This RF Safe commentary argues that U.S. RF exposure protections remain anchored to “thermal-only” assumptions from the 1990s despite what it describes as newer WHO-commissioned systematic reviews elevating certain animal cancer endpoints and a male fertility endpoint to “high certainty.” It contrasts these claims with a WHO-commissioned review of human observational studies that reportedly found mobile-phone RF exposure is likely not associated with increased risk of several head/brain tumors, arguing that this is often overgeneralized in public messaging. The piece calls for “prudent avoidance,” updates to FCC rules, and highlights legal and policy constraints such as federal preemption under the Telecommunications Act and a 2021 D.C. Circuit decision criticizing the FCC’s rationale for retaining its RF limits without adequate explanation.

This review argues that EMF exposure is associated in the literature with several adverse central nervous system outcomes, including blood-brain barrier disruption, oxidative stress, neurotransmitter changes, cognitive effects, and neurodevelopmental impacts. It reports that evidence on EMFs and brain tumors is conflicting, while noting WHO’s classification of radiofrequency EMFs as possibly carcinogenic to humans. The authors highlight prenatal and childhood periods as potentially more vulnerable and call for more standardized long-term and mechanistic research to guide public health policy.

This paper presents a meta-analysis of 11 peer-reviewed epidemiologic studies examining long-term (>=10 years) cell phone use with laterality analyses. It reports that long-term use is associated with an approximately doubled risk of an ipsilateral brain tumor. The abstract states statistical significance for glioma and acoustic neuroma, but not for meningioma.