wireless radiation and public health. I am concerned that in the future, I will not be able to use a computer, travel, drive a car, use a cell phone to do basic functions etc, Thank you for providing individuals and families with an opportunity to be heard.

I have had extensive exposure to cell phones, EMF/ RF, and wireless radiation from wireless devices. Please regulate these devices for our country. In 1994 I owned the older type of cell phone called a "bag phone". Within one year of it sitting next to my body in the car, I developed an ovarian tumor. Fast forward to 2010, I got my first smart cell phone and by 2013 I developed blood leukemia. It was not until this occurred that I became sure the source of these diseases were from the EMF/RF from these devices. To protect my health I got rid of all devices and hardwired my computer into my home, turning off wifi and bluetooth. I have not owned or used a cell phone since 2017 and already deal with many challenges trying to get by in society without participating in the cell phone world.But my health and being alive is more important than any convenience these devices bring me. I live rural and without any cell phone towers nearby. I've started an amateur radio club (IVARC.org) and use radios for communication while mobile and at home. Please regulate and control the growth of EMF/RF and wireless radiation exposure. I can hardly go into a store for more than five minutes, with cell phones, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth making me nauseous and cognitively woozy. LED lights are just as bad for me. I would be happy to testify to these truths. I am already locked out of many choices due to not having a cell phone, and third party verification on a cell phone, I fear things turning all digital and being locked out of the digital world. Amateur radio operator KF6QAW, GMRS radio operator WRPJ605B.

Since I was injured by wireless radiation radio-frequency exposures in 2014, and afterward diagnosed with the United Nations recognized functional impairment known as "EHS" or "EMS" (electro-hypersensitivity and electromagnetic sensitivity, what used to be called "microwave syndrome") I have lived an extremely marginalized and painful existence - suffered job loss, financial and emotional support (shunned socially), and home/property loss (having had to relocate multiple times at my own expense) all because of my physical reactions to these never-ending increasingly ubiquitous (with their introduction into our environments going largely unregulated and unchecked) manmade artificial electromagnetic fields, are extreme (migraines, heart irregularities, tremors, joint and muscle pain, insomnia, brain fog, etc.) and because these EMFs continue to encroach upon my world, shrinking the available safe places for me - where I can find reprieve, rest, enjoyment of the natural world, work, play, and live. For 12 years now I've fought to educate policy makers and the public about my condition (which at least 3% of Americans suffer with) and other ways the public is harmed by an industry that is basically self-regulated and has not done any real, relevant or recent safety tests on their products and clearly cares about profit over people, seeing any who suffer from these exposures as collateral damage. All for what? Supposed (perceived) convenience? We can use communications tech safely via wired options. We could prioritize protecting the public first, esp. the more vulnerable demographics (unborn babies, infants, children, women and others who absorb radiation more readily or are harmed more easily due to other medical conditions), over protecting industry profit. This is what the HHS should be doing and needs to be doing. We cannot possibly be continuing to argue about whether or not these fields harm us, there are tens of thousands of studies done over the past several decades proving this over and over again. (See EMF-portal.org for access to most of these, as well as a few recent studies attached). Not only are humans harmed, so too are animals of all kinds, plants, insects (particularly bees) and soil microbes. We are all interconnected and interdependent, so it matters that these other creatures are suffering. And it matters that the manufacturing of our wireless tech and all things "smart" is harming our natural world through exploitative mining practices and polluting manufacturing, which along with continued planned obsolescence is creating immense "e-waste" with no end to this in site, growing by the day, polluting our waterways and air with toxic heavy metals, and environmentally persistent forever chemicals. Please do the right thing and work to change policy to protect us from this exponentially rapidly increasing threat to public health. Thank you.

I am a retired RN Emergency room nurse for over 45 years. I was a photographer for many years and began full time after I retired. In order to processes my prints, I used lightroom classic on my home computer. Medically I have had intermittent vertigo spells for over 20 years which I have kept managed with physical therapy and other. In 2024 I was struggling to processes my prints on my computer with a new processing system I had obtained. Due to spending hours working on my prints, I had noticed every time I worked on my computer, I became dizzy, agitated with profound nausea and vertigo episodes. I discussed this with my neurologist why this might be happening to me? The reason was uncertain, but I was told to take many breaks away from the computer screen and return later to finish. At a later date we had computer problems and hired a computer expert to come and fix our system. The Tech noted that we had our Wi-Fi router sitting right behind our computer screen, he told us to move this to possibly help my symptoms. We then paid over 2000 dollars, to have our house hard wired to decrease our exposure to RF radiation after hours of research. I immediately felt improvement and was able to use the computer for hours with absolutely no dizziness, vertigo agitation or nausea. Since then, we had purchased a TriField EMF meter, model TF2 to analyze our exposure in our home, very low exposure was noted. We then went out and took readings of local cell towers and were horrified at the RF radiation that was emitting from these cell sites and surrounding homes. Many of these towers were located near or on school property, daycares and neighborhoods. Minden for safe tech was started with locals, and we hired a lawyer and RF specialist to fight Verizon from placing a tower 210 feet from our largest and voted best daycare in Minden. (85 out of 105 parents signed a petition to stop this) Minden for safe tech has spent thousands of dollars of our own money to stop cell towers placement in sensitive areas in Minden. TO DATE there has NEVER been any safety testing done to see if RF exposure harms children. The FCC was sued in 2021 for basically having a 30-year-old outdated inadequate study on humans and to this date they are still not producing any studies of human exposure to RF radiation. Verizon is being sued in California for 7.7 million dollars for NOT maintaining and controlling cell sites for HAZARDOUS WASTE. As a nurse for over 45 years, I am completely flabbergasted that the citizens of America are being exposed to dangerous levels of RF radiation without current studies or regulations to keep these cell towers at a safe distance from sensitive areas. In 2021 11,000 pages of studies from around the world were entered in the 2021 federal court hearing, stating RF exposure did cause harm, and cancer rates increased along with many other health concerns. WHY HAS THIS NOT BEEN ADDRESSED?? Cell phones are emitting RF radiation along with our Wi-fi units but we can personally mitigate all these exposures ourselves like my husband and I did, but a cell tower emits continuous RF radiation 24/7 to all that live close to a tower and nothing they do can mitigate the RF radiation coming from those towers. This is hideous that the FCC does this and has no concern for the public. The FCC can sue local government if they do not allow cell towers to be installed in their community. I am sorry how would you like it if nurses did not look out for your best interest and safety??? This is completely inconceivable to me again as a nurse to have had patient safety pounded into my head to protect you the public and yet the FCC can pillage over the public without any safe guidelines for the RF radiation exposure we all receive. THEIR SAFETY STUDIES ARE 30 YEARS OUTDATED please do something about this! The FCC is running amok across the United States erecting these dangerous cell towers with no one supervising their installation for safety and environmental hazards. The FCC regulations are outdated and unsafe, yet they communicate to our local governments that they follow safe FCC guidelines. How come we cannot deny a local cell tower location due to health or environmental issues then? The FCC was given a pass on this! I find this completely unreasonable, unsafe and preferential treatment for the FCC and an enormous disparity for the public and our children. I challenge the FCC to do a complete safety study on people living under 2000 feet near a cell tower and see that the cases of Cancer can increase up to 17% as studies in Iseral and Germany had documented along with other health concerns ignored by the FCC. Disgraceful! Please regulate cell tower distance from sensitive areas and REQUIRE the FCC to do current safety testing on humans. The FCC cannot run amok! There is so much evidence out there that RF exposure causes harm from around the world please look into it. Thank-you for this chance voice our concerns.

No to all forms of harmful emf's! We are a wired rural family with a landline and only use wireless when absolutely necessary. There are all kinds of studies saying many forms of emfs are harmful to humans and wildlife. No to mega cell towers, data centers and flock cameras - please value human life over the material world.

There has NOT been adequate safety testing for immediate or long term use/exposure to EMFs and wireless radiation. Like everything else, these things can affect people differently. I personally think I am sensitive to it and suffer from headaches way more often than I should. I don't know what's causing it but I have to wonder if EMFs buzzing through and around us all day is healthy. We act like it's normal. It's not. Our ancestors never experienced stuff like this. We're all dropping dead form cancer... why? We can't just put all this stuff out without ever properly testing it in humans and expect that it's fine. There is plenty of anecdotal data that says people get brain tumors on the side their cell phone is one and women get breast cancer when they used to put their phone in their bra. Something is definitely happening and it's not HEALTHY. Please do proper research and then do some more. Don't be afraid to roll things back. Tell people to get hard wired systems in their homes. So many people are suffering without knowing the causes, health is very desired, people WILL make changes to feel better.

This may be a copy of my first submission. I could not search and find my original comment using keywords or the document ID. So here it is again just in case any funny business is going on. I'll be checking again despite the confirmation email: I presume this book has already been recommended, "The Body Electric" However I would like to add a couple personal ideas: In the past, the stereotype of "Tin Foil Hat" has been associated with conspiracy theory. I have wondered, what would make these particular people sensitive to EMF enough to wear tin foil? My thought is that they could have higher heavy metal content in the body that might act like an antenna. This could be from vaccines or from environmental exposures. If mercury ultimately ends up in the brain stem, it would make the tin foil hat even more applicable in blocking signal to the otherwise minimal heavy metals in the body. Even braces have been joked as being able to pick up radio waves. Another idea, I think for this and many other reasons, in home saunas should be subsidized for every American to build with HSA funds. This would also strongly help combat plastics in the body thanks to the personal studies by Bryan Johnson. Another idea, I think every school should be made into a complete Faraday cage, potentially with lead paint under siding to prevent exposure, so that students and teachers are made to be present in class, as well as cut exposure to EMFs in school. I believe it can be argued that it does not serve our children to have in their pockets the most distracting thing of all time during class. I believe in the event of emergencies, old fashioned wired telephones should work just fine. A small addition to that is standardize the books please, there's no reason college education requires buying new editions on old information. Standardize academics and remove extra curriculars, make those into community classes without pay. The classic books need to be in schools again. Wiring in walls could be made into a grid to power the building as well as cage external EMFs with enough grounding, I say this as an aerospace electrician, however every building would need special engineering, and doing so would cost a ton more copper, but could be measured inside of each room with a sensitive RF meter or even an oscilloscope for measuring the wavelengths exposed to, as in The Body Electric, specific frequencies and pulsing matters as well. I may even just recommend the final chapter of the book. Maybe we can control for Russian standards in home/school/work areas. I think home standards could include the use of piling earth alongside sturdy walls as a form of EMF shielding, similar to living underground. This could provide safe EMF exposure at home without the high demand for conductive metal for a faraday cage or lead paint for a complete blockage of EMF fields. I think studies should be done in the wearing of polyester, which generates static electric charge stored on the body. If my instinct is correct, this is bad for the body, as it makes me feel bad until I am grounded by ESD shock. If this is true, we should move towards natural materials. I think trade for more agriculture could improve, I know Ireland has had to throw away excess wool or use it to nourish farm soil rather than sell it. My final suggestion is if we upgrade the grid to provide nuclear power is that we bury the power lines. Europe does this, and I think especially in tornado alley this is not only safer but the EMF exposure is automatically grounded by being under the earth, plus it should be easier to work on. Thank you for reading. I suspect I negatively impacted my health working in electrical testing, operating DITMCO machines for nearly a decade. I wonder if these electric cars will have high EMF production. I also wonder if we should incorporate jewelry that acts as a capacitor so that we never store an ESD charge in our bodies. The book The Body Electric is required reading on this subject. Please, read it.

I oppose further expansion of 5G infrastructure without a thorough, transparent, and independent evaluation of potential health and environmental impacts. I urge HHS to prioritize public health and address the concerns of people who cannot readily choose or control their exposure. I ask HHS to support independent research into long-term exposure, including potential effects on children, pregnant people, and individuals reporting sensitivity to wireless devices. Reports of adverse symptoms deserve respectful investigation, with careful assessment of possible causes. Please evaluate whether existing exposure standards adequately address real-world conditions, including exposure from multiple sources over time. Findings, uncertainties, funding sources, and conflicts of interest should be clearly disclosed to the public. I also urge federal agencies to support wired connectivity options, accessible exposure monitoring, and meaningful community participation in decisions about infrastructure near homes, schools, and workplaces. My position is no to continued 5G expansion without stronger public accountability and a credible, independent assessment of health and environmental concerns. Public health must come first.

Look at the NBA health and wellness coaches. They are encouraging (and it's now becoming more common) players NOT to wear Apple Wifi/Bluetooth Air Pods and use the wired headphones.

I cannot use a mobile phone as one to my ear to take a few seconds of a call gives me headache for 24 hours. Even a text received when the mobile is in my hand sends a painful shock to my hand, which extends up my arm and can last for hours. I cannot be near wifi as I feel an ache from the buzz and unpleasant sensation it gives off. For some years, the wifi router was on my desk or in my study. I developed bladder cancer. I now use ethernet in the whole house, as do my family.