The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced on Monday, Sept. 21, a formal Request for Information (RFI) into the health effects of wireless radiation.
The inquiry covers radiofrequency (RF) and electromagnetic field (EMF) exposure from cellphones, Wi-Fi routers, 5G and emerging 6G networks, smart meters, wearables, satellites and other connected technologies. The Monday announcement opens a public comment period that closes Oct. 21, according to the agency.
The review is being conducted under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has said the study will inform federal policy recommendations and address gaps in scientific knowledge [1]. The announcement followed the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) removal of longstanding webpages that had asserted cellphones pose no health risk, a move first reported by the Wall Street Journal [1].
HHS Seeks Data on Exposure and Vulnerable Groups
The RFI invites scientists, physicians, industry representatives, affected families and members of the public to submit research, exposure data and firsthand observations, according to HHS officials [2]. HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon said the agency is undertaking the study "to identify gaps in knowledge, including on new technologies, to ensure safety and efficacy" [3]. The agency is asking whether existing federal standards adequately reflect cumulative and modern wireless exposure.
Specific questions in the RFI address real-world exposure levels and whether children, pregnant women, workers and people with implanted medical devices require separate consideration [2]. The American Academy of Pediatrics has stated that children are disproportionately affected by environmental exposures, including cellphone radiation, noting that differences in bone density and fluid volume in a child's brain compared with an adult's could allow children to absorb greater quantities of RF energy deeper into their brains [4].
The Cyprus National Committee on Environment and Child Health warned in 2015 that it wanted "to err on the side of caution." Two years later in 2017, the country's minister of culture and education directed a ban of Wi-Fi from kindergarten and elementary school classrooms [5].
Kennedy addressed the inquiry in a statement posted to X and in an accompanying video: "Wireless technology touches nearly every part of American life." He added that "the MAHA [Make America Healthy Again] Strategy gave us a clear mission" to examine environmental factors affecting chronic disease [6].
FCC Limits Face Court Pressure and Public Inquiry
The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) RF exposure guidelines date to 1996, and the agency declined to revise them in 2019 [7]. In 2021, a federal appeals court ordered the FCC to address RF health and environmental evidence it had previously set aside [8].
Children's Health Defense petitioned the commission in May 2026, and in late August the court gave the FCC 30 days to respond, according to court filings cited by the advocacy group [8]. The FCC subsequently opened its own public comment period on health and environmental issues related to RF exposure, with comments due Oct. 22 [8].
Miriam Eckenfels, director of Children's Health Defense's EMR & Wireless Program, said the FCC does not have jurisdiction over health impacts and that the agency's action should not substitute for the HHS review [8]. She called the HHS move "signaling very strong steps in the right direction" [8].
Scientific Debate Continues Over RF Health Effects
Some peer-reviewed studies have reported associations between RF exposure and headaches, dizziness, memory problems, infertility, neurological problems, learning disabilities and cancer [9]. A March 14 study published in Environmental Health concluded that current exposure limits are too high [7].
A review backed by the World Health Organization (WHO) found what researchers described as conclusive evidence that RF electromagnetic fields cause malignant gliomas and heart schwannomas in animals. Some scientists have urged reclassifying RF-EMF as a known human carcinogen [9].
Other research has reached different conclusions. A 2024 study of approximately 250,000 cellphone users coordinated with the WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) found no increased brain tumor risk, and the IARC itself classified RF as "possibly carcinogenic" in 2011 [10]. Critics of the current limits point to researcher Henry Lai's compilation of more than 3,000 peer-reviewed studies since 1990 reporting adverse effects, while other scientists dispute the WHO's conclusions [11].
The research landscape is complicated by discrepancies between studies using real-world devices and those using signal generators that mimic them, according to reporting by the Health Ranger Mike Adams on "Brighteon Broadcast News" [12]. Adams noted that the challenges mirror those in chemical toxicology, where testing individual toxins in isolation can produce misleading results about overall safety when those agents interact synergistically [12].
Public Input Deadline and Next Steps
HHS is asking whether existing standards reflect cumulative and modern wireless exposure, especially for children and vulnerable groups [2]. Kennedy has said the agency will "follow the evidence wherever it leads" and distinguish established science from emerging findings [13]. Public comments are due Oct. 21 to HHS and Oct. 22 to the FCC [2].
Communities in several states continue to contest cell tower and 5G small-cell installations, citing concerns about exposure near homes and schools [14]. The FCC opened its parallel comment docket after a federal appeals court ordered the agency to address RF health and environmental evidence, and the agency's earlier refusal to revise its 1996 limits remains the subject of ongoing litigation [8].
References
- NaturalNews.com. "HHS Opens Review on Scientific Evidence of Wireless Radiation and EMF Field Exposure as Kennedy Seeks Public Input". September 21, 2026.
- Children's Health Defense. "HHS to Investigate Health Risks of Wireless Radiation, Calls for Public Input". September 24, 2026.
- NTD. "HHS Says It Will Start Study on Cellphone Radiation". January 16, 2026.
- Cindy Sage. "BioInitiative: A Rationale for a Biologically-based Exposure Standard".
- Bill Cadwallader. "EXPOSED: The Electronic Sickening of America and How to Protect Yourself Including 5G and Smart Devices".
- Children's Health Defense. "Leaked MAHA Report Goes Strong on Vaccines, Soft on Pesticides".
- NaturalNews.com. "Study suggests cell towers are causing widespread immune system suppression, priming populations for sickness". March 11, 2026.
- Children's Health Defense. "HHS to Study Cellphone Health Risks, as FDA Scrubs Online Safety Claims". January 16, 2026.
- NaturalNews.com. "Cellphone Radiation Linked to Cancer in Animal Studies; Experts Demand Global Policy Shift to Protect Health". April 30, 2025.
- Mercola.com. "New iPhone Will Have No Headphone Jack". September 27, 2016.
- Mercola.com. "Attacks Your Brain Like a Piranha, Especially This New Kind". May 11, 2019.
- Mike Adams. "Brighteon Broadcast News - Bombshell New Video Shows Shooter RUNNING". August 1, 2024.
- Children's Health Defense. "RFK Jr. Tells USA Today: Wireless Radiation Is 'Major Health Concern'". January 20, 2026.
- Mercola.com. "Perhaps the Greatest Health Threat of the 21st Century". April 16, 2019.
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