U.S. and International Scientists Urge Congress to Question FCC Over Outdated Cell Tower and Wireless Radiation Safety Limit

ICBE-EMF – 14jan2026.

The International Commission on the Biological Effects of Electromagnetic Fields, experts on cell tower and wireless radiation, sent a letter to Congress ahead of the House oversight hearing January 14, 2026.

Washington, DC- “The FCC’s cell tower radiation limits are not science-based, not protective of public health, and have not been meaningfully reviewed since 1996,” warned the International Commission on the Biological Effects of Electromagnetic Fields (ICBE-EMF) in a letter sent to members of the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce ahead of today’s Federal Communications Commission (FCC) oversight hearing.

The letter, signed by the International Commission on the Biological Effects of Electromagnetic Fields (ICBE-EMF) an international consortium of physicians and scientists with extensive expertise in electromagnetic field (EMF) health effects, urges Congress to press the FCC on its continued reliance on decades-old cell tower and wireless radiofrequency (RF) exposure limits that ignore a large body of peer-reviewed research documenting biological harm at non-thermal levels

“The FCC’s current standards are based almost entirely on preventing short-term tissue heating and fail to account for chronic exposure, children’s vulnerability, or the extensive scientific evidence of biological effects below FCC limits,” the Commission wrote.

ICBE-EMF highlighted findings from large-scale animal studies conducted by the U.S. National Toxicology Program and the Ramazzini Institute, both of which reported increased brain and heart tumors following long-term RF exposure.

ICBE-EMF reminded lawmakers that in 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ordered the FCC to explain why it has not updated its RF exposure limits, finding that the agency failed to address evidence of harm at levels below its guidelines. According to the Commission, the FCC has still not complied with that court order.

“Without updated safety limits or a comprehensive scientific review, the FCC is effectively treating American communities as subjects in an uncontrolled national experiment.”

“The public cannot be assured of safety, and Congress cannot exercise meaningful oversight, without a transparent accounting of the scientific basis for continued reliance on outdated RF exposure limits,” the Commission concluded.

John Frank, MD, ICBE-EMF Chairperson; physician and epidemiologist, University of Edinburgh; Professor Emeritus, University of Toronto, stated:

“Current government limits for wireless exposure based on the FCC and ICNIRP do not ensure safety. Based on hundreds of studies published over the past 30 years showing adverse effects at non-heating levels, far lower than the regulations allow, the International Commission on the Biological Effects of Electromagnetic Fields is calling for a halt to the introduction of new technologies and immediate action to reduce public exposure. We caution all governments that the science clearly demonstrates that both the U.S. FCC and ICNIRP limits are fundamentally flawed.”

Dr. Joel Moskowitz, ICBE-EMF Commissioner, Director of the Center for Family and Community Health at the School of Public Health at the University of California, Berkeley stated:

“The FCC’s current limits for cell‑tower and wireless‑device radiation were developed decades ago and do not reflect today’s real‑world patterns of continuous exposure. These limits also do not incorporate considerations for children’s heightened vulnerability or the growing body of peer‑reviewed research reporting neurological, reproductive, immunological, and environmental effects at exposure levels below current FCC thresholds. From a public‑health standpoint, governments should take steps to reduce population‑wide exposure, with particular attention to protecting children.”

Ronald Melnick, Ph.D. Past Chair, ICBE-EMF, now Senior Advisor; former Senior Toxicologist, National Toxicology Program, National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences, stated:

“The current human exposure limits for wireless radiation, established by the FCC in 1996, are based on behavioral studies of a single effect from the 1980s, in which small groups of rats and monkeys were exposed to a limited number of sessions for no more than one hour. At that time, the prevailing assumption was that no adverse effects would occur if increases in body temperature were less than one degree centigrade. These studies are inadequate for setting health protective exposure limits.”

“Until science-based exposure limits are properly established, especially for vulnerable populations, such as children and pregnant women, health agencies need to educate the public and promote practical ways to reduce exposures. In addition, public areas with low wireless radiation levels need to be established for susceptible and highly sensitive individuals.”

ICBE-EMF Documents