Sunday, August 15, 2021

Part I: Why We Need Stronger Cell Phone Radiation Regulations--Key Testimony Submitted to the FCC

On August 8, 2019, the FCC published a news release in which Ajit Pai, the FCC chairperson, issued a proposal that the FCC not change its existing radiofrequency (RF) exposure limits. He also proposed to gather public comment on rules to determine compliance with the exposure limits and establish uniform guidelines to ensure compliance.

The press release makes the following claims:
“The FCC sets radiofrequency limits in close consultation with the FDA and other health agencies. After a thorough review of the record and consultation with these agencies, we find it appropriate to maintain the existing radiofrequency limits, which are among the most stringent in the world for cell phones,” said Julius Knapp, chief of the FCC’s Office of Engineering and Technology.
As Jeffrey Shuren, Director of the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, wrote to the FCC, “[t]he available scientific evidence to date does not support adverse health effects in humans due to exposures at or under the current limits…” and “[n]o changes to the current standards are warranted at this time.”
Unfortunately, these assertions do not reflect the state of the scientific literature regarding RF health effects, nor do they adequately reflect the public comment received by the FCC over the years regarding RF exposure limits for Proceeding Number 13-84.

The FCC has no health expertise and relies upon Federal health agencies, especially the FDA, for advice about RF exposure limits. However, these agencies have lacked the requisite expertise to provide this guidance because their RF health experts retired or took industry jobs. In the past decade, these agencies have failed to monitor the vast and growing body of peer-reviewed research that documents adverse health effects from low-intensity exposure to radiofrequency radiation. Rather, the Federal government has increasingly relied upon advice from lobbyists and engineers and scientists affiliated with the telecommunications or wireless industry.

Following is an index of key submissions to the FCC regarding RF exposure limits and RF health effects from June 2012 through September 2019.

Many of the links below no longer work because the FCC made recent changes to its website.


November 1, 2019 

Selected FCC Submissions re: 

"Reassessment of Federal Communications Commission Radiofrequency 

Exposure Limits and Policies" (Proceeding Number 13-84)


Part I: Key Testimony Submitted to the FCC


Last revision: October 1, 2019

The FCC received more than 1,200 submissions regarding its cell phone radiation regulations. These documents reveal what we know about wireless radiation health effects, and why we need to strengthen regulations and provide precautionary warnings to the public.
In response to the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) request for input regarding its radiofrequency radiation regulations adopted in 1996, individuals and organizations submitted thousands of documents, testimonials, research papers and scientific publications that are now available to the public. 
These documents reveal what we know about wireless radiation health effects, and why we need to strengthen regulations and provide precautionary warnings to consumers.

Although more than fifteen countries have issued precautionary health warnings about cell phone radiation and recommendations about how to reduce risks, the wireless industry in the U.S. has opposed precautionary warnings and wants to weaken cell phone radiation standards.
In all, the FCC received more than 1,200 submissions between June 25, 2012 and October 1, 2019. Many submissions include multiple documents. The preponderance of submissions call on the FCC to adopt stronger exposure limits on radiofrequency radiation.
Hundreds of individuals submitted statements that document their personal health problems and diseases experienced from exposure to radiofrequency radiation. These and other submissions can be viewed or downloaded by clicking on Proceeding Number 13-84 on the FCC web site.
The FCC's obsolete RF exposure limits are 23 years old. The current request for public input is six years old. The FCC never reported on or acted upon a similar request for public input issued in 2003.
In 2015, a Harvard publication exposed how industry captured the FCC, "As a captured agency, the FCC is a prime example of institutional corruption. Officials in such institutions do not need to receive envelopes bulging with cash. But even their most well-intentioned efforts are often overwhelmed by a system that favors powerful private influences, typically at the expense of public interest."
Obviously, updating RF regulations and testing procedures has not been a priority for the FCC even though the U.S. General Accountability Office recommended this in 2012.
Although there is a search engine on the FCC web site, one cannot easily find important documents. Hence, I constructed several indices.
Part I which appears below contains key submissions to the FCC regarding cell phone radiation and its health effects, and cell phone testing procedures and regulatory standards.

The submissions are organized under the following categories:

(1) Scientific Expert Resolutions Calling for Stronger Regulations
(2) Expert Comments in Support of Stronger Regulations
(3) Expert Comments that Support Weaker Regulations
(4) Consumer, Environmental and Health Organizations
(5) Government Agencies
(6) Wireless Industry Corporations and Associations
(7) Miscellaneous Other 
Not indexed below are submissions from individuals without organizational or institutional affiliations.  Many of these submissions discuss electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS) (see Part IV).
Part II contains a list of key research papers that can be downloaded from the FCC web site. (updated Aug 11, 2019)
Part III lists 98 scientific experts from 23 nations who have signed resolutions between 2002 and 2014 that call for stronger regulations on wireless radiation, especially cell phone radiation.
In 2015, scientists who published peer-reviewed research on the health effects of electromagnetic fields (EMF) submitted a petition to the United Nations, the World Health Organization, and all world leaders calling for stronger regulations on exposure to radiofrequency radiation than current national and international exposure limits allow. The International EMF Scientist Appeal was also submitted to the FCC.
The Appeal has been signed by more than 240 scientists who have published peer-reviewed research on electromagnetic fields and biology and health. These scientists representing over 40 nations have published more than 2,000 papers and letters on EMF in professional journals. This petition was recently submitted to the United Nations Environment Programme. 
Part IV summarizes the responses of 184 persons with self-reported electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS) who submitted comments to the FCC and reported either their symptoms or the sources of their problematic exposure to radio frequency radiation.

Scientific Expert Resolutions Calling for Stronger Regulations  
Catania Resolution (2002; 16 signees)

Benevento Resolution (2006; 52 signees)
http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=7520941320
Seletun Scientific Panel (2009); 7 signees)
Health Canada Safety Code 6 Declaration  (Jul 9, 2014; 54 signees)
The International EMF Scientist Appeal (May 11, 2015; 200 signees)
The International EMF Scientist Appeal (Aug 25, 2019; 250 signees)
The 5G Appeal (2017 moratorium; signed by 245 scientists and doctors)
https://ecfsapi.fcc.gov/file/1040566847805/Scientist-5G-appeal-2017.pdf

Expert Comments in Support of Stronger Regulations
Omer Abid, MD, MPH

David Adams, PhD
Norm Alster ("FCC captured agency")
Frank Barnes, PhD

BioInitiative Working Group (29 contributing authors)
http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=7521097953
https://ecfsapi.fcc.gov/file/111701910403/17111608-1.pdf
Martin Blank, PhD
http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=7520940937
https://ecfsapi.fcc.gov/file/1092868197238/5%20-%20Attachment%205%20-%20Martin%20Blank%20PhD%20-%20Opposition%20Statement%20-%20File%2013-0953.pdf
David O. Carpenter, MD

Neil Cherry, PhD
https://ecfsapi.fcc.gov/file/1092868197238/4%20-%20Attachment%204%20-%20Olle%20Johansson%20PhD%20-%20Opposition%20Statement%20-%20File%2013-0953.pdf
Richard H. Conrad, PhD

Devra L. Davis, PhD, MPH
Devra Davis PhD MPH, Alvaro de Salles PhD, Susan Downs MD, Gunnar Heuser MD PhD, Anthony Miller MD. Lloyd Morgan BSEE, Yael Stein MD. Elihu Richter MD MPH (rebuttal of CTIA's claims)

Alan H. Frey

Om Gandhi, PhD

Livio Giulani, PhD

Lennart Hardell, MD, PhD
Martha Herbert, MD, PhD
http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=7520940748
https://ecfsapi.fcc.gov/file/1070786836035/MarthaHerberttoMCPS2015.pdf
 
Isaac Jamieson, PhD
https://ecfsapi.fcc.gov/file/10930270536460/IAJ_comments_to_FFC_Sep_30_2016.pdf
Toril Jeter, MD, FAACP
Olle Johansson, PhD
https://ecfsapi.fcc.gov/file/7022311370.pdfhttps://ecfsapi.fcc.gov/file/1092868197238/4%20-%20Attachment%204%20-%20Olle%20Johansson%20PhD%20-%20Opposition%20Statement%20-%20File%2013-0953.pdf
Suleyman Kaplan, PhD
http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=7520941388
Henry C. Lai, PhD

Victor Leach / Simon Turner   
Dariusz Leszczynski, PhD
B. Blake Levitt

De-Kun Li, MD, PhD, MPH

James C. Lin, PhD
Don Maisch, PhD
https://ecfsapi.fcc.gov/file/7022311348.pdf
Lloyd Morgan, BSEE

Joel M. Moskowitz, PhD
http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=7022311233
http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=60002030879
http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=60002031262
https://ecfsapi.fcc.gov/file/60002031262.
https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/filing/1082955067871
Martin Pall, PhD
https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/filing/1092725512546
Jerry L. Phillips, PhD
http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=7520940948
Ronald M. Powell, PhD
https://ecfsapi.fcc.gov/file/1070786836035/Message%20to%20Public%20Schools%20about%20Wireless%20Devices.pdfhttps://ecfsapi.fcc.gov/file/1083040514650/The%20Health%20Argument%20against%20Cell%20Phones%20and%20Cell%20Towers.pdf
William J. Rea, MD
Cindy Lee Russell, MD
https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/filing/1001076789440
Cindy Sage, Lennart Hardell, MD & Martha Herbert, MD, PhD
http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=7520940054

Cindy Sage & David O. Carpenter, MD
http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=7520939954

J. Bertel Schou, PhD & Diane Schou, PhD

Miriam D. Weber, MD

Grace Ziem, MD, MPH, DrPH

Expert Comments that Support Weaker Regulations
Joe A. Elder, PhD

Consumer, Environmental and Health Organizations

American Academy of Environmental Medicine
http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=7520941435

Center for Electrosmog Prevention


Electromagnetic Safety Alliance, Inc.
http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=7022311420
http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=7520941598
EMF Safety Network

Environmental Health Trust
http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=7022311561
https://ecfsapi.fcc.gov/file/10512278328322/Ex%20Parte-Pai%20051017.pdf
Environmental Working Group
Environmental Working Group (petition w/ 26,000 signatures):
http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=7520941684
Global Union Against Radiation Deployment from Space http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/comment/view?id=60001390648

Pharmacists Planning Service Inc (PPSI)


Stop Smart Meters New York
http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=7520941985

Wireless Education Action
http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=7022311599


Government Agencies

Cities of Boston, Massachusetts and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Environmental Protection Agency
https://ecfsapi.fcc.gov/file/7520941527.pdf
FCC Office of the Chairman (Response to Sen. Blumenthal & Rep. Eshoo)
http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=60001353996
FCC Office of Engineering Technology Bureau
http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=7022136643http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=7520936584https://ecfsapi.fcc.gov/file/10809296013805/13-84.pdf https://ecfsapi.fcc.gov/file/10809189809418/13-84b.pdfhttps://ecfsapi.fcc.gov/file/1080943159446/13-84c.pdfhttps://ecfsapi.fcc.gov/file/1032547831999/TIA-MWF%20Notice%20of%20Ex%20Parte%20for%20OET-Labs%20Meeting.pdf
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
https://ecfsapi.fcc.gov/file/10815418118189/13-84.pdf
International Agency for Research on Cancer, World Health Organization

Los Angeles Unified School District

Town of Hillsborough, California
Montgomery County, Maryland
https://ecfsapi.fcc.gov/file/10512278328322/Ex%20Parte-Pai%20051017.pdf 
National Cancer Institute & National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences 
https://ecfsapi.fcc.gov/file/7521123438.pdf 
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

City of Portland, Oregon

City and County of San Francisco

Radiation Protection Division, Environmental Protection Agency
Radiofrequency Interagency Working Group (Federal)
http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=7520941598
City of Tucson and County of Pima, Arizona Resolution

U.S. Department of Labor
https://ecfsapi.fcc.gov/file/10612045456038/03-137.pdf

Wireless Industry Corporations and Associations

Alarm Industry Communications Committee
http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=7520958406

ARRL, the National Association for Amateur Radio
http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=7520941424


Fixed Wireless Communications Coalition

GSM Association
http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=7520940433

IEEE International Committee on Electromagnetic Safety (ICES)
http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=7520940730 
https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/filing/1021282928777 
Medtronic Inc
http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=7520941474
MMWave Coalition
https://ecfsapi.fcc.gov/file/1081078030685/Docket%2013-84%20mmWC%20%20FINAL.pdf 
Momentum Dynamics Corporation and Oak Ridge National Laboratory
http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=7520941870

National Association of Broadcasters
http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=7520941561

National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors

PCIA-The Wireless Infrastructure Association and The HetNet Forum
http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=7520941685
http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=60000971924

Telecommunications Industry Association
http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=7520941840
http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=7520958447
http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=60000974727
https://ecfsapi.fcc.gov/file/1032547831999/TIA-MWF%20PowerPoint%20for%20FCC%20Labs%20and%20OET%20Meeting.pdf
https://ecfsapi.fcc.gov/file/1032547831999/TIA-MWF%20Notice%20of%20Ex%20Parte%20for%20OET-Labs%20Meeting.pdf
Richard Tell Associates

American Association for Justice
Austrian Medical Association
https://ecfsapi.fcc.gov/file/10929117005596/48-Attachment%2048-%20Austrian%20Medical%20Assoc%20Guideline%20EMF%20Disease.pdf 
California Medical Association
https://ecfsapi.fcc.gov/file/1092989731923/30-Attachment%2030-%20California%20Medical%20Association%20Resolution.pdf
Council of Europe - Resolution 1815
https://ecfsapi.fcc.gov/file/109271312500258/1-Attachment%201%20-%20COUNCIL%20OF%20EUROPE%202011.pdf
Senator Bill Galvano (Florida)
http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=7520940383
Green Swan, Inc.
http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=7520941846
National Assn. of Telecommunications Officers, National League of Cities, National Assn of Counties, & U.S. Conference of Mayors
https://ecfsapi.fcc.gov/file/100252268811/Joint%20letter%20re%20RF%20to%20FCC%20NACo%20Final.pdf
https://ecfsapi.fcc.gov/file/1062194009350/Wireless%20Bureau%20Ex%20Parte%20061918.pdf
North America's Building Trade Unions
http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/comment/view?id=60001483296http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/comment/view?id=60001328468https://ecfsapi.fcc.gov/file/60001514689.pdf