<h1>Send A Letter to the Trump Administration, Health and Human Services, and Your Lawmakers</h1>
<h2>It’s time to protect children from cell tower and cell phone radiation </h2>
Cell phones and cell towers emit radio-frequency (RF) radiation, a widespread environmental pollutant that poses serious risks to children’s health.  Children deserve special protection as they are more vulnerable and will have a lifetime of exposure. Studies have found that both <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0013935123013464?via%3Dihub" target="_self"><ins>cell tower</ins></a> and <a href="https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0013935118302561" target="_self"><ins>cell phone</ins></a> RF radiation penetrate more deeply into children’s brains, which are still developing and therefore more sensitive to environmental exposures. <a href="https://ehsciences.org/science-on-children-cell-phone-radiation-and-health-risk/" target="_self"><ins>Scientific research </ins></a>has linked cell phone and cell tower radiation exposure to multiple health risks, including effects on memory, sleep, neurodevelopment, hormones, and cancer.    
Many countries are <a href="https://ehsciences.org/cell-tower-radiation-limits-worldwide/" target="_self"><ins>far ahead</ins></a> of the United States, adopting stronger protections for children by limiting cell tower radiation exposure, banning cell towers at schools, and requiring consumer warnings on cell phones, while the U.S. continues to rely on an outdated regulatory framework that fails to prioritize child health. <a href="https://ehsciences.org/cell-tower-radiation-limits-worldwide/" target="_self"><ins>U.S. limits for cell tower and cell phone radiation</ins></a> exposure have not been updated since 1996, long before children began using smartphones or were routinely exposed to dense cell tower infrastructure. 
Exposure <a href="https://ehsciences.org/cell-tower-radiation-limits-worldwide/" target="_self"><ins>is increasing</ins></a>, particularly as cell towers are placed on and near schools and homes. U.S. regulatory limits were designed only to prevent short-term tissue heating and do not address the health effects of long-term, cumulative exposure. Compounding this problem, U.S. radiation rules are based on a large adult male, not a child. Cell phones are radiation tested using these adult models only, and manufacturers are not even required to test phones in body-contact positions. Studies <a href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8688629" target="_self"><ins>have found</ins></a> that radiation absorption can spike to much higher levels when a phone is carried in a pocket or pressed against the body, the way children use phones. 
This must change. 
In 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit <a href="https://ehsciences.org/lawsuit-wireless-radiation-safety/" target="_self"><ins>ordered</ins></a> the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to explain how its cell tower and cell phone radiation limits adequately protect children from long-term effects and to justify how its cell phone testing procedures—which do not reflect real-world, body-contact use—are relevant to actual exposure.
To date, the FCC has failed to respond to the court.
<h3>We need the Trump administration and Congress to act quickly to protect children.</h3>
<ol>
<li style="margin-left:1.5em;">Ban cell towers on or near schools. </li>
<li>Label cell phones at the point of sale with consumer information on children’s vulnerability, similar to cigarettes. </li>
<li>Update cell phone radiation exposure limits with a rigorous review of the totality of the scientific evidence.</li>
<li>Require radiation compliance testing to test phones and devices at body-contact positions, reflecting how children actually use and carry devices.</li>
<li>Launch a national public awareness campaign to educate parents and caregivers on practical ways to reduce children’s cell phone and wireless radiation exposure.</li>
<li>Measure and monitor radiation levels in schools.</li>
<li>Fund independent research, not industry-controlled studies </li>
</ol>
<a href="https://ehsciences.org/science-on-children-cell-phone-radiation-and-health-risk/" target="_self"><ins>Read the research on cell phone radiation’s effects on children here. </ins></a>
<a href="https://ehsciences.org/are-cell-towers-safe/" target="_self"><ins>Read the research on cell tower health risks here.  </ins></a>
<a href="https://icbe-emf.org/new-icbe-emf-scientific-publication-concludes-cell-phone-and-cell-tower-safety-limits-are-not-protective/" target="_self"><ins>Read recommendations from the scientists of the International Commission on the Biological Effects of Electromagnetic Fields (ICBE-EMF).</ins></a>
<a href="https://emfscientist.org/" target="_self"><ins>Read the EMF Scientist Appeal</ins></a>, signed by more than 250 scientists from 45 countries who have published peer-reviewed research in this field.

Tell The U.S. Government: Protect Children from Cell Phone and Cell Tower Radiation

I am writing to request immediate policy action to protect children.  

Cell phones and cell towers emit radio-frequency (RF) radiation, a widespread environmental pollutant that poses serious risks to children’s health.  Children deserve special protection as they are more vulnerable and will have a lifetime of exposure. Studies have found both cell tower and cell phone RF radiation penetrate more deeply into children’s brains, which are still developing and therefore more sensitive to environmental exposures. Scientific research has linked cell phone and cell tower radiation exposure to multiple health risks, including effects on memory, sleep, neurodevelopment, hormones, and cancer.   

However, U.S. cell phone and cell tower radiation exposure limits have not been updated since 1996—long before smartphones existed and long before children began using wireless devices daily. These limits were designed only to prevent short-term overheating and do not address the effects of long-term or cumulative exposure.

Compounding this problem, cell phones are tested for radiation emissions using a large adult male model, not a child. Phones are not required to be tested in body-contact positions. Studies have found that radiation absorption can spike above allowable limits when phones are carried in pockets, worn against the body, or pressed to the chest or head during normal use.

In 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ordered the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to explain how its cell phone and cell tower radiation limits adequately protect children from long-term health effects and to justify how its testing procedures—which do not reflect real-world, body-contact use—are relevant to actual exposure. To date, the FCC has failed to take action.

We urge the Trump administration and Congress to act quickly to protect children by implementing the following common-sense safeguards:
1. Require clear cell phone labeling at the point of sale, including consumer information on children’s vulnerability to radiation exposure, similar to other public health warnings.
2. Update cell phone radiation exposure limits through a rigorous review of the totality of the independent scientific evidence.
3. Require realistic compliance testing, including body-contact positions that reflect how children actually use and carry phones.
4. Launch a national public awareness campaign to educate parents and caregivers on practical ways to reduce children’s cell phone radiation exposure.
5. Prohibit cell towers on or near school property, where children spend large portions of their day.
6. Measure and monitor RF radiation levels in schools to ensure compliance with safety standards.
7. Fund independent, conflict-free research, rather than industry-controlled studies, to assess long-term health risks to children.

Protecting children is a fundamental public health responsibility. We urge you to prioritize science, transparency, and prevention by taking action now.

Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter.


See research studies on children https://ehsciences.org/science-on-children-cell-phone-radiation-and-health-risk/

See research on cell towers at https://ehsciences.org/are-cell-towers-safe/

Read the recommendations of the  scientists of the International Commission on the Biological Effects of Electromagnetic Fields (ICBE-EMF)  
https://icbe-emf.org/new-icbe-emf-scientific-publication-concludes-cell-phone-and-cell-tower-safety-limits-are-not-protective/

The EMF Scientist Appeal https://emfscientist.org

Scientific Research

International Commission on the Biological Effects of Electromagnetic Fields (ICBE-EMF). (2022). Scientific evidence invalidates health assumptions underlying the FCC and ICNIRP exposure limit determinations for radiofrequency radiation: Implications for 5G. Environmental Health, 21(1), Article 92. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-022-00900-9

Bandara, P., & Carpenter, D. O. (2018). Planetary electromagnetic pollution: It is time to assess its impact. The Lancet Planetary Health, 2(12), e512–e514. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(18)30221-3

Scarato, T. (2025). U.S. policy on wireless technologies and public health protection: Regulatory gaps and proposed reforms. Frontiers in Public Health, 13, Article 1677583. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1677583

Uche, U. I., & Naidenko, O. V. (2021). Development of health-based exposure limits for radiofrequency radiation from wireless devices using a benchmark dose approach. Environmental Health, 20(1), Article 84. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-021-00768-1

Belpomme, D., Hardell, L., Belyaev, I., Burgio, E., & Carpenter, D. O. (2018). Thermal and non-thermal health effects of low intensity non-ionizing radiation: An international perspective. Environmental Pollution, 242, 643–658. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2018.07.019

McCredden, J. E., Cook, N., Weller, S., & Leach, V. (2022). Wireless technology is an environmental stressor requiring new understanding and approaches in health care. Frontiers in Public Health, 10, Article 894447. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.894447

Miller, A. B., Sears, M. E., Morgan, L. L., Davis, D. L., Hardell, L., Oremus, M., & Soskolne, C. L. (2019). Risks to health and well-being from radio-frequency radiation emitted by cell phones and other wireless devices. Frontiers in Public Health, 7, Article 223. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2019.00223

Fernández, C., de Salles, A. A., Sears, M. E., Morris, R. D., & Davis, D. L. (2018). Absorption of wireless radiation in the child versus adult brain and eye from cell phone conversation or virtual reality. Environmental Research, 167, 694–699. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2018.05.013

Davis, D., Birnbaum, L., Ben-Ishai, P., Taylor, H., Sears, M., Butler, T., & Scarato, T. (2023). Wireless technologies, non-ionizing electromagnetic fields and children: Identifying and reducing health risks. Current Problems in Pediatric and Adolescent Health Care, 53(2), Article 101374. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cppeds.2023.101374

Tell The U.S. Government: Protect Children from Cell Phone and Cell Tower Radiation

Send A Letter to the Trump Administration, Health and Human Services, and Your Lawmakers

It’s time t...