Suzanne Potter

(California News Service) Groups concerned about the safety of wireless technology and devices - such as cell phones, cell towers and smart meters - petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to study the issue and set health standards to regulate the industry.

The telecom companies say their products are safe and comply with standards set by the Federal Communications Commission, but their critics claim those standards are based on flawed, decades-old research.

Doug Wood, founder and national director of the nonprofit Americans for Responsible Technology, noted that a 2018 study from the National Toxicology Program linked radiofrequency radiation to cancer in lab rats.

"Our own government is telling us exposure to wireless radiation, at levels below what the FCC safety limits are, causes DNA damage and cancer in laboratory animals," he said.

The California Brain Tumor Association also signed the petition, which asks the FDA to declare RF radiation an imminent hazard to public health. On its website, the FDA said "the weight of scientific evidence has not linked cell-phone radiofrequency radiation with any health problems." However last week, the agency took steps to form an advisory panel on this issue. 

Wood said dozens of studies link RF radiation to other health problems, such as headaches and brain fog. He questioned why the FDA has been slow to act. 

"There's a gigantic powerful industry out there that's making trillions of dollars," he said, "and if they'd look at the science, they're going to say these devices are not really safe for kids."

Advocates have already sued the FCC over its refusal to revise its standards. Earlier this year, a federal judge ordered that agency to take another look at emerging science in this field.