Housing, work & access barriers

I am submitting this comment in response to HHS’s Request for Information on Electromagnetic Fields (EMFs), Radiofrequency (RF) Radiation, and Wireless Radiation Exposure. I am a senior citizen who is relatively informed about about these matters, but from the perspective of a concerned member of this world without a background in this field. Although I believe I have been adversely affected by these technologies, predominantly with chronic insomnia and a general feeling of malaise, I think my symptoms pale in comparison to many others. I have attended informational meetings and listened to people who were experiencing far more severe symptoms. One person had to move out of his apartment, struggled to find a suitable and affordable rental, and was staying with friends and family, which did not bring him relief. Parents were concerned for their children. My biggest concern is for the children, wildlife, and all sentient beings. These technologies are adversely impacting all creatures. Plus, the equipment and towers are an eyesore. The FCC doesn't seem to care and neither do most of our elected representatives. If they cared, they would take action and ameliorate the situation. I support HHS taking an active role in examining the potential health and environmental effects of wireless radiation. Questions about human health should be addressed by federal agencies with appropriate expertise in medicine, biology, epidemiology, and public health, and the experiences of individuals and families who report being affected should be considered alongside the scientific evidence. I urge HHS to carefully evaluate these experiences and the scientific evidence, identify gaps in current research, give particular attention to children and other potentially vulnerable populations, and establish appropriate federal research priorities regarding wireless radiation and public health. Thank you for providing individuals and families with an opportunity to be heard.

Bonjour, Je suis devenue électro-hypersensible et chimico-sensible en 2008, à l’âge de 38 ans, à la suite du déclenchement de la maladie de Ménière. Puis, de nombreux autres problèmes de santé sont apparus : brûlures corporelles, douleurs musculaires et articulaires, problèmes de thyroïde et troubles digestifs, maux de tête et douleurs cervicales, inflammations, pertes d’équilibre, grande fatigue chronique, etc. J’ai dû quitter mon appartement à Nice, car je ne pouvais plus y vivre à cause du Wi-Fi provenant des logements voisins ainsi que d’une antenne-relais située à proximité. L’enfer est alors devenu mon quotidien. Je vis aujourd’hui dans une petite maison de village dans laquelle je me sentais enfin bien. Hélas, cela n’a pas duré longtemps. Depuis 2016, je subis quotidiennement ce que j’identifie comme les ondes radio émises par le système d’alarme Verisure de ma voisine, 24 heures sur 24. C’est devenu un véritable enfer ! Sans parler des autres voisins qui utilisent régulièrement Internet via le point d’accès Wi-Fi de leur téléphone ou d’autres appareils. Pour moi, ces situations sont extrêmement douloureuses et déclenchent des sensations de brûlure, et parfois même une sensation d’étouffement. Je n’ai jamais pu voyager ni partir en vacances. Le Wi-Fi est désormais présent partout, notamment dans les hôtels. C’est aberrant ! Voilà ma vie : une véritable prison. Je ne peux pas vivre normalement, ni me déplacer librement, ni profiter des choses les plus simples de la vie sans craindre de subir à nouveau ces symptômes. Hello, I developed electromagnetic hypersensitivity and chemical sensitivity in 2008, at the age of 38, following the onset of Ménière’s disease. Since then, many other health problems have appeared: burning sensations throughout my body, muscle and joint pain, thyroid problems and digestive disorders, headaches and neck pain, inflammation, loss of balance, severe chronic fatigue, and many other symptoms. I had to leave my apartment in Nice because I could no longer live there due to the Wi-Fi coming from neighboring apartments, as well as a mobile phone antenna located nearby. My life became a living nightmare. I now live in a small village house where I finally felt comfortable and at peace. Unfortunately, that did not last long. Since 2016, I have been exposed on a daily basis to what I identify as radiofrequency emissions from my neighbor’s Verisure alarm system, 24 hours a day. It has become a living hell! On top of that, other neighbors regularly use the Internet through their phones’ Wi-Fi hotspots or other devices. For me, these situations are extremely painful and trigger burning sensations, and sometimes even a feeling of suffocation. I have never been able to travel or go on holiday. Wi-Fi is now everywhere, particularly in hotels. It is unbelievable! This is my life: a real prison. I cannot live normally, travel freely, or enjoy the simplest things in life without constantly fearing that I will experience these symptoms again.

I am submitting this comment in response to HHS’s Request for Information on Electromagnetic Fields (EMFs), Radiofrequency (RF) Radiation, and Wireless Radiation Exposure. I am responding from the perspective of a patient. I have personally been affected by wireless radiation. I get extremely nauseated, itchy and buzzy all over my skin when using my iPhone or iPad connected to Wi-Fi.. I have had to disable 5G on all my devices to be able to touch them even for a short time. I get very anxious when near 5g towers or around large groups of people using phones like in a coffee shop or at my place of worship. I can not use any smart watches or even Bluetooth watch for tracking my steps. I was burned on my wrist from the red light against my skin on the Apple Watch and stop wearing it, as it didn’t matter which wrist i wear on I get burnt and buzzy feeling. I have to keep wireless router off at home as long as possible unless we need to print from our wireless printer.. We bought a house purposely with zero smart features as I am so sensitive. I support HHS taking an active role in examining the potential health and environmental effects of wireless radiation. Questions about human health should be addressed by federal agencies with appropriate expertise in medicine, biology, epidemiology, and public health, and the experiences of individuals and families who report being affected should be considered alongside the scientific evidence. I urge HHS to carefully evaluate these experiences and the scientific evidence, identify gaps in current research, give particular attention to children and other potentially vulnerable populations, and establish appropriate federal research priorities regarding wireless radiation and public health. Thank you for providing individuals and families with an opportunity to be heard.

I shut my cell phone down in 2021. Although we live in a wooded, rural area, we began to notice new structures which I later learned were cell towers, being built in three areas surrounding us. I didn't know much about the technology but one day my cell phone changed sounds and began emitting a really annoying signal. I wasn't using any other wireless at the time,( and none now ). I haven't checked to see if I can pinpoint the exact date they activated the cell towers but I began to feel nausea, anxiety, restless sleep and tinnitus. The final blow for me was when my partner was on the phone in the house and I was in the next room in agony. I signaled him to end the call. After my initial research into the wireless technology in which I found people with similar reactions, I had a phone/ internet line hardwired into my house and those reactions abated. It has not passed my attention that these cell towers were erected during a widespread shut down of the entire economy. And that I find most suspect. After I was able to comfortably research on the net, I discovered a lot of information from others who had done much more time on this than I could. One thing very troubling stands out: there are only two areas in our country where one can live freely without any wireless whatsoever. Why don't we have a choice in the matter? Did the public beat down the doors of the major telecoms and demand they get better, faster, sleeker service? Didn't see that rebellion on the news! My point is this was foisted upon us without any warning, public comment, vote, referendum, anything. Imagine a business that no longer meets the demand of its clients, just gives them the only service they can offer. How long would that business last? I ask rhetorically, I understand the end game is really about control and data gathering. With satellites being shot into space to provide internet/ data collection/ surveillance aka "connectivity" there doesn't seem to be much hope in reigning in this dangerous technology. And, in the end, for what? Profits?

I used to live in a place where there were 12 Smart Meters attached to the outside of my bedroom wall. It caused me to have severe insomnia and I literally had to sleep on the other end of the house in the living room to get away from the wall of SmartMeters. I ended up buying a 3-axis EMF/Radiofrequency meter to check the levels of various places and found that high EMF levels cause me to have heart palpitations and a feeling of nausea. I have actually passes on housing because of high EMF levels and needing to be away from them. I feel that they affect my wellness.

I am concerned about the wireless non-ionizing radiation to which we are exposed 24 hours a day. This short-wave radiation is dangerous not only to our health, but to the health of almost all living organisms. We have not evolved to tolerate such an attack of these short-wave lengths on our bodies. The ill-effects of such exposure have been documented. They range from headaches, dizziness, sleeplessness, body aches and pains, mental distress, cancer and sometimes fatal reactions. Wildlife experience similar effects from bees and invertebates to vertebrates. The expansion of these cell towers and antennas makes it almost impossible to shield oneself from their damaging and dangerous effect. People have to abandon their homes, which cannot sold. Farm animals get very sick as well as wildlife. What is terrifying is the expansion to 6G. Children are even more vulnerable to the dangerous effects. What is the effect on a developing fetus? It is urgent that we have complete information on electromagnetic Fields, Radiofrequency, and Wireless Radiation. The 1996 legislation gave this industry indemnity from lawsuits. They cannot be sued for the harm they do. That inability to sue needs to be changed. The power to regulate this industry needs to be given to HHS and removed from FCC. They have proven themselves to be irresponsible and dangerous. We can switch to fiber optics and safer technologies. I appreciate your concern for our well-being and for the well-being of all life. We cannot survive without a working ecology.

I am writing today regarding your request for information of EMF's, RF Radiation and Wireless Radiation Exposure. I write as an individual impacted. On June 8, 2023 I was awakened in the middle of the night by a loud lawnmower-sounding noise, louder from right the side of my bedroom. I have lived here now 25 years (22 when this event occurred). I actually called the police (never having done so in my life) , even tho I imagined the dispatcher making circles with her index finger near her temple (get a load of this complaint....) Over the next week or two I invited neighbors in and inquired if they heard the sound and one actually did. Being woken up constantly, I began to call the electirc company and on numerous occasions they came out in the middle of the night- I had them come into the house and listen- although they were nice (and believed me) they could do nothing but refer me to engineering. BTW, a few of them said they could not hear the loud buzzing or ringing as they had tinnitus. Working around strong power lines I now understand how that happens. But back to my situation- I learned quickly that my next door neighbor had installed solar panels on my side of their roof and the panels 'went live' at about the same time I was impacted ('struck'.) Eversource (the power company) came again, this time realizing there was an issue they needed to handle. In the meantime I was staying at friends' homes or in hotels intermittently as I could not sleep. Eversource recognized the problem I was experiencing (they called it harmonics) 'perhaps' caused by the inverter on my neighbor's panels (sending energy back to the electric company) I requested (and partially paid for) the solar company to check on the issue. This 'evaluation' by the solar company consisted of a cell phone computer check. As mentioned, Eversource realized there was an issue because I went to great lengths to get fixed what I initially thought was a fairly simple problem. I couldn't have been more wrong. The power company (and the town) sent 6-8 employees (including managerial) who spent two days evaluating and eventually rewiring 8 houses (house to pole) in addition to replacing a transformer. All this took months and in the final analysis I now have a chronic condition - constant tinnitus and had to get hearing aids and some medication as the 'solution'. The issue (tinnitus) is now within me, tho when I am out in nature ( at the beach, in the woods or mountains) the ringing is negligible or in the background. Not so at home where I often like it quiet. This is a serious issue. I sincerely hope all of our exposure to this damaging radiation is studied in the proper fashion. It has harmed me irreparably and I do not want this to go unnoticed.

I am submitting this comment in response to HHS’s Request for Information on Electromagnetic Fields (EMFs), Radiofrequency (RF) Radiation, and Wireless Radiation Exposure. I am responding from the perspective of a patient and family member. The wireless radiation changed my life completely. Since they connected in 2021 more than 700 5G antennas and radars in a 3 miles radius in my neighborhood I have been very sick with pneumonias, rapid heartbeat, skin rashes, dizziness, loss of memory, loss of vision, vomits, migraines, tinnitus, insomnia, flu, stabbing pains all over the body, fever, fatigue, burning feeling, confusion, incoherent thoughts, high blood pressure, tingling sensation, nosebleed, shortness of breath, cough, diarrhea, hair loss, hemorrhage in the eye. I had to move to other areas trying to find a place that it is not contaminated by the microwaves. I spoke with other people in my neighborhood, and they have the same symptoms. During the night is worst. I urge the government to help us. I support HHS taking an active role in examining the potential health and environmental effects of wireless radiation. Questions about human health should be addressed by federal agencies with appropriate expertise in medicine, biology, epidemiology, and public health, and the experiences of individuals and families who report being affected should be considered alongside the scientific evidence. I urge HHS to carefully evaluate these experiences and the scientific evidence, identify gaps in current research, give particular attention to children and other potentially vulnerable populations, and establish appropriate federal research priorities regarding wireless radiation and public health. Thank you for providing individuals and families with an opportunity to be heard.

My family lives in an over 55 mobilehome park. We have a EMF detection meter which found that on either side of us that the meter shows in the orange to red zone for increased unsafe EMF. Our homes are close together, one neighbor likes Netflix so has double the wi-fi which is always on; our other neighbor has a transmitting digital electric meter, which when transmitting alarms the EMF meter. We have our technology hard wired and don't use wi-fi or bluetooth. We are able to turn off the system at night. I get headaches in the kitchen and front room where the EMF meter alarms. I also worked in a city at a city maintenance yard for 17 yrs. At that facility there we at the time worked for 10 hours, four days a week with transmitting radios, which may have included 20 - 30 two way radios and there was a large antenna on the roof over our heads. A year or so after I worked there I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia with widespread pain, brain fog, and general malaise . Which later became so bad that I had to retire early. Our society is so into our technology and it has been researched that it is not our safe friend at present. But like most addicts it is hard to give up the tech or even try to use it wisely. My husband and I are captive where we live. I think the existing information which there is a lot of should be revealed, and looked at more closely by the HHS. Don't we have enough things out there to maim or kill us? Thank you for accepting my thoughts on EMF.

Ever since I had a concussion 5 years ago, I've been markedly EMF sensitive. Mostly wifi, and sometimes 5G, but also household AC. My cell phone is limited to 4G, and I do not use wifi in my residence 90% of the time, but I am surrounded by it from neighbors. Fatigue, foggy headedness, depressed mood... I am not the only one, it's simply not possible. I have been able to isolate this over the last number of years, when I go camping in the summer and there is only a weak 4G signal, I start to feel better in many ways. I also know that it's not just camping, because the rejuvenation has in some years worn off within -hours- of re-entering a wifi-plastered neighborhood where I live. The idea that "because EMF's don't clearly and obviously affect 51+% of all people, we don't need to do anything about them" is ridiculous. There are well over a thousand studies done within Europe, many of them available in English. In a globalized world, we can't be considered reasonable and responsible leaders if we don't take lessons from other parts of the world. I'm pretty sure science works in Europe too... therefore their findings are valid. Furthermore, I have tried various EMF shielding / dampening / conditioning devices with some having high impact, and others perhaps being too strong / not compatible with me. Another set of datapoints confirming this is a serious issue dramatically lowering the quality of my life, and my ability to serve people in the health & wellness industry, my family, friends, and community.