Exposure limits & oversight

G _____________ Dr. George L. Carlo Washington, D.C. 571-276-4000 I am deeply grateful to Secretary Kennedy and the leadership at HHS for initiating this vital and serious inquiry into the health effects of EMF and RF radiation. I have been closely following the submissions to this Request for Information, and I would be profoundly honored to offer my assistance to the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH) as you navigate the next steps of this process. My commitment to this issue began in 2008 under deeply personal circumstances, when my husband and the late Senator Edward Kennedy both suffered seizures and brain tumor diagnoses within days of each other. Our son, who had interned for Senator Kennedy, learned from former colleagues of the family's concerns regarding the role of cell phone radiation. This prompted me to look deeply into the issue. My husband had been a heavy cell phone user for 20 years, consistently holding the device to the exact side of his head where the tumor developed, with no other known environmental exposures. When I shared his medical and phone records with global experts, they noted the stark correlation. Driven to understand the science, I was thrust into public advocacy, testifying before Congress in 2008 alongside Dr. Ronald Herberman and Dr. David Carpenter. That experience began a lifelong education. In the years since, I have endeavored to serve as a bridge between grieving families and the independent scientific community. I founded the California Brain Tumor Association to focus on public education and prevention, and my heart breaks regularly as I speak with young victims and parents worldwide who are navigating these devastating diagnoses. Over nearly two decades, I have sought to understand both the human impact and the technical complexities of this issue. I have worked alongside communities facing cancer clusters—such as those in La Quinta and Ripon, California—to investigate local EMF exposures. I have also engaged directly with the regulatory and testing framework, including meeting with the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to discuss testing protocols, serving on the Board of Directors for Phonegate Alert under Dr. Marc Arazi, and advocating for local Right-to-Know ordinances in San Francisco and Berkeley. While those local efforts ultimately faced immense federal and legal hurdles from industry opposition, they taught me invaluable lessons about the challenges of public health communication. The solutions to this problem will come from the public health risk management area of expertise. Most importantly, we're not starting from scratch. Under numerous existing laws, including the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and the Superfund law, there are methods for risk assessment and risk management that have been tested in the field and validated that can easily be adapted to solve this problem. My network of professionals in this area can bring the needed expertise and they are at the ready. What I hope to bring to HHS is not just a historical perspective, but a willingness to serve. I want to meet the public where they are. I would be immensely grateful for any opportunity to assist OASH—whether by supporting your internal team as they review these diverse submissions, helping to synthesize public and clinical insights, or advising on community outreach strategies. Thank you for your time, your leadership, and your consideration of how a dedicated public stakeholder might support your vital mission.

Public Comment to HHS — RF/EMF Exposure and Human Health I am submitting this comment as a concerned member of the public, based on personal observations rather than scientific research. Over recent years, I have noticed what seems to be an increasing number of people experiencing everyday memory lapses and difficulties concentrating. What concerns me is that these experiences do not seem limited to older adults. I hear younger people frequently commenting that they have forgotten why they entered a room, lost their train of thought, or forgotten what they were about to say. I have also become increasingly concerned about the number of people affected by cancer within my extended circle of friends, coworkers, and acquaintances. I personally know of approximately ten individuals affected, including younger people. This feels very different from what I remember experiencing years ago. I recognize that these observations do not establish an increase in disease rates or prove any connection to electromagnetic fields or wireless radiation. However, I wonder whether our dramatically increased exposure to electronic devices and wireless technologies deserves further long-term investigation. I would like to see continued independent research examining cumulative exposure, potential effects on memory and cognitive function, and any possible long-term health risks, particularly among younger generations who have grown up surrounded by wireless technology. I believe the public deserves clear, transparent information about what science has established, what remains uncertain, and whether current safety standards adequately address long-term exposure. Thank you for considering the concerns of ordinary citizens who may not have scientific expertise but have questions they hope research can help answer.

**Europe, Slovakia, Bratislava** Dear Sir or Madam, I am a 52-year-old woman and I currently work as a taxi driver in our city. I am writing to share my experiences with 5G, 6G and Wi-Fi, because there are also people in America who come from our region or have ancestors from Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Croatia, Serbia, Russia, and other countries. I want other people to be protected as well. In our city, there are 5G transmitters almost every three houses. **My personal experience — I have also asked my passengers about theirs:** Near these transmitters, I experience tingling in my limbs, burning sensations and pain in my bones, joints and spine, difficulty concentrating, disorientation, and overheating — as if I were boiling from the inside. I sometimes even feel faint. Other people experience similar symptoms. It seems to depend on the frequency being used. I also have a Geiger counter to check my observations. It registered high radiation readings, reaching the alarm level. In another part of the city, people experience headaches, depression and suicidal thoughts. Elsewhere, people suffer from abdominal pain, have to make frequent trips to the toilet, or experience burning sensations in their respiratory tract. The intensity of this radiation fluctuates in sinusoidal waves. For a short while, I have to breathe through the pain; then I feel better for a moment, and it starts all over again. I have difficulty walking from one end of the street to the other. Yet when I get into a car and drive into an area where this radiation no longer reaches, I have no pain at all. I feel completely fine. This happens to us several times a day, especially at night. In places where the radiation intensity increases, I have noticed frequent car accidents. I have also noticed frequent abnormal swelling of a single limb in people and domestic animals, particularly dogs. The lymphatic system does not appear to function properly. Under the influence of this radiation, people and animals seem unable to defend themselves against ordinary bacteria. Overall, everyone's health appears to be deteriorating. Wi-Fi is the same, since it involves the transmission of microwaves. This is not the way forward. It is a path to disaster. It would be better to provide high-speed internet through fibre-optic cables. Wireless transmission should be kept to the absolute minimum necessary — 4G or lower. Thank you for taking the time to read this and for your understanding. I hope this will help us find relief from this suffering.

With the proliferation of cell phone towers, smart meters, smart home devices, data centers and wireless devices in our environment, additional research needs to be conducted on the harmful effects of wi-fi, RF and EMF. As a concerned family member and caregiver, I believe human health experiences and clinical observations need to be taken into account. Exposure standards need to be reevaluated to limit human and animal exposure to wireless radiation and electromagnetic fields. Exposure measurement needs to be reevaluated in real-world situations, as humans use their cell phones by directly touching them and are often exposed to multiple sources of wi-fi simultaneously. Sensitive populations exposed to wi-fi, RF and EMF need to be studied such as children, pregnant women, the elderly, those who wear hearing aids with wi-fi or blue-tooth, those with implanted or wearable devices, workers with elevated exposure and those with preexisting conditions. It is imperative that existing scientific evidence be examined and additional research be conducted to study the adverse health effects of wi-fi, RF and EMF on humans and our environment. Please see attached studies. Thank you.

Thank you to HHS for examining this urgent issue. I am commenting as someone who has studied the cautioning peer-reviewed research meticulously for many years. I know a growing range of individuals who are functionally disabled by rising wireless radiation pollution with far-reaching negative impacts on their lives, including loss of access to everyday services plus deepening social isolation. I too have experienced some deleterious health effects personally from exposure, including two years of extreme sleep starvation that was unresponsive to all measures other than eventual wireless radiation mitigation when, after the two years, I discovered from records and measurements that (i) symptom onset had coincided with simultaneous wireless makeovers at work and home, and additionally (ii) the highest level of cell-tower (mast) radiation in our home was in our main bedroom, precisely over my pillow. I continue to be prone to dizzy headaches, loss of cognition, and sleep impairment from wireless-radiation pollution. Life impacts have included loss of work, having to move house, and difficulty accessing shops, events, social groups, and medical services: typically, for example, I have to wait outside clinics rather than in waiting rooms and sometimes have to leave appointments early; I am similarly unable to linger in shops, social spaces, or public transport crowded with smartphones and/or WiFi or DECT transmitters. I suspect that those who have uncovered their relative sensitivity to the growing pollution are but the “tip if the iceberg” and that, as with all environmental toxins, there is a bell-curve of impairment across the wider populace with more individuals losing quality of life as the pollution intensifies. As you examine peer-reviewed evidence of harm, notice oxidative / nitrosative damage to cells and tissue – a frequent finding and risk factor for degenerative diseases – and also that the pulsed, polarized, variable nature of wireless outputs adds to their biological effects (Panagopoulos et al)1. Remember that the (outdated) “safety standards” normally refer to single-source exposures and that the young, sick, pregnant, or elderly, and other vulnerable groups, are now besieged on all sides. Less toxic technologies using, for example, state-of-the-art cable and (subject to biological safety testing) modulated light offer inspiring ways forward but humankind is tragically mired in outdated paradigms and addictions that are driving up the pollution while divorcing us from the unmediated beauty of the non-virtual world, at profound cost to body and soul – Lynne W. 1: see Panagopoulos, D. J., ed., Electromagnetic Fields of Wireless Communications: Biological and Health Effects, Routledge 2023 - an excellent reference work

When is it enough? Never for the free rein you've given towers and cell phone corporations. They are conducting business at the cost of our (we the people) health wildlife and environment. They've used the same old data and ways since the beginning. Bridle them in and make them currant with up to date science and better testing. It's really quite ridiculous to watch this happen over and over again with the wealthiest people of this country or the world making business happen on a free rein with not many rules....if they choosed to follow them. Make them accountable for their products today!

I HAVE BEEN DEALING WITH THE VERY UNPLEASANT EFFECTS OF THE EXTREMELY HIGH LEVELS OF EMF RADIATION IN MY COMMUNITY SINCE THE 5- G SYSTEM WAS ACTIVATED HERE IN MAY OF 2019, I HAVE EXPERIENCE PRESSURE HEADACHES ( I NEVER HAD HEADACHES BEFORE THE ACTIVATION)! I ALSO EXPERIENCE AN OVERALL UNWELL FEELING WITH QUEASINESS, FATIQUE, MUSCLE ACHES AND A FEELING OF " HEAVINESS" IN MY BODY MAKING ACTIVITIES MUCH MORE DIFFICULT! THREE YEARS AFTER THE 5-G ACTIVATION, I EXPERIENCED NUMEROUS HEALTH ISSUES, INCLUDING A NEUROLOGICAL CONDITION THAT REQUIRES CONSTANT MEDICAL ATTENTION! When i leave my community, most of the symptoms allivate and then return when I come back to the area! My EMF METER IS ALMOST ALWAYS READING HIGH OR EXTREME! TO ALLOW, THIS TYPE OF TECHNOLOGY IN COMMUNITIES AT SUCH HIGH LEVELS OF TRANSMISSION, IS AN ASSULT ON EVERYONE'S HEALTH AND HAPPIN3SS! IT MUST BE REGULATED !

March 15th, 2019, our life changed overnight. I went from sleeping 8 to 9 hours a night to 4 or 5 at most. We thought there was some kind of attack--both my husband and I had headaches, extreme tinnitus, heart palpitations, brain fog and memory issues, irritability, aches and pains, and feelings of internal vibrations (jumpy legs, our teeth hurt, etc.). We didn't know what happened. As the days wore on, we found that when we were away from our house, we felt relief, and then all the symptoms and extreme discomfort would come back when we returned to our home. Eventually we came to realize that the cell tower on the water tower near us was the cause of this, and we researched emfs. We fit all the symptoms. We got an rf meter, tried a dozen other things, but it was too much for our bodies. We had to sell our beloved home and move, which impacted our finances in a negative way. We were fine in the new place for almost a year, until a cell tower about a mile away was 'upgraded' to 5G. (Remember all the commercials during the pandemic about Verizon 'upgrading' all their towers?) Since that time, we have doctored to no avail, people have thought we were crazy, the energy is sapped from us, the symptoms are worse when it's time for a phone update or when we are in a city or large crowd, and it is almost impossible now to get away from it, which we were able to do in 2019 and 2020. EMF radiation from cell towers have ruined our lives, our health, our home, and our joy. Recently I have been diagnosed with a mold infection (not by a western doctor, but by a functional medicine practitioner)--one of the symptoms is emf sensitivity. So it seems like there is some relationship between how emfs effect a person if there is mold. ( I did read that mold replicates 600 times faster when emfs are present). So two huge problems that seem to be getting worse. The RF world of cell phones and towers has never been effectively researched on the health impacts of not only humans, but all biological species. Something is seriously wrong with our environment when we have so many sick, medicated, unhappy people. Stop the give-away to the cell companies, make them accountable, regulate them with stiff penalties, do the research, protect the American people! I have read that there are frequencies that are more compatible with biological life, but cell companies would have to pay for them while the ones they use now are free. There are solutions to these problems. Don't let money and corporate greed get in the way of the health of people, animals, and plant life.

My aunt has been impacted my EMFs and had her life turned upside down. She can. Longer travel, be comfortable in her own home, or be social due to the stress it puts on her body. eMFs need to be regulated and reduced.

The following information is my personal experiences from EMF's and other wireless technologies. On January 19,2018 I returned home after an appointment. My husband told me that a smart meter had been installed on our home. That night I couldn't sleep anywhere in the house. My reaction also included significant tingling, feeling anxious, weakness all over, balance was off, eyes very sensitive to light and thinking skills were off also. I felt miserable and didn't know what to do to get relief. Duke energy did replace the meter with an electrical mechanical meter, but I felt no improvement. With the previous analog meter I could function well. I had to search and educate myself about the EMF problem. Through many months I purchased products that proved to be useless. Finally, in February 2019 I learned about a product that was a filter to be attached to the circuit breaker box. I immediately ordered it and had electricians install it. While they were connecting the wires downstairs, I remained upstairs. I knew INSTANTLY when it was connected. My tingling abruptly completely stopped! After 13 months I had relief! Living with EMF sensitives has negatively impacted my health and life activities. I always need to be aware of EMF exposure sources and avoid them. Some of the hardest places have been hospitals, long term care facilities and medical offices. I have even had to change doctors due to my body's reaction in those settings. With more technologies being used in my neighborhood, I needed to have a building biologist help assess my home. Using two different meters the assessment showed that I needed further remediation. Seeing actual numbers gave me a clear understanding of the exposure strength. For the future I strongly support the 704NoMore initiatives. New lower exposure standards need to be implemented based on science. I firmly believe that more education and research needs to be accomplished.