AMERICANS for
  RESPONSIBLE
    TECHNOLOGY

Wireless Radiation in Schools

Over the past decade, education has been transformed into a digital experience. Each student typically has their own wireless device, and classrooms are outfitted with wireless access points, projectors and smart boards. In most schools, students also carry their individual phones. 

​

All of these devices are tested individually to meet old FCC exposure guidelines, but very few schools do any independent testing of aggregate radiation levels to ensure the safety of students, teachers and staff. 

​

In addition, many students are experiencing symptoms that may be related to heightened sensitivity to RF radiation, including headaches, dizziness, nausea, inability to concentrate, and in more severe cases, skin rashes and nosebleeds. 
 

To learn more about the ways schools can reduce exposures without impacting performance, or to read a legal letter setting out the legal responsibility of administrators to ensure safe learning environments, please visit www.TechSafeSchools.org. 

​

The FDA's Study on Non-Ionizing Radiation

​

With billions of dollars at stake, it’s not surprising that the wireless industry has spent millions making sure that Americans don’t know about (or don’t believe) the ground-breaking study, requested by the FDA and carried out by the National Toxicology Program of the National Institutes of Health. The purpose of the study was to determine whether or not non-ionizing radiation emitted by cell phones, tablets, wireless antennas, smart meters and other wireless devices could cause biological harm, especially cancer, in humans.

The wireless industry initially supported the study, assuming it would prove what it had been claiming for almost forty years: non-ionizing radiation cannot cause any harm except heating of tissue.

​

So you can imagine the alarm within the industry when the initial results of the multi-year, $30 million dollar study were announced in 2016. The study found clear evidence of cancer among the lab animals tested –  the same animals we use to test the safety of pharmaceuticals for human use.

Then in 2018, a panel of independent experts was convened to review the study. Their conclusion: not only can the exposure cause cancer, but it can also cause damage to DNA and the heart. 

​

The wireless industry’s response?  Use the tobacco industry playbook. Keep insisting that wireless radiation is completely safe, and try to discredit the findings of the most extensive and carefully controlled study ever conducted by the most prestigious health research organization in the world, which corroborated hundreds of independent studies that preceded it.

To hear a podcast with Dr. Ronald Melnick, the lead scientist who designed the NTP study, click here. 

​

FDA is failing to properly advise physicians of current science
 

FDA's public stance on the issue of non-ionizing radiation from wireless devices - that there is essentially no danger at all -  is misleading and confusing to physicians and clinicians. When faced with patients exhibiting a variety of symptoms often associated with chronic non-ionizing radiation exposure, medical professionals ignore possible links to radiation exposure because they have been led to believe that such exposure is not a clinically relevant concern.

As a result, physicians are misdiagnosing these conditions, making medical decisions, and prescribing medications for patients based on the false belief that FDA has carried out its obligations under the law and as a result of those activities and in compliance with administrative law procedures, has developed its official policy and position that the health risks associated with exposure to non-thermal levels of non-ionizing radiation are de minimis.
 

The development of official FDA policy is subject to the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) (5 U.S.C. Chapter 5), the Congressional Review Act, the Paperwork Reduction Act, the Regulatory Flexibility Act and various Executive Orders. We can find no substantial evidence that FDA has engaged in any of the necessary steps to develop an official policy regarding human exposure to non-ionizing radiation from electronic devices, or any documentation from FDA about the basis for its claim of safety or acknowledgement of the vigorous scientific debate over this issue.

 

FDA's failure to alert the public to the current science is steering medical professionals away from information that may help them diagnose and treat medical conditions. This policy of neglect is a serious breach of the agency's most fundamental duty of care.  To see a listing of published, peer-reviewed scientific studies, please click here. 

​

FDA has no information about exposures from smart meters
 

The term "Smart Meters" refers to gas, water and electricity meters that communicate directly and wirelessly with utility companies to report customer usage. Smart meters vary widely in their size, power, range and other specifications, and most can be variably programmed to meet the particular needs of the utility involved, but virtually all emit powerful spikes of radiation that are significantly higher than signals from a cell phone or router. 

 

FCC exposure guidelines allow manufacturers to average these high-peak exposures over time, based on the long-disproven (but still operational) theory that the only human health impact from RF radiation exposure is the heating of tissue.

 

Thousands of people have reported the development of adverse medical symptoms immediately after the installation of a wireless utility meter on their property. These symptoms mirror those documented in the medical literature from exposure to RF microwave radiation: headaches, insomnia, dizziness, inability to concentrate, nausea and heart irregularities. Symptoms generally disappear when the patient moves out of the range of the meter. 

 

Despite this widespread public health issue, FDA has not established an adverse-reaction reporting system, and there is no evidence the agency has taken any action to measure, evaluate or monitor exposures from smart meters or their effect on human health. 

​

FDA is allowing the public to take unnecessary risks 

​

Many peer-reviewed scientific studies have documented the potential for biological harm from exposure to RF radiation, particularly when devices emitting radiation are held close to or against the body. Children are particularly at risk because of their thinner skulls and immature physiology.

Many studies have demonstrated damage to sperm, and the incidence of colorectal cancer is suddenly rising among young men, suggesting that carrying a phone in pants pockets may be hazardous. 

​

Research from Yale University showed that the offspring of lab animals exposed to cell phone radiation exhibited neurological  problems, and had abnormal brain development. As a result, researchers have warned pregnant women not to carry their cell phones in their pockets, or use their tummies as platforms for wireless devices. (To learn more about pregnancy and wireless, please visit the BabySafe Project.)

 

Even manufacturers, in the fine print inside their devices, warn users not to hold the device against the body. But FDA is silent, not informing the public of the science or providing any guidance for pregnant women, young men or parents. 

 

FDA is failing to help people reduce their exposures

 

There are many products and techniques that can help members of the public dramatically reduce their exposures. Meters that can accurately measure the amount of RF radiation are widely available.  Window material with silver threads can help reduce the transmission of signals into homes and apartments, and RF-blocking paint is widely available at home centers and paint stores. 

FDA is required by law to evaluate the effectiveness of these products, and to help the public understand how they can reduce exposures. But FDA has decided not to do that.