Sinclair: U.S Court of Appeals orders review of microwave exposure

The FCC has until September 27th to respond to Children’s Health Defense

A COLUMN By Frederick Sinclair

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted human exposure limits for radiofrequency and microwave radiation in 1996. The standards were based on short term exposure and the rate of heat generation (ionization) of living tissue. Over the past thirty years studies have shown that microwave exposure has become a long term, non ionizing radiation exposure problem and is impacting biological functions in all living beings, at levels far below FCC regulations. Here is how the court challenge is unfolding:

• The Congressional Energy and Commerce Committee, in 2012, prompted the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to recommend that the FCC reassess its 1996 exposure limits and mobile phone testing procedures; to reflect modern usage and recent research.
• The FCC responded by opening a Notice of Inquiry in 2013 to examine if the rules needed updating and concluded the inquiry 6 years later in 2019. The FCC decided they were going to maintain the existing limits.
• In 2021, The Environmental Health Trust (EHT) and Children’s Health Defense (CHD) filed a challenge to the FCC decision to maintain the existing limits and submitted, into the record of the Federal Appeals Court, over 11,000 pages of scientific reports, testimony and formal objection to the FCC failing to meet the recommendation of Congress and the GAO.
• The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit subsequently ruled in 2021 that the FCC decision to keep the 1996 limits was ‘arbitrary and capricious’; legally ordering the agency to “provide a reasoned explanation addressing long- term exposure, of children, and environmental impacts.”
• The FCC failed to meet the order of the Federal Court order for 5 years. It was the filing of a mandamus petition by the Children’s Health Defense that resulted in a U.S. Court of Appeals ORDER  that the FCC must respond  to the petition, in not to exceed 7,800 words , within 30 days, on Sept,27^th 2026
• Children’s Health Defense will then have 14 days to respond (not to exceed 3,900 words) to the FCC submission. One of the most important public safety and environmental protection high court rulings, in recent history, will then begin final deliberation on October 11^th 2026.

Congress enacted and President Clinton signed, The Telecommunications Act of 1996. The Act allowed for accelerated installation of fiber and wireless infrastructure in concert with the booming expansion of the telecommunications industry. It also updated national communications regulations; for the first time in over 60 years. Section 704 of the Act, however, explicitly forbids state and local governments from denying placement of wireless infrastructure based on the environmental or public health effects of radio frequency (RF) emissions. The qualifying requirement was that the infrastructure complies with FCC Safety guidelines. These are the very same 1996 radiation safety guidelines which are in question and FCC had been ordered in 2013, by Congress, GAO and Federal Court to review.

Currently, there are over 50 Telecom favorable and heavily lobbied laws under consideration in the House and Senate. These new laws, if approved, will further ‘streamline’ the process of building out the wireless infrastructure on earth and now in space. This dangerous legislation will negate the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and Historic Preservation Review Laws at the national and state level. The legitimization of current wireless telecommunications projects and negation of local scrutiny or public comment, all hinges on projects meeting current FCC regulations for exposure which are based on 30 year old radio and microwave exposure safety guidelines that are being proven to be inadequate.

Note: All of the science, medical analysis and published reports are readily available, supporting the conclusion that current FCC standards for exposure to microwave radiation are wrong and creating a public health and environmental hazard. Information and links are available at Children’s Health Defense, The Environmental Health Trust, and Americans for Responsible Technology and the National Call for Safe Technology. Use your search engines and ask the questions. Become informed and speak your mind to your elected officials at all levels. It is that important!

Fred Sinclair is an Alfred NY writer and deep thinker who has long followed the subject of wireless, microwave technology, and how they effect humans. You can reach him anytime, fpsinclair@yahoo.com