U.S. and International Scientists Urge Senate Oversight and Halt to FCC Fast-Tracking of Cell Towers Over Health and Environmental Risk

PRESS RELEASE

Washington, DC — The International Commission on the Biological Effects of Electromagnetic Fields (ICBE-EMF), an international consortium of physicians and scientists, has formally cautioned Congress and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that U.S. wireless radiation guidelines are outdated, scientifically unsupported, and fail to protect public health. 

In a letter submitted to members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation ahead of the December 17, 2025, FCC oversight hearing, ICBE-EMF urged lawmakers to question the FCC’s continued reliance on its 1996 wireless radio-frequency (RF) radiation exposure limits for cell towers and wireless networks. 

“The FCC’s exposure limits, unchanged since 1996, are not science-based and do not protect the public. They ignore decades of peer-reviewed research showing biological harm at levels far below those that cause heating.” 

In parallel, ICBE-EMF submitted detailed scientific comments to the FCC regarding its proposed rulemaking, “Build America: Eliminating Barriers to Wireless Deployments” (WT Docket No. 25-276), cautioning that fast-tracking cell towers and wireless infrastructure would significantly increase public exposure to RF radiation.

John Frank, MD, ICBE-EMF Chairperson; physician and epidemiologist, University of Edinburgh; Professor Emeritus, University of Toronto, stated: 

“Current government limits for wireless exposure based on the FCC and ICNIRP do not ensure safety.  Based on hundreds of studies published over the past 30 years showing adverse effects at non-heating levels, far lower than the regulations allow,  the International Commission on the Biological Effects of Electromagnetic Fields is calling for a halt to the introduction of new technologies and immediate action to reduce public exposure. We caution all governments that the science clearly demonstrates that both the U.S. FCC and ICNIRP limits are fundamentally flawed.”

Dr. Joel Moskowitz, ICBE-EMF Commissioner, Director of the Center for Family and Community Health at the School of Public Health at the University of California, Berkeley stated: 

“The FCC’s current limits for cell‑tower and wireless‑device radiation were developed decades ago and do not reflect today’s real‑world patterns of continuous exposure. These limits also do not incorporate considerations for children’s heightened vulnerability or the growing body of peer‑reviewed research reporting neurological, reproductive, immunological, and environmental effects at exposure levels below current FCC thresholds. From a public‑health standpoint, governments should take steps to reduce population‑wide exposure, with particular attention to protecting children.”

Ronald Melnick, Ph.D. Past Chair, ICBE-EMF, now Senior Advisor; former Senior Toxicologist, National Toxicology Program, National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences stated: 

“The current human exposure limits for wireless radiation, established by the FCC in 1996, are based on behavioral studies of a single effect from the 1980s, in which small groups of rats and monkeys were exposed to a limited number of sessions for no more than one hour. At that time, the prevailing assumption was that no adverse effects would occur if increases in body temperature were less than one degree centigrade. These studies are inadequate for setting health protective exposure limits.” 

“Until science-based exposure limits are properly established, especially for vulnerable populations, such as children and pregnant women, health agencies need to educate the public and promote practical ways to reduce exposures.  In addition, public areas with low wireless radiation levels need to be established for susceptible and highly sensitive individuals.”

ICBE-EMF Documents

• The ICBE-EMF Letter to the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation Link to the full letter at the ICBE-EMF site 

• The ICBE-EMF Scientific Comments to the FCC in 25-276 Build America 
• Link to the ICBE Submission on the FCC Docket 
• Link to the ICBE-EMF paper published in the journal Environmental Health, “Scientific evidence invalidates health assumptions underlying the FCC and ICNIRP exposure limit determinations for radiofrequency radiation: implications for 5G” on the inadequacy of FCC limits.  

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About the International Commission on the Biological Effects of Electromagnetic Fields (ICBE-EMF):