Occupational exposure

I have had and am still having so much sensitivity to EMF's and it has disabled me. I started working in a county office in Coconino County AZ, where we had a cell phone tower dressed up to look like a pine tree. It was at the end of the parking lot from where I sat at my desk. I did not feel the radiation while working there but believe that this is what over sensitized me, starting my condition of EMF hypersensitivity. I gradually became more and more sensitive to EMF's from 2013 onwards until I was unable to tolerate being around electricity in general. Radio frequencies, including cell phones, cell phone towers, wifi routers, blue tooth, etc all are very uncomfortable and even cause me physical pain. I was homeless for quite a while because I was unable to tolerate living in a house with even electricity, as the electric and magnetic fields from those became unbearable to me as well. (While I was living in Tucson AZ, it had become really bad as we had a cell phone tower installed at the top of our street as well as one down at the bottom of our neighborhood. And also had our house encircled with people with solar instillations which also put off a high dirty electricity filed, and then we had 5G put down our alley, smart meters on every house, and I then was unable to tolerate living there. During this time several of my older neighbors began falling more often and eventually one broke their hip and the others mild dementia became severe, the one who broke their hip passed away from complications, and then the one with mild dementia who became severe needed to live in a care facility and passed away quickly. My mom had several heart attacks after their putting in the increased radio frequency generating devices, I had neurological issues that started during that time period and we disabling, as well as several others in my neighborhood had neurological issues begin and many had heart related conditions with another on my street passing away within months of the "upgrade". I can still feel radio frequencies and I find myself turning my head and looking at them as I pass by cell /data towers, not intentionally, it is just something that happens. I eventually built a tiny house out of a shipping container as a faraday cage to be able to handle living in their new modern environment with supposed "high tech" surroundings, towers, wifi etc everywhere. And at least now I have a safe place to live that doesn't hurt my body. I also back in 2017 had developed a breast tumor and cancer in my right breast because I always had my cell phone resting in that area tucked into my breast pocket. And then I started to learn and understand how dangerous that was, and now keep it in airplane mode every night and keep it away from my body at all times as to not be irradiated. These things are not safe and they are destroying our health. We used to be afraid of the higher SAR ratings that cell phones had when they were first coming out but now they have been deemed "safe" and in doing so people give them to their little children, and keep them in their pockets, and hold them directly against their heads unaware of the dangers of radio frequencies and in doing so are creating tremendous health consequences. Oh my goodness, I almost forgot to tell you that my sister Jennifer, has had a brain tumor that she had to have operated on that grew as a result of her having her phone against her head all the time for years and that was before they became as powerful as they are currently. I hope you are able to bring more awareness and reform to this issue and bring more safety to others so that we don't end up sterilizing our next generations. And for people like myself so we can be out in public more without ending up in pain.

I am submitting this comment as a concerned member of the public urging HHS to undertake a comprehensive, independent investigation into the potential human and environmental health effects of the rapidly expanding electromagnetic environment created by modern technology. My concern is not based on the assumption that every wireless technology has been proven harmful. Rather, it is that society has dramatically increased the intensity, density, duration, proximity, and variety of electromagnetic exposures while the long-term biological consequences of this cumulative exposure remain incompletely understood. Today, people can be exposed simultaneously and continuously to Wi-Fi, 4G/5G and future 6G infrastructure, cell towers and small cells, Bluetooth and wireless headphones, smartphones, smart meters, wireless cameras and security systems, wearables, smart-home devices, connected and electric vehicles, wireless medical devices, satellite communications such as Starlink, and the rapidly expanding infrastructure supporting AI and data centers. The central question should therefore not simply be whether each individual device complies with an existing exposure limit. HHS should determine whether current standards adequately address real-world, cumulative, lifelong exposure from multiple sources operating simultaneously. I respectfully ask HHS to investigate potential effects on: sleep and circadian biology; hormonal and endocrine function; reproductive health and fertility; pregnancy and fetal development; neurological and cognitive function; immune and metabolic function; oxidative stress and cellular signaling; DNA integrity, repair and epigenetic processes; cancer and other chronic diseases; and children and other potentially vulnerable populations. Research should specifically examine effects that may occur below existing exposure limits and should evaluate frequency, power density, modulation, pulsing, duty cycle, beamforming, proximity to the body, duration, and simultaneous exposure to multiple frequencies. HHS itself identifies these factors as important areas for investigation. I am particularly concerned about involuntary residential exposure. Smart meters, nearby wireless infrastructure, small cells, and other continuously operating devices can expose people inside their own homes regardless of whether they personally choose to use wireless technology. Americans should have meaningful information and reasonable options for reducing unnecessary exposure in their homes, schools, workplaces, and communities. HHS should also investigate the rapidly changing exposure environment created by 5G, future 6G, satellite networks, IoT devices, autonomous vehicles, wireless charging, electric vehicles, smart cities, and other emerging technologies before assuming that older exposure research adequately represents these systems. The investigation should extend beyond human health. HHS should coordinate with appropriate federal agencies to examine potential effects on wildlife, birds, insects, pollinators, livestock, plants, and ecosystems. HHS specifically requests information concerning environmental effects and wireless infrastructure near homes, schools, childcare facilities, workplaces, and livestock. Independent research is essential. Federal research should be transparent, independently replicated, and protected from conflicts of interest. Long-term studies should measure actual exposure rather than relying solely on estimates of device use. The government should develop standardized methods for measuring individual and neighborhood exposure and consider longitudinal health studies, environmental monitoring, occupational monitoring, disease registries, biomonitoring, and adverse-event reporting. I also urge HHS to improve public transparency. Consumers, parents, schools, workers, and communities should have understandable information about the emissions and realistic exposure characteristics of wireless devices and infrastructure. The scientific evidence contains established findings, conflicting findings, emerging research, and significant uncertainty. That uncertainty is not a reason to dismiss public concern; it is a reason to investigate more rigorously. We should neither assume that modern wireless technology is harmless nor assume that every health problem attributed to EMF has been scientifically proven to be caused by EMF. We should measure the exposures, study the biology, monitor health outcomes over time, investigate potential risks, and make the evidence publicly available. The unprecedented proliferation of wireless and electrically powered technology should be matched by an equally serious commitment to understanding its long-term consequences for human health and the environment. I urge HHS to make cumulative, real-world EMF/RF exposure and its potential biological effects a significant federal research priority.

I have been debilitated by 5G technology on several occasions. I was parked in Sausalito, California enjoying an ocean view at a park and ride when I suddenly could not think, it was as if I was in a stupor. My psychology was scrambled and nothing made sense in that moment. I had the presence of mind to get out of my car to get fresh air, and noticed there there were several towers, both 5G and cellular towers. I frequently see clients in their homes, and one client has a very powerful Xfinity modem. When I am in the room that has the modem, negative thoughts race through my mind, then my whole body heats up and it stays heated until I turn off the modem. When I drive on the 101 freeway and pass a 5G tower, I can feel prickly sensation on my skin in different parts of my body and it definately changes my psychology for the worst. There is no safety data for this technology, there will never be safety data because it has been proven over and over again that this technology is toxic to humans.

Tinnitus arrived the day the neighboors had the AMF-antennas installed in their houses, which I did not know untill the day after. 8 years later, I still have tinnitus, but after 5G coverage started, I started having an additional, darker tone, so now I have 2 different ones. I really could not believe this had to do with EMF exposure, but experiencing like a spear through my brain when one of the neighboors plugged in their electric car charger and hearing a car-charger-park like thousends of screams (I did not manage to have a conversation because of how it affected my brain) I finally had to admit this was a cause to my health problems. I experience pains in my head and in my body, brain fog, difficulties finding words, fatigue, anxiety and heart pulpifications after exposures to wifi, Bluetooth, 4G, 4G+, 5G. We now have had wifi 6 at work installed, along smart heating owens, the latter 50 cm from my desk. I teach middle school, and sometimes there are 28 active computers in the room, along a smart TV or a projector using Bluetooth and an access point placed on top of the entrance door. About 50 meters from our school is a cluster of at least 3 5G antennas. Most ceiling lights have also been changed info LED, they give me immidiate headaches. At home I have no wifi, I am now using my cell phone through a cable. The blue light is turned down as much as possible, and I have a protective shield across the screen. I also turn on the flightmode when I have the phone in my hands. I never use it to my ear. A few hours after coming home from work, the health issues weakens. In the beginning, before I turned off the wifi, and while others were living with me in the house (using their own phones), I also had major sleeping disturbances. If I ever take an electric taxi, my joints and muscles start hurting after a few minutes.

I have several anecdotal stories to share. The first dates back to summer of 1993. I was a healthy college grad working for minimum wage on a farm in Newburg, MD. Farm laborers stayed in a little cabin directly under high tension power lines. This was just at the inception of the internet. No 3G or 4G or 5G radiation yet vibrating. For the 4 months I stayed on the farm, I continued to be generally healthy, but my menstrual cycle changed from 27-28 days to 23-24. That's about 3 weeks to do 4 weeks worth of hormonal work. After I left the farm (end of harvest season), the very first month I was away from those power lines, my cycle bounced back to 28 days. I thank God that I was under that influence for only a few months. And for what it may be worth, the farmer's wife had stayed in that same cabin while pregnant and her child was born 8 weeks premature. Of course there are many reasons babies are born early, but it's hard for me not to think the constant exposure to EMF's so close to her developing fetus could have influenced the pregnancy. From what I've read and listened to from those who actually investigate the scientific studies into health effects of EMF's, these kinds of changes are quite common with nearby exposure. Please trust scientists who are calling out the potential and known health effects based on unbiased rigorous scientific research. Much of this literature is decades old, but still valid. Unfortunately, much more is being done as our collective exposures have only increased without government regulations and without morality based corporate self-restraint. Sincerely concerned, Jennifer C Darling

I was injured by non-native EMFs (nnEMF) when we installed solar panels, hooked up the grid, on our house’s roof. I got very sick with electrical illness (dysautonomia and auto-immune illnesses) and it took me 8 years to recover. I had to move out of that house and spend probably a $100,000 and miss 2.5 years of work in order to get well. EMF and dirty electricity illnesses are a real thing!! The solar panel input made the alternating current “spikey” (for lack of a better word) and my body was thrown into disarray by the constant electrical spikes. I still am now “electrically sensitive” to microwave radiation from my cell phone. For example, if I hold it too long, my hand starts to hurt. There needs to be more information about the truth of electrical and nnEMF and electrical injuries and illnesses. I think this is part of why so many of us are sick and tired. Thank you for looking into this and moving the Overton Window on this topic.

I was constantly plagued by migraines in my job as a school secretary. When I was at home, where everything was hardwired, I was fine. Eventually, I had to leave the job when Wi-Fi was installed throughout the school.

Life has become a horrific nightmare since 5g went live. I had issues from 4g that apparently dominated my adult life causing dozens of er visits and hundreds of doctors visits. 5g has been an entirely different animal. I am very nearly dead now and went from working 50hrs a week taking care of 10 schools to essentially disabled and haven't held a job since. Worked my entire adult life until this 5g happened. It gets worse and worse and I'm pretty well faced with suicide at this point and it's looking like the most likely outcome. It's absolutely CLEAR covid was tied to this as is the materials being released into our air via jets. It's completely unconciable this was even considered by those who decided to engineer things to allow such pervasive and intense rf exposure. This 5g bullshit has absolutely ruined my life beyond repair. There's nowhere to run and hide. It has caused considerable suffering for my kid and I've watched it destroy the health of those around me. Hurry up and act on this and shut this crap off!!!

Question 2 — Perspective I am responding as an individual consumer with personal experience that I believe may be relevant to the evaluation of RF/EMF exposure and potential health effects. Question 3 — Personal experience I have experienced what I perceive to be sensitivity to RF/wireless environments, particularly Wi-Fi and environments with multiple wireless devices. My experience has been that prolonged exposure to Wi-Fi or other wireless environments is sometimes followed by significant fatigue and brain fog. In some situations, I notice symptoms after approximately two hours of exposure. I have also noticed more immediate symptoms in certain higher-wireless environments. For example, when riding inside a Tesla vehicle, I have experienced a headache after approximately 15 minutes. I have also experienced headaches when sitting relatively close to an active Wi-Fi access point. In an office environment with numerous wireless and electronic devices, I have sometimes experienced substantial fatigue and brain fog toward the end of the workday. I have noticed that these experiences are less pronounced when I can reduce my exposure to wireless sources. I recognize that these observations are personal experiences and do not, by themselves, establish that RF/EMF exposure caused the symptoms. Other factors could potentially contribute to fatigue, headaches, or cognitive symptoms. However, the recurring relationship I have personally observed between particular wireless environments and the onset of symptoms is significant enough to me that I believe it warrants further scientific investigation. I believe research should examine not only short-term exposure and average exposure levels, but also the effects of prolonged, repeated, and cumulative exposure in real-world environments. Question 8 — Exposure assessment I believe additional research is needed to determine whether current methods of assessing RF exposure adequately represent real-world individual exposure. A person's exposure can vary substantially depending on distance from the source, duration of exposure, number of wireless sources operating simultaneously, signal strength, modulation characteristics, and whether the individual is in a vehicle, workplace, home, or other enclosed environment. Research should investigate whether measurements based primarily on population averages or compliance testing adequately capture the exposure experienced by individuals who spend many hours in environments containing multiple wireless devices. Question 9 — Information disclosed to consumers Consumers should have access to clear and easily understandable information about wireless devices and environments, including operating frequencies, maximum and typical transmitted power, exposure characteristics, recommended separation distances, SAR where applicable, and information about simultaneous or cumulative exposure from multiple wireless sources. Consumers should also be able to make informed choices between wired and wireless connectivity where practical. For example, information about Wi-Fi access points, wireless-enabled appliances, smart-home devices, and other RF-emitting equipment would help consumers understand their potential exposure and make choices appropriate for their circumstances. Question 13(c) — Wi-Fi I recommend additional research specifically examining Wi-Fi exposure under realistic residential and workplace conditions, including prolonged exposure, proximity to access points, multiple access points operating simultaneously, multiple devices communicating concurrently, and cumulative exposure over many hours. Research should also examine whether individual responses to Wi-Fi exposure vary substantially and whether there are identifiable characteristics of individuals who report symptoms in proximity to wireless sources. Question 16 — Research priorities I believe research priorities should include: 1. Long-term and cumulative RF/EMF exposure rather than only short-duration exposure. 2. Real-world exposure measurement rather than relying solely on laboratory or compliance conditions. 3. Individual variability in reported responses to RF/EMF exposure. 4. Exposure to multiple RF sources simultaneously. 5. The relationship between distance from a wireless source and reported symptoms. 6. The relationship between duration of exposure and reported symptoms. 7. Objective, reproducible methods for studying individuals who report symptoms associated with wireless exposure. 8. Research that can distinguish RF/EMF-related effects from other potential causes of symptoms such as noise, lighting, temperature, stress, sleep deprivation, or other environmental factors.

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 concerned member of the public who has personally experienced symptoms that I believe may be associated with exposure to wireless devices. For several years, I have experienced a recurring and increasingly concerning problem involving wireless devices, particularly when they are used near my hands. When I use my cell phone for an extended period of time, my right hand begins to develop a pronounced tingling sensation. At times, it becomes difficult and uncomfortable to text, type, or even scroll on the phone. On some occasions, I have needed to wrap a cloth around the phone in order to continue using it. I experience a similar problem with my wireless computer mouse at work. After using it for a period of time, my right hand begins to tingle and becomes uncomfortable enough that I have difficulty using the mouse. I have repeatedly had to disconnect the wireless mouse and switch to a wired mouse in order to continue working. I am actually experiencing this tingling in my right hand while writing this comment. What concerns me most is the recurring pattern. The symptoms occur during prolonged use of wireless devices in close proximity to my hand, and I have found that switching to a wired device allows me to continue using the equipment without the same problem. I recognize that my personal experience does not establish the cause of these symptoms, but I believe the pattern deserves to be taken seriously and investigated. I also work in a school environment, where I regularly see children using wireless technology, including cell phones, tablets, computers, and wireless headphones. This has made me increasingly concerned about the amount of wireless radiation to which children may be exposed throughout their daily lives. In addition to personal devices, people are surrounded by wireless infrastructure, including cell towers and increasingly widespread 5G technology. We are living in an environment of substantially greater and more continuous wireless exposure than previous generations experienced. I have researched my symptoms and found that I am not the only person who reports experiencing unusual sensations or other symptoms associated with wireless-device exposure. While I understand that individual experiences and anecdotal reports are not a substitute for scientific evidence, I believe they should be taken seriously as a reason to conduct further research and investigate unanswered questions. 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.