Wireless Health Facts

Radiofrequency (RF) energy from wireless devices and networks, including radiofrequencies used by 5G, have not been shown to cause health problems, according to the international scientific community. To cite one example, the Food and Drug Administration said, “Based on the FDA’s ongoing evaluation, the available epidemiological and cancer incidence data continues to support the Agency’s determination that there are no quantifiable adverse health effects in humans caused by exposures at or under the current cell phone exposure limits.” The National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements reports, “Research does not suggest that RF exposure to individuals living near cell phone towers causes adverse health effects… public exposure levels from cell towers are typically thousands of times below the FCC exposure limits.”

No, the NTP study did not establish a link between RF energy and cancer in humans. The authors of the study said that their findings did not apply to humans and that “the exposure levels and durations in our studies were greater than what people experience.” After reviewing the study, the Food and Drug Administration agreed, saying that “the existing safety limits for cell phones remain acceptable for protecting the public health.” The National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements concludes the results are "uninformative for the purpose of establishing safety standards because the exposure conditions in the NTP study far exceeded the current RF safety standards…”

As the FDA reports: “Current scientific evidence does not show a danger to any users of cell phones from radio frequency (RF) energy, including children and teenagers.” RF energy at the low levels approved for everyday consumer use has not been shown to pose a health risk to children, teenagers or any demographic group, according to scientific consensus. To cite another example, the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) program of the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health found no correlation between cancer rates and cellphone use by U.S. children and teenagers between 1992 and 2006, despite a rapid rise in their use of cellphones. More recently, a fourteen-country international study of cell phone effects in young adults “concluded that there was no evidence of a link between cell phone use and brain tumors in young people.” The National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements, a nonprofit scientific organization chartered by Congress to assess scientific information and develop recommendations on radiation, reports on the science that “[c]hildren who regularly use cell phones were not observed to be at greater risk of developing brain tumors than children who do not use or infrequently use cell phones.”

Yes. Safety standards are set by the Federal Communications Commission in order to protect public health. In December 2019, the FCC reaffirmed—on a unanimous and bipartisan basis—these safety standards. The Food and Drug Administration has also said that “the existing safety limits for cell phones remain acceptable for protecting the public health.” Wireless devices go through a rigorous approval process to ensure they meet guidelines and they operate well under safety limits. These limits are based on recommendations from the scientific community and expert non-government organizations including the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements.