Smart meters

Thank you for requesting public comments about RF wireless radiation, as well as other forms of non-ionizing electromagnetic fields (EMF), including extremely low-frequency electric and magnetic fields from power lines, electrical grid equipment, appliances, and other sources. The U.S. government’s safety limits have not kept up with Americans' use and exposure to technology. The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) RF wireless radiation exposure guidelines have not been updated since 1996 and in 2019, the agency declined to change them. https://www.fcc.gov/general/radio-frequency-safety-0 Meanwhile EMF emissions are increasing as new 765 kV high-voltage transmission lines have been proposed for AI data centers and wireless infrastructure continues to be deployed. I am the Ohio Point Person for Children’s Health Defense (CHD) EMR + Wireless Coalition and a board member of SWORT (Southwest Ohio for Responsible Technology). SWORT is a non-partisan grassroots group with members throughout Ohio. We receive no funding. We hear from Ohioans who have been injured from EMF exposure and/or they have loved ones who have been injured. There is only so much we can do to help them. We advise that they eliminate all wireless sources in their homes but this is not always possible as not all utility providers allow consumers to “opt out” of their wireless “smart” meters. Having a wireless-free home isn’t always enough either, for example in situations when wireless emitting infrastructure (cell towers, etc.) has been installed near their homes. Not everyone can afford to shield their homes or move to a safer location. We also regularly refer Ohioans to national organizations for advice on how to address these issues. There is only so much these organizations can do to help them as well. Currently there are Americans of all ages whose health is being compromised by EMF exposure. Some are truly suffering and they have no way to protect themselves from it. This will only get worse if U.S. government agencies do not immediately take action to resolve this. So I ask that HHS do everything in its power to immediately address all of this now. See below for a list of links for review. Thank you for your consideration. Studies of radiofrequency (RF) radiation have reported: Increased cancer risk https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0013935122011781 Neurological effects https://ejournal.lucp.net/index.php/mjn/article/view/4348 Genetic damage https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-026-60822-1 Biochemical changes https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0013935122011781 Cognitive effects https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1557988318816914 Impacts to sleep https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0013935121000281 More research: U.S. Policy on Wireless Technologies and Public Health Protection: Regulatory Gaps and Proposed Reforms https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1677583/full ICBE-EMF Policymaker Factsheet Cell Tower, Wireless Radiation and Policy Recommendations https://icbe-emf.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/ICBE-EMF-Policymaker-Factsheet- Safeguarding Children’s Health in the Digital Age: Addressing Screen Time, Wireless Radiation, and Extremely Low Frequency Non-Ionizing Electromagnetic Field Exposures https://icbe-emf.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/ICBE-EMF-Child-Health-Cell-Phone-Cell-Tower-EMF-Position-Statement-PDF-982026-1.pdf Exposure limits to radiofrequency EMF do not account for cancer risk or reproductive toxicity assessed from data in experimental animals https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12940-026-01288-6 McCredden, J. E., Cook, N., Weller, S., & Leach, V. (2022). Wireless technology is an environmental stressor requiring new understanding and approaches in health care. Frontiers in Public Health, 10, Article 894447. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.894447 Miller, A. B., Sears, M. E., Morgan, L. L., Davis, D. L., Hardell, L., Oremus, M., & Soskolne, C. L. (2019). Risks to health and well-being from radio-frequency radiation emitted by cell phones and other wireless devices. Frontiers in Public Health, 7, Article 223. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2019.00223 Evidence for a health risk by RF on humans living around mobile phone base stations: From radiofrequency sickness to cancer https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0013935122011781 Links from national organizations: https://ehsciences.org/are-cell-towers-safe/ https://www.ehn.org/cancer-wireless-radiation-limits https://www.saferemr.com/2018/02/effects-of-exposure-to-electromagnetic.html https://ehtrust.org/send-science-to-the-fcc-govt-is-asking-for-evidence-you-can-help-now/ https://www.ehn.org/effects-emf-power-lines https://childrenshealthdefense.org/electromagnetic-radiation-wireless/

In 1971 The Naval Research Institue published: https://zoryglaser.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/BIBLIOGRAPHY-OF-REPORTED-BIOLOGICAL-PHENOMENA-EFFECTS-AND-CLINICAL-MANIFESTATIONS-ATTRIBUTED-TO-MICROWAVE-AND-RADIO-FREQUENCY-RADIATION-NO-2.pdf ​By Dr. Zoey Glaser HIs website is here: https://zoryglaser.com/zory-archives-date/ and I ask that it be included as part of my comment. In 2022 this letter-plus was published by a retired Senior Foreign Service Officer who has a Ph.D in physics: https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/sites/default/files/2022-09/2022-03-00_regarding_moscow_signal_-_afsa.pdf and In 2022 this was posted by: https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/intelligence-russia-programs/2022-09-13/moscow-signals-declassified-microwave Comment on above: Microwave and radio-frequency fields can disrupt brain function, vision, and cognitive clarity, producing dizziness, ear pain, and a discombobulated state through documented effects and plausible mechanisms. The 1971–72 Glaser Navy bibliography compiled over 2,300 reports (including extensive Soviet literature) attributing cataracts, visual disturbances, EEG changes, structural brain alterations, neurasthenia, loss of concentration, dizziness, headaches, memory problems, and related sensory issues to microwave/RF exposure. Soviet research described a “microwave syndrome” of these symptoms at relatively low intensities, underpinning stricter exposure limits; the Frey effect shows pulsed microwaves can directly generate audible sensations and pressure inside the head via tiny thermoelastic waves. Real-world cases such as the Moscow Signal produced overlapping symptom reports among embassy staff—including Ambassador Walter Stoessel’s eye bleeding and later leukemia, though causation was never established—while the 2020 National Academy of Sciences assessment identified directed pulsed RF energy as the most plausible cause of the neurological, cognitive, and sensory symptoms of Havana Syndrome, including dizziness and head/ear pressure. Given these concerns, all electric smart meters on houses and buildings must be optional without a monthly opt-out fee. Together these elements indicate that certain pulsed or chronic RF exposures can leave people feeling discombobulated, even if Western regulatory views emphasize thermal effects and large epidemiological studies have often been mixed or negative.

Christine A. Weeber 2. individual consumer and patient. 3. a. consumer and patient: mobile phones, cell phone towers, smart meters, wireless infrastructure, and wi-fi cause bone paint, joint pain, and tingling effects throughout my body b. consumer and patient: In 2004, I built a healthy home with no wi-fi, no smart devices, no smart meter, and other accommodations to achieve full health with no symptoms. When I encounter mobile phones, cell phone towers, smart meters, wireless infrastructure, and wi-fi, I experience immediate symptoms. c. consumer and patient: I cannot fully avoid exposures to EMF/RF. I am concerned about long-term health effects such as oxidative stress, bone pain, increased sensitization, and possibly cancer. I am at high risk of breast cancer due to family history. e. consumer and patient: diagnosed with electromagnetic hypersensitivity f. consumer and patient: Yes, as I state in “b” above, I built a healthy home in 2004 and have no EMF/RF symptoms at all inside my house or on my 3.5 acres in the mountains. g. Exhibit 1: American Academy of Environmental Medicine’s position paper on Electromagnetic and Radiofrequency Fields Effect on Human Health Exhibit 3: World Health Organization: “IARC Classifies Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Fields as Possibly Carcinogenic to Humans”: Exhibit 4: Martin L. Pall, “5G: Great risk for EU, U.S. and International Health! Compelling Evidence for Eight Distinct Types of Great Harm Caused by Electromagnetic Field (EMF) Exposures and the Mechanism that Causes Them” Exhibit 5: Dr. Magda Havas, environmental scientist, “Precursors Need to be Considered to Promote Recovery from Idiopathic Environmental Intolerance–Attributed to Electromagnetic Fields” European Society of Medicine: Exhibit 6: Federica Lamech, “Self-Reporting of Symptom Development From Exposure to Radiofrequency Fields of Wireless Smart Meters in Victoria, Australia: A Case Series,” Article about sensitization that can occur from exposure to RF from smart meters: Exhibit 7: Jeromy Johnson, Engineer: YouTube, Tedx Talk “Wireless Wake-up Call” 5. consumer and patient: Federal health agencies need to follow the precautionary principle and only allow technologies to enter human environments that have been proven to be safe. See: Martin L. Pall, “5G: Great risk for EU, U.S. and International Health! Compelling Evidence for Eight Distinct Types of Great Harm Caused by Electromagnetic Field Exposures and the Mechanism that Causes Them” n. consumer and patient: Federal health agencies need to follow the guidance of the American Academy of Environmental Medicine’s position paper on Electromagnetic and Radiofrequency Fields Effect on Human Health: https://www.aaemonline.org/electromagnetic-and-radiofrequency-fields-effect-on-human-health/ o. consumer and patient: see previous resources p. consumer and patient: non-thermal impacts need to be further studied and precaution should be applied to allowing consumer products to come to market 6. consumer and patient: see previous resources 7. see previous resources 8. We are exposed to multiple layers of EMF/RF. These multiple layers need to be studied and explored, especially for health impacts such as cancer, insomnia, headaches, fuzzy thinking, sensitization, and more. 9. all of it should be make public so we can be informed 11. Yes, absolutely. Please see this article about precursors that might make people more susceptible to harm: Dr. Magda Havas, environmental scientist, “Precursors Need to be Considered to Promote Recovery from Idiopathic Environmental Intolerance–Attributed to Electromagnetic Fields” European Society of Medicine: https://doi.org/10.18103/mra.v13i1.6253 see previous answer 12. Martin L. Pall, “5G: Great risk for EU, U.S. and International Health! Compelling Evidence for Eight Distinct Types of Great Harm Caused by Electromagnetic Field (EMF) Exposures and the Mechanism that Causes Them” 13. a. 5G See: Martin L. Pall, “5G: Great risk for EU, U.S. and International Health! Compelling Evidence for Eight Distinct Types of Great Harm Caused by Electromagnetic Field (EMF) Exposures and the Mechanism that Causes Them” k. Communication enabled smart meters: Federica Lamech, “Self-Reporting of Symptom Development From Exposure to Radiofrequency Fields of Wireless Smart Meters in Victoria, Australia: A Case Series,” Article about sensitization that can occur from exposure to RF from smart meters: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25478801/ Jeromy Johnson, Tedx Talk “Wireless Wake-up Call” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0NEaPTu9oI 14. answered above 15. all of those listed.

I have been physically damaged by wifi, 5G, smart meters, cell phones, even portable home phones. These frequencies should be regulated, not given a carte blanche to do whatever they want to do with the public health, so long as the manufacturers make money. Way too many scientific studies and testaments have been rigorously investigated and dismissed by the cell phone industries and smart meters to follow, because the truth is troublesome to the industries. The scientists are still waging the battle but the US government so far has blinded itself to the truth. Other countries know what harm those frequencies can cause to their population, and they have limited human and animal exposure through regulation or legislation; not so the US. I am pleased that HHS is seeking comments, finally.

Hello, I wanted to share my experience recently visiting a friend who was in a rent stabilized townhouse, and was on the end unit where all of the smart meters for her building were attached to the outer wall. Upon entering her home, I immediately started feeling nauseous, as well as had a headache, all of which persisted the entire time I was there. In addition, even when we played outside briefly in the side yard, these symptoms were still present. Only once we left the home and I returned to my home that did not have a smart meter, did my symptoms subside. My friend generally keeps her home low tox, without fragrances or other things that could trigger these symptoms, so it was a pretty profound experience as this was the only thing that was drastically different. I think it’s important to note that this was state subsidized housing, and could be putting those in need of lower rent homes at more risk with the concentrated design of the smart meters placement. Thank you for allowing me to share my comments.

To the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services:I submit these comments on the HHS Request for Information on Electromagnetic Fields (EMFs), Radiofrequency (RF) Radiation, and Wireless Radiation Exposure (HHS-OASH-2026-0397). I urge HHS to evaluate the substantial evidence of biological effects and potential adverse health outcomes from RF/EMF exposures, including levels below current federal limits, and to identify research gaps and protective recommendations, especially for children and vulnerable populations.Personal ExperienceMy bedroom is about 20 feet from a neighbor’s smart meter. Since its installation I have suffered severe debilitating headaches, muscle spasms, cramps, occasional heart palpitations, and other unusual sensations. These symptoms align with scientific literature on non-thermal biological effects of RF radiation and non-ionizing EMFs.Scientific Evidence (Resources Incorporated by Reference)Electrosensitivity: Functional MRI studies by Dr. Gunnar Heuser et al. (Reviews on Environmental Health, 2017) found abnormal scans in all 10 patients with electromagnetic hypersensitivity after long-term EMF exposure, showing consistent hyper-connectivity in the anterior default-mode network. Conventional MRI was largely normal. The authors proposed fMRI as a diagnostic aid. Prevalence studies in Australia, Canada, and the U.S. further document wireless sensitivity and co-morbidities.Industry acknowledgment of non-thermal effects: Swisscom patent WO2004075583A1 addresses electrosmog as a known health problem, cites non-thermal DNA damage and chromosomal instability in human blood cells linked to cancer risk, and proposes emission-reduction methods. The 2000 ECOLOG Institute review for T-Mobile (over 220 studies) found strong evidence of cancer-initiating/promoting effects, DNA breaks, chromosomal damage, fertility impacts, and teratogenic effects far below then-existing guidelines, and recommended much lower precautionary limits.Comprehensive reviews: The BioInitiative Report (2007/2012 and updates) documents DNA damage, neurological, cancer, reproductive, and immune effects at levels far below FCC/ICNIRP limits and calls for biologically based standards. Additional reviews cover neurological/cognitive effects, male fertility, impacts on children, parotid gland tumors, glioma associations, cell-tower epidemiology, and wildlife effects (bees, birds, etc.).DNA, cancer, and other effects: Studies show DNA damage, oxidative stress, and non-thermal mechanisms. U.S. National Toxicology Program research reported statistically significant tumor increases (including heart schwannomas) with RF exposure. Literature also addresses effects on implanted medical devices.Emerging technologies: Patents and programs on wireless body-area networks, nano-sensors/devices, brain-computer interfaces (including DARPA non-surgical neurotech), and bio-nano systems raise unanswered questions on cumulative health effects, safety data, and informed consent. Havana Syndrome cases among federal employees further highlight the need to evaluate directed-energy and pulsed RF exposures.Regulatory history: Older industry manuals, EPA correspondence, GAO reports, NIOSH materials, and prior FCC documents show longstanding awareness of potential non-thermal effects. Current U.S. limits, largely unchanged since 1996 and based on thermal thresholds, do not adequately address today’s continuous, multi-source, pulsed exposures from phones, Wi-Fi, 5G/6G, IoT devices, and wearables.Key Responses to the RFI Science and effects below limits: Peer-reviewed evidence, industry patents, and reviews show genotoxic, neurological, reproductive, and immune effects at non-thermal levels. Thermal-only standards are insufficient. Cumulative exposures: Real-world simultaneous multi-source exposures are not adequately reflected in current testing or limits. Vulnerable groups: Children, people with electrosensitivity, and those with implanted devices require special attention. Research gaps: Independent studies are needed on electrosensitivity (with objective markers such as fMRI), long-term low-level and cumulative exposures, nano/bio-interfaces, environmental impacts, and device interactions—free of industry conflicts of interest. Recommendations: Support biologically based limits with safety margins, real-world testing protocols, transparent public information, wired alternatives where feasible, accommodations for sensitive individuals, and coordinated federal research. The precautionary principle is appropriate given widespread exposure and available risk-reduction options. I urge HHS to treat this evidence seriously, close research gaps, and develop health-protective recommendations for policymakers, families, schools, and communities. All Exhibits are incorporated by reference in their entirety. Thank you for the opportunity to comment. Respectfully submitted,

COMMENT My legs and lower back were pained to the point that walking could only happen with support – looking back after some time this could be linked to a new TETRA mast which had been installed in the village. Two wires crossing the gardens were changed to high-tension wires that would enable broadband to be carried. Two years later in 2010 a shocking event further changed my life after an electrical company arrived where I lived and proceeded to cut down trees in the area, under wires and to allow accessible connection to the mast. Electricity meters were also changed in all the houses. At 5.00 pm on that evening my body was assaulted on many levels with effects such as a feeling of alert/panic, palpitations, my burning skin felt as if it wanted to turn inside-out. These were combined with a high-pitched ‘noise’ and a second ‘noise’ that sounded like a diesel engine running. Over the next few nights my body was still on alert and my body was actually thrown out of the bed and in those few seconds I woke up balancing myself on my feet with my arms stretched out before me. The companies related to the mast and electricity were contacted and sound professionals but none were helpful. An inability to sleep as my body was being tormented led to personal attempts to find the source of the noise and wandering down streets and lanes in the dead of night became usual. No source was ever found. Why – because what was happening had already been well studied by Alan Frey in USA and it was called ‘microwave hearing’. The inability to sleep saw attempts made to seek sleep, rest and peace in the car, shed, tent in the garden etc but the ‘noise’ was everywhere. For safety in the dark hours I had to sleep on a mattress downstairs after removing electrical wiring in the fire alarms etc. That was the first physical indication that it was definitely electricity that was causing these effects. Occasionally it was necessary to ask friends if I could spend a night in their house as my home and village was, for me, dangerous. The ‘noise’ was not in other parts of the county and this was another clue leading to my discovery that I was suffering from electrohypersensitivity/microwave sickness. I experienced area after area in the county changing as technological infrastructure was installed. After a year of pain, vertigo, anxiety, concentration issues, palpitations and pain/seizures in legs and eventual wearing down of my body a stage was reached when I knew I had a choice of dying or moving house. What was of great interest was the inability of other people to experience the effects of the changes. Moving was achieved with the help of good friends and since then ‘smart’ meters have been installed leading immediately to an environmental deterioration. The exponential rise of technology has seen additional effects such as nose-bleeds, more variety of pain, memory issues, burning and tingling of skin (like ants running over me), inability to sleep, no peace and no rest, no silence, no possibility of reflection or indeed of staying in one place for long as my body absorbs the electromagnetic/low frequency pulsed microwave radiation from modern technology. My life is now about balancing out positive activities, especially in wooded areas and avoiding places where people congregate such as hospitals, travel, theatres, film houses, public transport, public services – places where people congregate and are drawing in signals with their mobile phones and tech devices Two years after moving CANCER was diagnosed Given the account of my experience of man-made artificial pulsed, modulated, directional signals from modern technology I believe that one reference book is sufficient to cover all effects with up-to-date proven and clear evidence from independent scientists who actually study the biological and health effects of Radio Frequency Microwave and Extremely Low Frequency Electromagnetic Fields as used in wireless communications and other technological applications. That book is entitled ‘Electromagnetic Fields of Wireless Communications: Biological and Health Effects and includes a number of studies by well-known scientists in the field. It is edited by Professor Dimitri Panagopoulos and published by CRC Press, Taylor and Francis Group 2023. It is also available as a PDF on Researchgate: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/366089127_Electromagnetic_Fields_of_Wireless_Communications_Biological_and_Health_Effects Re: Microwave Hearing – a study entitled Microwave Auditory Effect written by Dr. James C Lin, formerly a member of the ICNIRP is available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/363461470_The_Microwave_Auditory_Effect

I am submitting this comment in response to HHS’s Request for Information on Electromagnetic Fields (EMFs), Radiofrequency (RF) Radiation, and Wireless. I moved back into my parents home in April of 2010. About 18 months later, I started to notice a small round growth on the middle of my my chest and a smaller one on the back of my head under my hair. Over the next 18 months these growths continue to get larger. By spring time of 2013 the chest growth grew to the size of a marble and I then accidental tore it open, it bleed and noticed in had reduced in size. Over the next couple months the growth regain its size and I decided to see a dermatologist and was diagnosed with Basil cancer for both growths on my chest and back of my head. I had surgery to remove the chest growth and Mohs surgery for the growth on the back of my head for a total cost of $5K. I asked the dermatologist what might be the causes and he answered to use sun screen lotion and I was stunned by the answer sine I don't sun bath topless. I began my own investigation in the summer of 2013 and started researching toxins in the home since the cancer began about 18 months after I moved into the back unused bedroom in my parents home. My research came across the EMF threat and I then purchased 2 EMF meters: one for testing wireless EMF and the other to test electricity flowing through wire using a Tri-Field meter. When I tested my bedroom, it showed a high level of EMF both from wireless transmissions: a Wifi router always on and within 6 feet of my sleeping bed and from a Utility box Smart Meter on the outside of a the bedroom wall within 8 feet of my bed. In addition, the house power come off an outside pole and routes through the Utility box to the main power cable that routes in the ceiling above my sleeping bed. As soon as I moved out of that back bedroom, I noticed I slept better and did not experience any further cancer growths.

I have been hyper electrosensitive since 2018, though symptoms started in 2014 with severe and frequent respiratory infections and finally ending with severe tinnitus and fatigue. Initially I thought it was stress related, but looking back I see that symptoms started when wi-fi was introduced at my work, as well as at home. I changed to a less demanding job, worked out, ate healthily (as I always have tried to), but still my immune system was playing up. When the smart-meter was installed on my bedroom wall, I started waking up with nausea, headaches and rashes, symptoms that tended to subside somewhat some hours later. These acute symptoms made me understand the connection to the RF exposure. I moved my bedroom a floor up, cabled my PC and thought I was safe. However, a few months later I got severe tinnitus, robbing me of my sleep and making it hard to concentrate. I took sick leave from my office job as an IT consultant and bought myself an RF-measuring tool so I could measure the RF exposure at work: I found that it was 100 times worse at work than at home. In the end I had to leave my job and profession. However I started educating myself as a naturopath in 2018, and have since been 'taking my own natural medicine', and have gotten better. My family reacted in disbelief, telling me it was 'nocebo'; my fear of RF signals that was the cause. They still think so. My employer doubted my symptoms and fought with lawyers to give me notice in a legal way. Today I live partially on benefits, and have a small income as a (heavily taxated) naturopath. I am a board member of "Folkets Strålevern" in Norway ("The People's Radiation Protection"), and we work to inform politicians and the community about the negative effects of RF exposure, backing it with the overwhelming amount of studies showing these. To us it is evident that the authorities are hiding behind the international group ICNIRP; their official limits and the cherry-picked studies they use to assure the people that there is no harm: Studies measuring heating injuries are approved but no studies showing other biological effects, such as those on the nervous system, blood and circulation, our cells and oxidative stress etc. We hope that this US initiative will also help people all over the world to protect our children and all citizens.

I am a 71-year-old woman who has been affected by computers, cell phones & fluorescent lights for most of my life. In the 90's, when I first learned to operate a desktop computer in a class that caused my memory to go blank, the instructor informed me of my condition when she said, “I've heard about people affected like you of electro-magnectic frequency. “ Then she said I will write you a medical excuse for dropping this class. After becoming aware of this disability, I observed a series of difficulties in my everyday life, too numerous to mention. I would forget under fluorescent lights. I got a debilitating headache for days after the person who sat next to me on a plane turned on their cell phone & talked next to my head when our plane landed. When a smart meter was installed on my house, I called & complained to Alliant Energy in Wisconsin. I can't approach heavy electrical stations or voltage without intense uncomfortable sensations so that I feel like quickly leaving. The effects are very hard to describe how it makes me feel because often it is very subtle & just under my awareness until I leave the location. I am always searching for remedies to help me adapt, but I really don't want to live in an environment that could make me sicker. Thank you for considering my situation. Sondra Olson