The submission recounts a spouse's brain tumor and heavy phone use, public advocacy and work with communi…

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.