U.S. National Toxicology Program Fact Sheet
Summarizes Results of Its 10 Years of Studying Radio-Frequency Radiation

Highlighting has been added to mark some key points in the document, especially about RF radiation in general and about 5G specifically. The document was last updated by the U. S. National Toxicology Program — a major federal, inter-agency program housed in the world-renowned U.S. National Institutes of Health — in August 2020. Especially worth noting about this 10-year, $30-million set of federal studies is this point: “. . . the studies question the long-held assumption that radio frequency radiation is of no concern as long as the energy level is low and does not significantly heat the tissues.” That’s the assumption that the FCC based its now 25-year-old limits for human exposure to RF radiation on.

Also, note the discussion about 5G on p. 4.  It clearly indicates that the federal scientists who have studied the biological effects of RF-radiation most closely aren’t sure what levels of exposure to 5G radiation at the frequency of millimeter waves would be safe. It also indicates that those scientists do not assume it would be safe at the levels FCC rules currently allow, because those rules rest on the old assumption that these studies challenge. In fact, it states that “scientists do not know if millimeter waves may cause toxicity in the skin and other human tissues.” Finally, it clearly indicates that more research is needed to figure that out — and to find out what would be safe exposure levels.

The question for the rest of us: Will we let the FCC force a premature roll out of 5G in every neighborhood of Montgomery County and the nation before we know the answers to those outstanding public-health questions?

(NOTE: This same fact sheet, without this explanatory annotation, is posted on the website of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences — the Institute at the U.S. National Institutes of Health where the NTP is headquartered. The NTP coordinates the evaluation of RF radiation and other potential toxins across relevant federal agencies, so its authority is especially pertinent on this issue.)

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