Electromagnetic Sensitivity at the Center of Arizona Cell Tower Lawsuit

A federal court case in Arizona is drawing attention to a community east of Snowflake, where residents with environmental illness – including electromagnetic sensitivity and multiple chemical sensitivities–are seeking to intervene in a lawsuit over a proposed cell tower.

The telecommunications company, SBA Communications,  sued Navajo County after its application to build the White Antelope Wireless Communication Facility was denied in 2024. Residents of the Environmental Illness (EI) community argue the tower poses health risks and violates their rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The group filed a motion to join the case, which is now pending in U.S. District Court.

The Snowflake EI community, established in 1988, includes more than 35 households designed to reduce environmental triggers. The court’s decision will determine whether the community can participate in the legal process and could influence future land-use and accessibility cases.

Read the article “East of Snowflake, a community faces a corporation in court” by  Toni Gibbons. 

Watch the November 2024 Board of Supervisors Meeting where people testified against the tower.

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Newly published letter concludes the WHO cell phone cancer review cannot offer safety assurances.

With the rapid expansion of wireless technology, concerns about its health effects, including cancer risks, continue to grow. A recently published critique highlights why relying solely on human  epidemiology  studies are not  sufficient to address this pressing public health concern.

A Letter to the Editor “Exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields and risk of cancer: Epidemiology is not enough!” published in Environment International by Agostino Di Ciaula, Maria Grazia Petronio, Fausto Bersani and Fiorella Belpoggi of the International Society of Doctors for Environment argues that a WHO funded systematic review by Karipidis et al. 2024 is insufficient for concluding cell phones and wireless technology is safe. 

Although the WHO review seemed to offer cell phone safety assurances, even among long-term users, Di Ciaula et al. 2025 argues that the evidence supporting such safety conclusions is limited, because the human studies reviewed in the paper have selection biases, imprecise exposure assessments, and insufficient adjustment for confounding factors. Ignoring these issues could lead to an underestimation of the potential risks.

The Missing Piece: Experimental and Animal Studies

Di Ciaula et al. 2025 states that Karipidis et al.’s conclusions fail to incorporate findings from experimental and animal research. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified RF-EMF as “possibly carcinogenic to humans” (Group 2B) in 2011. Since then, several experimental animal studies, such as those by Falcioni et al. (2018),  Lerchl et al. (2015), and the U.S. National Toxicology Program (2018) have strengthened the argument for a causal link between RF-EMF exposure and cancer. These carefully controlled animal studies all found associations between wireless exposure and increased cancers. 

By focusing solely on human epidemiological data, the WHO study dismisses a broader scientific perspective that includes cancer associations and  biological impacts demonstrated in controlled animal experiments. Di Ciaula et al. warns that relying on human case counts alone is a dangerous assumption, as it implies that we must wait for significant harm to manifest before taking precautionary and protective  measures.

“Excluding the results of studies on animal carcinogenicity from the discussion on a health topic of primary social and regulatory relevance, as that of RF-EMF exposure, offers a very partial scenario and generates uncertainty. This approach reinforces the anti-ethical belief that epidemiological assessments simply based on the “count” of cancer cases in humans (even if approximate and conditioned by a number of possible confounders) would be a privileged way to demonstrate the carcinogenicity (or the lack of carcinogenicity) of widely diffused, potentially harmful environmental agents. This is an extremely dangerous assumption, as it is equivalent to accept that potentially detrimental effects can only be determined a posteriori, after the considered agent has had time to damage public health.”

Di Ciaula et al. emphasizes the need for a public health approach whereby wireless exposure is minimized, especially for children. 

“Resorting to caution” in RF-EMF use—especially among vulnerable populations—should be a priority until stronger epidemiological evidence emerges. Future studies should integrate experimental findings and acknowledge the evolving nature of exposure when assessing potential health risks.

This newly published review echoes the critique published by the International Commission for the Biological Effects of Electromagnetic Fields (2025)  and a critique by Hardell and Nilsson (2025) which also documented the inaccuracies and conflicts of interest in the WHO funded review.  

Read the Letter to the Editor “Exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields and risk of cancer: Epidemiology is not enough!” published in Environment International by Agostino Di Ciaula, Maria Grazia Petronio, Fausto Bersani and Fiorella Belpoggi.

Watch Fiorella Belpoggi PhD present on the Ramazzini Institute animal studies here. 

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Microwave news reports on the March 13, 2024 letter from the International Commission on the Biological Effects of Electromagnetic Fields to Italian public officials critical of the proposed law increasing the Italian radiofrequency radiation human exposure limits.  For over two decades, Italy has had a lower exposure threshold for wireless radiation in the environment, such as from cell towers and base stations. ICBE-EMF expressed support in this letter for the 6×6 Network, a collaborative Italian advocacy group, composed of scientists, physicians, advocacy groups and citizens, who have organized in opposition to oppose the new law. 

Read the Microwave News article at Italy’s 6 V/m RF Limit at Risk

ICBE-EMF letter to Italy – English

ICBE-EMF letter to Italy  – Italian

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