COURT ORDERS FCC TO EXPLAIN WHY IT IGNORED SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE SHOWING HARM FROM WIRELESS RADIATION

Environmental Health Trust and 13 petitioners win ruling 

Source: Environmental Health Trust

Photo: Creative Commons image via Bing

November 6, 2021 (Washington D.C.) --  The Environmental Health Trust recently won a victory in the U.S. Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia Circuit with a ruling in favor of EHT. In its ruling, the court ordered the FCC to explain why it ignored scientific evidence showing harm from wireless radiation, such as that transmitted by cell phones and cell phone towers and 5G technology.

The court held that FCC failed to respond to “record evidence that exposure to radiofrequency radiation at levels below the FCC’s current limits may cause negative health effects unrelated to cancer.” The court also said that the agency demonstrated “a complete failure to respond to comments concerning environmental harm caused by RF radiation.” The court found the FCC ignored numerous organizations, scientists, medical doctors who called on them to update its 1996 human exposure limits for wireless radiation. The court found the FCC failed to address these issues.

• impacts of long-term wireless exposure

• impacts to children,

• the testimony of people injured by wireless radiation, 

• impacts to wildlife and the environment,

• impacts to the developing brain and reproduction.

“We are delighted that the court upheld the rule of law and found that the FCC must provide a reasoned record of review for the thousands of pages of scientific evidence submitted by the Environmental Health Trust and many other expert authorities in this precedent setting case,” said Devra Davis, Ph.D. president of EHT. “No agency is above the law.”

Davis continued, “The court granted the petitions for review because, contrary to the requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act, the FCC failed to provide a reasoned explanation for its assertion that its guidelines adequately protect against the harmful effects of exposure to radiofrequency radiation.” 

The landmark case centers around the FCC’s decision not to update its 1996 exposure limits for wireless radiation from cell phones, cell towers and wireless devices. EHT experts have long argued that the FCC’s outdated limits place Americans everywhere at risk, especially in the era of 5G. 

“We submitted hundreds of pages of peer-reviewed, published scientific data to the FCC over the last several years documenting the harm and need for health agencies to create safety limits that protect against biological effects and the urgency for infrastructure policy that prioritizes wired rather than wireless communications to reduce public exposure,” Davis added. “Unfortunately, the telecom industry is now pushing millions of new 5G wireless antennas into neighborhoods and billions of new wireless devices putting more people in harm’s way everyday.”

“I think we can’t wait for this to work through the courts,” said Hugh S. Taylor, M.D. “I think we need to act now. And if I were someone who’s considering pregnancy, or someone who is pregnant or mother of a young child, I think it’s just important to move that cell phone away from you and not be exposed to that radiation any more than possible.” Taylor is president of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. He is professor and chair of the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at Yale School of Medicine and chief of obstetrics and gynecology      at Yale-New Haven      Hospital. His published research on prenatal exposure to cell phone radiation was cited in EHT’s court filing. His research findings have been pivotal in demonstrating harm from RF radiation exposure. 

The documents in the Environmental Health Trust filing may be found here.

Petitioners in the case include Environmental Health Trust, Consumers for Safe Cell Phones, Elizabeth Barris and Theodora Scarato MSW, Children's Health Defense, Michelle Hertz, Petra Brokken, Dr. David Carpenter, Dr. Toril Jelter, Dr. Paul Dart, Dr. Ann Lee, Virginia Farver, Jennifer Baran and Paul Stanley M.Ed. 

Founded in 2007, Environmental Health Trust, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, is a think tank that promotes a healthier environment through research, education and policy. EHT conducts research on environmental health hazards and works with communities, health, education professionals and policymakers to understand and mitigate these hazards.. For more information on Environmental Health Trust, visit www.ehtrust.org.