Health Effects of Wireless Radiation  Chad E. Brown 
Occasional Paper #1 
 

 
Health Effects of Wireless Radiation  
The Next “Tobacco” Public Health Epidemic
Wireless  radiation  (RF-EMF,  or  radiofrequency  and  electromagnetic  fields)  is 
harmful  to  health  in  my  view  and  I  believe  science  has  established  enough  proof 
that  US  regulations  should  be  updated  now  and  appropriate  warnings  issued  for 
unwitting  users.  Is  the  harm  documented  so  thoroughly  that  it  can  be  called 
proven  beyond  any  doubt?  No,  or  otherwise  scientists  would  not  be  calling  for 
further  research.  The  standard  of  proof  for  certainty  in  science  is  not  the 
appropriate standard for taking action in public health, however. 

This  is  the  first  of  what  I  expect  to  be  a  series  of  papers.  I  aim  to  be  accurate, not 
adversarial,  but  I  so  far  I  see  the  telecom  industry  as  at  fault.  I  will  try  to  include 
more  about  the  industry  side  of  the  issue,  but  so  far  I  am  having  great  difficulty 
even  finding  credible  pro-industry  sources  willing  to  go  on  record.  ​The website of 
the  CTIA​,  the  telecom  industry’s  trade  organization,  is  notably  devoid  of  any 
mention  of  health  effects.  I  am  late  to  this  issue  compared  to  a  small  number  of 
activists  and  scientists  who  have  been  issuing  warnings  for  decades.  Judging  from 
my  conversations  with  friends  and  acquaintances,  however,  the  vast  majority  of 
ordinary  cell  phone  users  are  still  oblivious.  A  Consumers  Reports  poll  a  few  years 
ago  found  that only 5% of the population were aware and concerned about wireless 
radiation.  The  industry  players,  who  have  a  great  deal  as  stake,  have  been  far  too 
effective at suppressing discussion. I expect it will end badly for them. 

1.  Wireless  Radiation  =  The  New  Tobacco  But 

Probably Worse. 
The  purpose  of  this  paper  is  to  bring  attention  to  scary  things I have been learning 
about  the  health  impacts  of  wireless  radiation  in  recent  months.  Contrary  to  the 
reassurances  from  the  telecom  industry,  most  mainstream  media,  and  various 
responsible  government  agencies,  wireless  is  NOT  safe.  Scientists  are  finding  that 
non-ionizing,  non-thermal  electromagnetic  fields  (EMFs)  DO  interfere  with 
biological  processes  and  DO  cause  a  surprisingly  wide  range  of  health  problems. 
The  industry  claims  that  while  ionizing  radiation  and  thermal  effects  can  be 
harmful,  there  is  not  even  a  mechanism  for  non-thermal  and  non-ionizing 
radiation  to  affect  health.  Not  so!  Below  I  list  8  mechanisms  scientists  have found, 

 
 

Health Effects of Wireless Radiation  Chad E. Brown 

Occasional Paper #1 
 

operating  at  the  cellular  level.  I  have  been  looking  into this for several months and 

have  verified  to  my  own satisfaction that this is a real health threat.  References are 
included  below.  In  my  opinion,  it  compares  to  the  situation  with cigarette smoking 
in  about  the early 1950s when many people assumed cigarettes were harmless. I did 
not  invent  that  analogy,  but  it  does  convey  quickly  the  magnitude  of  the  wireless 
problem.  Wireless  radiation  exposure  is  actually  affecting  many  more  people  than 
cigarettes  did.  The  effects  also  appear  to  be  cumulative.  The  telecom  industry’s 
control  over  the  entities  that  ought  to  be  sounding  the  alarm  is  more  pervasive 
than was the tobacco industry’s. 

Scientists  in  the  early  1950s  had  discovered  the  probable  risks  of  cigarettes  but  it 
was not yet proven beyond any doubt.  The first scientific paper had been published 
in  1929  in  Germany.  It  took  time  for  the  medical  profession  to  learn  about  the 
linkages  between  cigarettes  and  lung  cancer  and  other  diseases.  By  1954  the 
science  was  fully  proven.  In  1954  the  tobacco  industry  met  to  decide  how  to  deal 
with  this  threat  and  decided  to  “muddy  the  waters”  by  sewing  doubt  about  the 
science.  It  was  not  until  1962  that  the  Surgeon  General’s  report  on  smoking  was 
issued,  and  it  was not until 1982 that cigarette smoking per capita peaked in the US. 
It  is  still  a  serious  public  health  issue.  I  will  write  more  about  other  health 
precedents  in  the  future.  A  more  optimistic  view  is  that  a  stronger  grassroots 
movement  than  the  weak  one  that  exists  already  will  emerge  as  people  experience 
the  health  effects  of  5G  technology.  That  could  induce  industry  and  government 
regulators  to  act  more  quickly.  Meanwhile,  more  people  should  take  actions  to 
reduce their exposure and they should warn others.   

The  relevant  government  agencies  appear  to  have  been  “captured”  by  the  industry 
and  they  are  not  protecting  the  public  health.  The  lead  US  government  agency 
with the responsibility to regulate wireless radiation is the Federal Communications 
Commission  (FCC),  although  it  is  supposed  to  consult  with  the  FDA, CDC, NIH, and 
OSHA.  The FCC has been captured by industry and refuses to revise its regulations 
as  the  science  increasingly  proves  they  are  outdated.  A  good  paper  with  specifics 
about  how  the  industry  captured  the  FCC  is  available  here:  ​Captured  Agency  by 
Norm  Alster,  Harvard  Safra  Center  for  Ethics  The  public  health  epidemic 
precedents  in  the  US  of  cigarettes,  asbestos,  lead,  DDT,  mercury,  and  radium 
suggest  that  it  will  take  DECADES  before  the  dangers  are  fully  proven  by  science, 
the  public  adequately  understands  the  problem,  industry  disinformation  and 
resistance  are  overcome,  government  actions  are  taken,  and  a  peak  in  wireless 
radiation  impact is reached.  The tobacco industry fully realized the danger in 1954, 
when  it  launched  its  (successful)  disinformation  campaign.  The  surgeon  general’s 
 

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Health Effects of Wireless Radiation  Chad E. Brown 

Occasional Paper #1 
 

report  was issued in 1962.  Unfortunately, I expect that the wireless radiation health 

crisis  will  also  keep  getting  worse  for  decades.  It  can  be  fixed  eventually  by 
switching  away  from  wireless  to  more  expensive  wired  connections.  The  sooner 
public understanding and grassroots action increase, the better. 

Another public health issue that was handled differently is the use of X-rays.  Unlike 
the  case  with  tobacco,  warnings  were  issued  and  restrictions  were  placed  on 
exposures.  The  wireless  industry  should  be  following  that example rather than the 
tobacco model. 

2. Learn How to Protect Yourself 

My personal assessment is that most people have not even heard about the 
potential adverse health effects of wireless radiation. You can and should learn 
more so that you can protect yourself and those you care about from EMFs. It is 
not necessary to abandon cell phones or wireless routers, but it is necessary to use 
them safely. Practical steps include the following: 

● You can and should get a meter to test for EMFs in your home and work 
vicinity. (Check appliances, microwave ovens, smart meters, etc.) 
● Do not let your cell phone touch your head and do not carry it next to your 
body if it is on. (Buried in the fine print of legal warnings accompanying cell 
phones is a warning to avoid touching the head with the phone. That 
warning is based on potential thermal effects, which is not even the biggest 
problem.) 
● To talk, use speaker phone mode or a headset.  
● Whenever possible, switch your cell phone to airplane mode.  
● Text instead of talking when possible, and keep conversations short. 
● Keep your distance from wifi routers and other sources. (The intensity falls 
off proportionally to the inverse of the distance squared.)   
● Don’t use cordless phones, which also emit wireless radiation. 
● Avoid prolonged exposure from cell phone towers.   
● Walk away from microwave ovens when they are in use.   
● Wifi in schools is especially harmful, and has been banned in several 
European countries and in a few school districts in the US. Investigate your 
school’s use. 
● Warn new parents about wireless baby monitors.  
● Pregnant women should avoid exposure.  

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Health Effects of Wireless Radiation  Chad E. Brown 

Occasional Paper #1 
 

● Children and teens should understand the dangers as they are more 
vulnerable than adults.  
● Sleep away from your cell phone, if you must keep in on. 
● Do not use the phone when the signal is weak as the phone emits more 
radiation to compensate for a weak signal.   
● Turn off wifi routers at night. (They interfere with melatonin production and 
sleep.) 
● Avoid using cell phone in moving vehicles, which amplify the signals. 
● Replace wireless routers with ethernet cables, which do not emit radiation 
● Limit exposure to bluetooth radiation, although it is less harmful than cell 
phone radiation. 

I can personally attest that initially it is very difficult to break habits around cell 
phone use. 

3. The 5G Roll Out Has Already Begun In The US 

Fifth generation (5G) technology has great promise, leaving aside the health effects. 
It will be some 100 times faster than 4G and the latency (response time) will drop to 
about 1 millisecond compared to about 50 milliseconds under 4G. Such low latency 
is necessary for autonomous vehicles. The technology uses previously untapped 
portions of the spectrum, and enables far greater data transfer volumes. 5G is the 
technology underlying “The Internet of Things.”  

The health effects of 5G are unknown but are likely more adverse than earlier 
generations of the technology. The impending roll out of 5G wireless in the US, 
which realistically cannot now be prevented, will worsen the situation by placing 
many “small cells” on towers, street lamps, telephone poles, buildings, and roofs, 
where they will expose people to much more radiation of a higher, more dangerous 
frequency. The 5G technology will operate in the millimeter wavelengths. The 
industry plans to add around 800,000 cell towers in the US by 2026. There are 
about 154,000 cell towers now. Verizon began rolling out their 5G “small cell” 
towers in 11 cities in 2017. AT&T started installing the new generation of service in 
Waco and Dallas, Texas, as well as in Atlanta, Georgia this year. These 5G devices 
have to be much closer to each other than the earlier generation devices. They 
cannot travel as far and they cannot penetrate buildings. 

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Health Effects of Wireless Radiation  Chad E. Brown 

Occasional Paper #1 
 

Remarkably, the industry has done virtually no research on the effects of 5G. The 
health impacts of wireless radiation are delayed for many diseases (e.g. brain cancer 
may not appear for 20 to 30 years from exposure) and they are also cumulative. 

Industry representatives often stress that the scientific standard of absolute proof 
beyond a reasonable doubt has not been reached. That is hardly the appropriate 
standard in matters of health. The “precautionary principle” is the proper standard. 

As did the tobacco industry with the dangers of cigarettes, the telecom industry 
has apparently decided to cover-up and distort the health effects of wireless 
radiation.   

The impact of the 5G rollout is not not just from a cell on every block. I will write 
more later about plans to place some 20,000 satellites in orbit to beam down more 
wireless radiation as part of the 5G rollout. 

4. Possible diseases and conditions 

The evidence of harm is hiding in plain sight. More research is needed to pin down 
details. Wireless radiation affects all living organisms at the cellular level. Many of 
these mechanisms operate on mitochondria, the organelles within the cytoplasm of 
cells that are critical in converting food to energy. The biological processes that 
are disrupted are behind many diseases. Since the 1990s, when wireless technology 
began to impact us widely, many diseases, disorders, syndromes, and conditions 
have become far more prevalent. The etiology (causation) is complex and and other 
factors undoubtedly are at work besides wireless radiation. Other factors could 
include diet, sugar, pesticides, certain chemicals, and mass vaccines. While industry 
may argue that the connections between wireless radiation and these many chronic 
conditions are merely coincidence, I doubt it. Examples of the disease states 
where scientists suspect wireless radiation is likely contributing to rising incidence 
include: 

 
● ADD/ADHD 
● Allergies 
● Alzheimer’s, other forms of dementia 
● Asthma 
● Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) 
 

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Health Effects of Wireless Radiation  Chad E. Brown 

Occasional Paper #1 
 

● Childhood leukemia 
● Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) 
● Fibromyalgia 
● Gliomas (brain cancer) 
● Lyme disease 
● Male infertility 
● Miscarriages and preterm deliveries 
● Multiple sclerosis 
● Obesity 
● Parkinson’s 
● Stroke 
● Suicides 
● Tinnitus (ringing in ears) 
● Type II diabetes 

In addition to the above, a small percentage of the population suffers from 

electromagnetic hypersensitivity. They are unable to function in everyday 
environments because of electromagnetic fields. 

Brain cancer has been the most intensely studied health risk. Extensive 
epidemiological studies were conducted in Europe that found little or no harm. A 
problem with these studies was that they were conducted after only 5 to 10 years of 
exposure, whereas it can take 20 to 30 years before brain cancers appear. 

Much more scary than cancer is the potential for wireless radiation to damage 
future generations. Wireless radiation has been found to be genotoxic. 

The above consequences apply to humans, but animals and plants are also affected 
as documented by research. 

5. Mechanisms Found By Researchers 

Here is a list of 8 examples of mechanisms that have been established by scientists: 

1. Voltage-gated calcium channel (VGCC) activation 

2. Oxidative stress (this has causal roles in most human diseases) 
3. Sperm/testicular damage Male fertility is down over 50% in all developed 
countries 
4. Neuropsychiatric effects including EEG changes 
 

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Health Effects of Wireless Radiation  Chad E. Brown 

Occasional Paper #1 
 

5. Apoptosis (cell death) (neurodegenerative diseases) 

6. Cellular DNA damage (potential for human extinction) 
7. Endocrine changes 
8. Calcium overload 

See the references at the end of this paper for a key scientific paper on these 
mechanisms by Dr. Martin L. Pall of Washington State University. Just a few other 
notable experts who have published academic papers and whose talks can be found 
on YouTube and whose writings can be found through an Internet search include: 

Joel Moskowitz 
David Carpenter 
Arnold Goldsworthy 
Roger Santini* 
Martin Blank* 
Allan Frey 
Leif Salford 
Henry Lai 
_______________ 
*deceased 

6. Solutions? 
I will have more to say about possible solutions in future papers. Other countries 
are ahead of the US in taking measures to protect health. Meanwhile the US 
industry proclaims that it is ahead of the rest of the world in implementing 5G. 

The FCC should update its outdated and incorrect regulations on wireless 
radiation. Currently the FCC only limits thermal effects using a measure called 
Specific Absorption Rate (SAR). It needs to address the biological effects or wireless 
radiation. 

Congress should repeal section 704 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. That 
section ​prevents local governments from stopping erection of cell towers, small cell 
infrastructure, and Wi-Fi on the basis of environmental effects which includes 
health. 

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Health Effects of Wireless Radiation  Chad E. Brown 

Occasional Paper #1 
 

Warnings ought to accompany radiation-emitting devices informing users to limit 

the length of exposure, keep their distance from sources, and specifically warn 
about extra dangers to pregnant women and children 

More independent research should be conducted. 

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC, part of the World Health 
Organization) evaluated wireless radiation and concluded in May of 2011 that it was 
a possible human carcinogen (group 2B). Several scientists I am aware of have 
predicted this will be raised to group 1, carcinogenic to humans, in the near future. 

Designers of wireless devices (e.g. Apple’s iPads) should redesign them so that they 
can be more easily used using an ethernet (wired) connection. 

The use of Wifi should be discouraged and ethernet connections should replace it. 

Classrooms with Wifi and many devices should be reconfigured. Parents can 
approach the schools their children attend. I will write more later about successful 
campaigns. 

Based on the experience with other public health epidemics like tobacco, lawsuits 
against the industry are possible to induce major changes. The telecom industry 
may have insulated itself from liability through legislation, however, similar to laws 
that protect drug companies from liability on vaccines. 

7. My Plan to Spread the Word 

My plan is to continue to inform friends and family about the dangers of wireless 
radiation. Being retired, I have the time to devote to what I believe is a worthy 
cause. I expect to write additional papers about the developing science, regulatory 
changes, activism, and other news. I welcome comments and challenges to my 
reports, as well as names of people you believe would be interested. Yes, I realize 
that major change in the near-term in unlikely, but this is a cause worth fighting 
for. I think what would be most effective is a grassroots movement to spread the 
word. The information is out there, but it will take personal connections to induce 
people to learn about it. Please pass this paper along to others. Watch for coverage 
in the media, but there is less of that than warranted because the telecom industry 

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Health Effects of Wireless Radiation  Chad E. Brown 

Occasional Paper #1 
 

has been strenuously trying to discourage coverage. Let me know if you or they 
want to be added to my email distribution list. 

Selected References 
I have accumulated a great deal of material on the topic of Wireless Radiation. I 
would be happy to make some or all of it available to those with interest in the topic 
generally or with specific aspects. In the interests of focusing on a manageable 
amount of material, I have limited these references to just three. 

An excellent and well-sourced 16 page article that appeared in the March 29, 2018 
issue of The Nation magazine, titled “​"How Big Big Wireless Made Us Think That 
Cell Phones Are Safe"​ is an excellent starting place. The authors say that they 
leave the science to others and just address the industry and government cover 
ups, but the article contains links to some 30 very substantive references to the 
science. I list this this reference first because most people understandably trust 
regulators like the FCC to provide represent health risks accurately. The article 
describes how the telecom industry hired researcher George Carlo to lead research 
into health effects of wireless radiation. They hired him because of his record of 
being pro-industry in previous cases. When he reported finding harmful wireless 
health effects, the industry jettisoned him in 1999 and has since ignored the health 
effects. 

Speaking of the science, although it will be difficult to comprehend for 

non-specialists in medicine, a 2018 academic paper by Martin Pall of Washington 
State University, titled ​Wi-Fi is an important threat to human health​, provides a 
comprehensive review of the science, including his own landmark discovery of 
voltage gated calcium channels (VGCC). The article concludes with explanations of 
why research by industry-favored scientists has not confirmed findings of harm, 
namely because of design flaws. 

Another excellent medical journal article from 2013 is ​“Autism and EMF? 
Plausibility of a pathophysiological link” by Martha Herbert and Cindy Sage​. The 
link goes to part 1 which will then go to part 2. 

A 29 page paper from Dr. Andrew Goldsworthy dated 2012 in the UK titled ​The 
Biological Effects of Weak Electromagnetic Fields​ is somewhat more accessible 

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Health Effects of Wireless Radiation  Chad E. Brown 

Occasional Paper #1 
 

than the one by Martin Pall, but still thorough. The last 5 pages are devoted to 
additional references. 

Probably the best free newsletter on wireless radiation is ​Microwave News​, edited 
and published by ​Louis Slesin, PhD, since 1981. The website has back issues dating 
from 1991 if you want to trace the chronology. Publication frequency has fallen off 
recently, however. It is an independent and well-respected resource. Time 
magazine praised it as ​"meticulously researched and thoroughly documented.” 

The references above are in-depth, which is the kind of research I personally 
prefer. Recognizing that not everyone has my taste for the long version,​ this link 
leads to a shorter version. 

Several books I recommend for further information are: 

Radiation Nation: Fallout of Modern Technology - Your Complete Guide to EMF 

Protection & Safety: The Proven Health Risks of Electromagnetic Radiation (EMF) & 
What to Do Protect Yourself & Family ​by Daniel T. DeBaun and Ryan P. DeBaun 

The Non-Tinfoil Guide to EMFs: How to Fix Our Stupid Use of Technology​ by 
Nicolas Pineault   

Dr. Joel Moskowitz of UC Berkeley maintains a ​web site​ with extensive links to 
academic studies. 

A new movie called​ “Generation Zapped”​ has just become available (to buy or rent) 

In the course of my research, I created a Pinterest board with links to many sources 
that can be accessed​ ​here​. I plan to keep updating it as I come across new 
information. 

End 

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