{"id":"HHS-OASH-2026-0397-3409","number":"3409","name":"Melissa Stouffer","organization":"","posted":"2026-10-17T04:00Z","received":"2026-10-12T04:00Z","body":"\nI am submitting this as a mother and an individual diagnosed with POTS, autism, and ADHD, who also suspects hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (hEDS). I am asking HHS to investigate long-term RF/EMF exposure, particularly for people with underlying biological vulnerabilities and for children.\n\nA major worsening of my health began while living in an apartment built in the 1940s. A bank of three smart meters was installed directly outside our bedroom wall. Following their installation, both my daughter and I began experiencing significant sleep problems. I developed increasingly frequent headaches, brain fog, restlessness, and a persistent feeling that I could not fully relax. I also noticed my symptoms intensifying around the broader rollout of 5G, although I cannot determine whether that technology was involved.\n\nAfter the smart meters were installed, mold began appearing on the walls in that area, and mushrooms grew in the ground directly in front of the meters. Mold was also identified as a problem in the apartment. The sequence of events stands out to me, but I recognize that moisture intrusion, drainage, and the age of the building could explain the fungal growth. I am not claiming the meters caused the mold or our symptoms. Rather, I question whether multiple environmental exposures are being adequately studied together rather than in isolation.\n\nApproximately three years after moving out, I was formally diagnosed with autism and ADHD. These diagnoses helped explain lifelong neurological and sensory differences, but not why my symptoms had become so much more pronounced during that period. My confirmed POTS diagnosis also raises questions about whether individuals with autonomic dysfunction might respond differently to environmental stressors.\n\nI can hear loud electrical humming associated with power infrastructure, refrigerators, and some areas near cell towers. Prolonged exposure to these environments frequently coincides with headaches and a physical sensation of being unable to relax or rest. In contrast, when spending time in forests away from concentrated electrical infrastructure, I do not experience those same sensations. I recognize that audible humming, vibration, and RF radiation are different phenomena and may have different explanations.\n\nI also experience a burning sensation specifically where my cellphone touches my hand when I hold it for an extended period. This has occurred with every phone I have owned. I cannot determine whether device heat, nerve or skin sensitivity, RF exposure, or another factor explains this recurring experience, but I believe such symptoms deserve investigation.\n\nBecause of these concerns, I primarily use wired Ethernet, turn off my Wi-Fi router when not needed, keep my cellphone in airplane mode whenever possible, and avoid apartments with smart meters or choose units farther from meter banks. These are personal precautions, not evidence of causation.\n\nAs a mother, I am especially concerned about pregnant women, developing fetuses, infants, and children. Their developing nervous systems, anatomical differences from adults, including skull thickness, and potentially lifelong exposure raise important questions about long-term effects. I am not asserting that these differences establish increased harm, but I question whether existing research and safety assessments adequately account for different developmental stages, newer frequencies, and cumulative exposure from multiple wireless technologies.\n\nI ask HHS to prioritize independent, long-term research using objective exposure measurements and neurological, autonomic, and sleep-related outcomes. Research should specifically examine potentially susceptible groups, including individuals with POTS and other forms of dysautonomia, connective-tissue disorders such as hEDS, mast-cell disorders, autism, and ADHD. It should also investigate possible interactions with mold and other environmental conditions.\n\nI would also like greater transparency about actual exposure levels in homes, apartments, and schools, particularly near sleeping areas and banks of smart meters, so families can make informed decisions.\n\nMy personal experiences cannot establish causation, but I believe they raise legitimate questions that deserve rigorous scientific investigation. I hope HHS will examine these possibilities without prejudging the outcomes and consider whether potentially vulnerable individuals and children may be overlooked when research focuses primarily on population-wide averages.\n\nThank you for considering my experience and these concerns.","attachments":[],"attachment_inventory":true,"withheld":false,"source":"https://www.regulations.gov/comment/HHS-OASH-2026-0397-3409","tags":["child-development","health-experiences","sleep-cognition","exposure-places","research-evidence"],"source_hash":"a7da14eebdec4a0089372a58c64f4aaaf4e95363d3aca74bb3c52d36cb41a734","slug":"child-development-comment-3409","classification":{"id":"HHS-OASH-2026-0397-3409","body_sha256":"11cb5a2375075be845df7c2eeeb165912478f075f825ed8b614c83b2925d7555","status":"ai_reviewed","primary_topic":"research","topics":[{"id":"research","evidence":"eless technologies.\n\nI ask HHS to prioritize independent, long-term research using objective exposure measurements and neurological, autonomi"},{"id":"children","evidence":"nderlying biological vulnerabilities and for children.\n\nA major worsening of my health began while living in an apartm"},{"id":"smart-meters","evidence":"partment built in the 1940s. A bank of three smart meters was installed directly outside our bedroom wall. Following their"},{"id":"neurological","evidence":"aughter and I began experiencing significant sleep problems. I developed increasingly frequent headaches, brain fog, restles"},{"id":"cardiac","evidence":"as a mother and an individual diagnosed with POTS, autism, and ADHD, who also suspects hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos s"},{"id":"optical","evidence":"\n\nBecause of these concerns, I primarily use wired Ethernet, turn off my Wi-Fi router when not needed, keep my cellphone in "}],"summary":"Requests independent research into susceptibility, children and combined environmental exposures, describing symptoms near smart meters and electrical infrastructure while explicitly acknowledging multiple possible explanations.","reviewed_at":"2026-10-17T20:52:40Z","review_method":"Source-based AI review of complete published bodies; neutral attribution and exact topic evidence.","review_source_sha256":"625864e8a779609f7885938bb7782a1b403585477ab8f621d606eb6a9086dcb7","source_url":"https://rfsafe.net/hhs-comments/data/catalog.json","scope":"Original comment body; attachments excluded"},"forum_topics":["research","children","smart-meters","neurological","cardiac","optical"],"primary_topic":"research","forum_title":"Requests independent research into susceptibility, children and combined environmental exposures, describ…"}