Why did NIH abruptly halt research on the harms of cell phone radiation? 

In a shocking reversal, the National Toxicology Program (NTP) of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences has quietly disclosed that it will stop studying the biological or environmental impacts of cell phone radiofrequency radiation.

This decision comes despite results from the program’s carefully engineered and reviewed decade-long $30 million animal studies that found cancer, heart damage and DNA damage associated with exposure to cell phone radiofrequency radiation at levels comparable to those experienced by Americans today. 

The sudden end of civilian government efforts to study potential health impacts of wireless radiation constitutes a glaring abdication of responsibility. In contrast, the U.S. Department of Defense continues to study this problem.

The European Union is providing multi-million dollar grants for multidisciplinary studies. The French government regularly monitors towers and phones and has recalled millions of phones for excessive radiation or other concerns, reflecting public concerns about both psychological and physiological impacts. In 2019, French Minsters passed an order ensuring phones had consumer information that included that teenagers and pregnant women avoid exposing their abdomens to wireless radiating devices.

Just last year, the NTP declared on its 2023 fact sheet that it would perform follow-up studies to better understand the effects found in the long term animal studies. So what happened? At this juncture, it is unclear. Have the follow-up studies been completed already? Working with Swiss national engineering and U.S. government experts, the NTP had devised small-scale systems for exposing animals experimentally to controlled levels of wireless radiation. Yet results from these exposure systems have neither been publicly shared nor published.

In a sudden and inexplicable turnaround of this long-scheduled and heavily reviewed workplan, the NTP now states that no more research on wireless radiation is planned due to costs of the studies and technical challenges. One must ask what is driving this flipflop. What has led to this sudden change in priorities, so that such an exponentially growing environmental exposure no longer merits study?

The sole explanation from NTP for this turnaround raises more questions than it answers: “The research was technically challenging and more resource-intensive than expected. No additional [wireless radiation] studies are planned.”

This defies modern medical and even casual public knowledge and concerns. For example, infertility clinics ask men what their habits are with respect to cell phones and other wireless devices. They tell them to take these phones off their bodies and out of their pockets because there is evidence of a correlation in rodents between wireless radiation exposure and low sperm count, poorer sperm quality, decreased testosterone and damage to the testes.  

Studies have also linked carrying a cell phone in one’s bra to increased risk of breast cancer. The list of adverse health effects associated with this exposure is long and our use of these devices growing constantly.

Whether the government stops doing the research or not, we are all a part of a massive research study. Billions of people worldwide are being exposed to ever-increasing levels of wireless radiation. Children are uniquely vulnerable due to their rapidly developing brains. In effect, there is no control group. This makes it difficult, but not impossible, to discern the effects of wireless radiation in human populations.

It is the ultimate arrogance and folly to stop doing research on this major growing environmental pollutant when we have ample evidence of harm. 

The civilian government’s decision to stop research on cell phone radiation is consistent with the Chinese proverb, “If you don’t want to know, don’t ask.”

When it comes to understanding how wireless radiation affects biology, the cessation of studies makes no sense. The complexity of the issue should not become an excuse for ignoring one of the fastest growing environmental pollutants in the world today. 

If the civilian government has run out of money for this, there’s an easy remedy: Charge a fee of two cents per month to to every device owner, internet provider and manufacturer and use the funds to train scientists to carry out independent monitoring and research.

Surely, it’s worth a few pennies a month to find out how wireless radiation affects our health, and how to reduce its impact on ourselves, as well as the birds, bees and trees on which our planet depends.

Devra Davis, a former senior adviser to the assistant secretary for Health in the Department of Health and Human Services, is the founder and president of Environmental Health Trust. She is the author of “Disconnect: A scientist’s solutions for safer technology.”