{"id":"HHS-OASH-2026-0397-1062","number":"1062","name":"TJ Martin","organization":"","posted":"2026-09-28T04:00Z","received":"2026-09-27T04:00Z","body":"The ABC’s of EMF’s\n\nDuring my twenty-seven year tenure as a public school teacher, much changed:\n\nChalkboards gave way to Smartboards. Pen and paper gave way to keyboards and screens. Attendance, grading, testing all transitioned from analog to digital.\n\nInstead of bookshelves, classrooms were furnished with carts. My classroom had two bulky rolling carts, each housing twenty WiFi laptops for a total of forty machines. \n\nThese laptops became necessary for standardized testing, research, composition; their use was mandated.\n\nOf course, this level of use required bandwidth, vast quantities of it, and the hardware to support it.\n\nOne morning, however, the electricity went out. My classroom of younger adolescents passed the time happily in the semi-twilight, keeping one eye on the clock because after a few hours of no power, school would have been dismissed for the remainder of the day.\n\nWhen the electricity came back online, a collective groan of disappointment arose—which was to be expected.\n\nOne student’s reaction, though, was very different. \n\nCall him Declan, a pleasant enough kid who exhibited classic ADHD (Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) behavior.\n\nSurprisingly, Declan did not bemoan having to stay in school for the rest of the day. \n\nRather, he threw up his hands and exclaimed, “WHY did the power have to go back on? It was JUST SO PEACEFUL without it!”\n\nI have thought of his statement many times since, especially when considering the invisible, insidious effects of electromagnetic fields on the human body. \n\nCould Declan’s ADHD have been either caused or exacerbated by his daily immersion in the significant electromagnetic field required to sustain the school’s WiFi network and capability?\n\nWas he somehow more biologically sensitive than most?\n","attachments":[],"attachment_inventory":true,"withheld":false,"source":"https://www.regulations.gov/comment/HHS-OASH-2026-0397-1062","tags":["child-development","health-experiences","exposure-places","research-evidence"],"source_hash":"2029d0b6d5bc9295ab037edcf1084e437c535fd8a556e893ad496fa1efa772db","slug":"child-development-comment-1062","classification":{"id":"HHS-OASH-2026-0397-1062","body_sha256":"249325e2e472bc759eea84c267ec3dbaf75bddf4d28c8069e33cad2129758c8f","status":"ai_reviewed","primary_topic":"children","topics":[{"id":"children","evidence":"line, a collective groan of disappointment arose—which was to be expected.\n\nOne student’s reaction, though, was very different. \n\nCall him Declan, a pleasant enough kid who exhibited clas"},{"id":"neurological","evidence":" very different. \n\nCall him Declan, a pleasant enough kid who exhibited classic ADHD (Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) behavior.\n\nSurprisingly, Declan did not bemoan having to"},{"id":"wifi","evidence":"ished with carts. My classroom had two bulky rolling carts, each housing twenty WiFi laptops for a total of forty machines. \n\nThese laptops became necessary for standardized testing, r"},{"id":"occupational","evidence":"The ABC’s of EMF’s\n\nDuring my twenty-seven year tenure as a public school teacher, much changed:\n\nChalkboards gave way to Smartboards. Pen and paper gave way to keyboards and screen"}],"summary":"A former teacher describes classroom technology use and a student’s apparent relief during a power outage. Asks whether exposure might contribute to ADHD symptoms or individual susceptibility; the observation does not determine a cause.","reviewed_at":"2026-09-28T16:09:15Z","review_method":"Source-matched AI review of 101 new complete comment bodies with exact supporting passages; three attachment-dependent covering notes remain pending. Attachments and external links not reviewed.","review_source_sha256":"df6f6d3eed5e36649f7234e4cd210871f3403642a81e0dff2adcdb908a20fa20","source_url":"https://rfsafe.net/hhs-comments/data/catalog.json","scope":"Original comment body; attachments excluded"},"forum_topics":["children","neurological","wifi","occupational"],"primary_topic":"children","forum_title":"A former teacher describes classroom technology use and a student’s apparent relief during a power outage…"}