An attorney describes learning about reported biological effects through environmental advocacy, work on …

I remember my first cell phone. My parents bought it for me when I was in fifth grade. It was a pink Razr Motorola flip phone. Little did I know at the time that a few years later, I would start working for an environmental health non-profit organization on Long Island where I’d learn about the seriously disturbing health effects linked to wireless radiation exposure emitted by devices like cell phones, WiFi routers, and even those big cell towers that we see on highways and near homes across America. On the first day of my internship with the non-profit, the organization’s Executive Director sat me down at the office dining room table and dropped a couple of three-inch binders, each overflowing with paper, right in front of me. The table shook due to the weight of the binders. She told me that every piece of paper in each binder was just a sliver of the scientific literature about the biological effects of wireless radiation exposure. DNA damage. Sperm damage. Oxidative stress. Cancer. The list of terribles went on. My eyes widened. I had been, and continue to be, a health-conscious person. I want a healthy family, and I want to live a long, happy life. It greatly angered me to realize to realize that I had handled wireless devices in a potentially unsafe way -- especially during some of my most important developmental years -- because I just didn’t know better. Before that day in the office, nobody had ever told me that wireless radiation is a health hazard. Where would I have learned such information? From the non-existent warning label on my cell phone? From health class? From the FCC -- a revolving door for telecom lobbyists and former industry insiders? From the media outlets that get their advertising money from Verizon and AT&T and T-Mobile? After years of working in the non-profit sector and learning as much as I could as quickly as I could about the wireless telecommunications industry and the scientifically documented adverse biological impacts of RF radiation, I became a staunch advocate for the responsible and thoughtful placement of wireless telecommunications infrastructure. But that wasn’t enough. I couldn’t just be an advocate. I needed a law degree. So, I went to law school so I could teach municipalities about the powers they have to enact wireless telecommunications ordinances that prioritize public safety and smart infrastructure siting. And I still enthusiastically do that work today with my brilliant father who has practiced law for over 43 years. I am genuinely encouraged that HHS has issued this RFI. I hope this marks the beginning of a fundamental shift in how our federal government addresses the health and environmental implications of wireless radiation. The FCC has had ample time to act, and its record speaks for itself. Clearly, it cannot do its job. HHS must now take a leading role in investigating the health effects of wireless radiation and ensure that public health drives federal policy. This is HHS’s big moment to be on the right side of science and history. Please seize it. Thank you for your consideration of my comments.