December 30, 2018 (Updated January 3, 2019)

Project Censored (PC) selected “How Big Wireless Convinced Us Cell Phones and Wi-Fi are Safe" as one of the ten most under-reported stories of the past year. The PC story featured a new study of miscarriage in pregnant women and a special investigation conducted for The Nation and The Guardian which examined how news about wireless health risks has been censored by the media due to industry influence. PC is a media research initiative that champions the importance of a free press for democratic self-government.

Environmental Factor, the award-winning newsletter of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, reported: 
"In a milestone year for the Environmental Factor, a look at the top 20 stories reveals coverage of draft and final cell phone studies dominated reader interest .... Coverage of the National Toxicology Program’s studies on cell phone radio frequency radiation accounted for 29 percent of pageviews to monthly issues in 2018.... We would not be surprised if the November story on the final NTP cell phone radio frequency radiation studies appears on the 2019 top stories list."
--
This year the U.S. government rolled back many regulatory environmental protections and paved the way for industry to intensify its exploitation of the environment at the expense of planetary health. The telecom and wireless industries have benefited from the government's abdication of responsibility to protect the public's health. State and federal governments have conflicts of interest -- on average, 19% of your cell phone bill is devoted to taxes and fees in addition to the taxes that corporations pay.
With the conclusion of two major studies this year, we now have “clear evidence” that cell phone radiation exposure can cause cancer based upon research conducted by the National Toxicology Program in the U.S. and the Ramazzini Institute in Italy. Many scientists believe that this research constitutes the “missing link” needed for the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer to declare wireless radiation a human carcinogen (i.e., Group 1).

Researchers at Yale University and the Connecticut Health Department published the first case-control study examining the association between cell phone use and thyroid cancer.  The researchers found elevated risks of thyroid cancer among heavier, long-term cell phone users. This research may help explain why thyroid cancer is the fastest growing cancer in the U.S. Incidence has nearly tripled since the 1980’s from four per 100,000 in 1980 to fifteen per 100,000 in 2014.
By year end, 247 scientists from 42 nations who have published over 2,000 papers in professional journals on electromagnetic fields and biology or health signed the International EMF Scientist Appeal. The consensus of these experts, based upon the preponderance of peer-reviewed research, is that cell phone and wireless radiation exposure increases the risk of reproductive harm, neurological disorders, and cancer. They are demanding health warnings and stronger regulation of magnetic fields and radio frequency radiation.

Yet health agencies (e.g., the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the World Health Organization) and quasi-official groups (e.g., the U.S. National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements and the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection) continue to dismiss the preponderance of research which finds that cell phone and wireless radiation causes bioeffects and health effects.
In January, Physicians for Safe Technology launched its website which documents the health risks from wireless radiation exposure. In April, the International Society of Doctors for the Environment and its member organizations in 27 countries, adopted a declaration calling for a moratorium on the deployment of the fifth generation of cellular technology, known as 5G.

Following the tobacco industry playbook, the CTIA, the wireless industry trade association, launched an advertising campaign, "The Global Race to 5G," which claims that the U.S. could reap massive economic benefits, but only if it is the first nation to deploy this technology. The CTIA successfully lobbied for greater access to the electromagnetic spectrum including millimeter waves in addition to more microwave spectrum and limits on fees that localities could collect for "small cell" antenna sites.
The CTIA and the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) were also successful in getting legislative and regulatory bodies to adopt industry-written rules which override local policymakers’ ability to control where "small cell" antennas were placed in the public right-of-way. oblivious to the concerns of scientists and medical doctors about the added health risks from exposure to 5G radiation.
In reaction to the initial deployment of the million "small cell" antenna sites required to roll out 5G in the U.S., hundreds of community groups have organized in opposition. Many have coalesced under an umbrella organization, Americans for Responsible Technology. In the next few years, this grassroots movement may grow into a powerful political force as more and more people finally become aware of the health risks associated with wireless radiation exposure.
--

The EMR Safety website addresses scientific and policy developments regarding the health risks from exposure to electromagnetic radiation (EMR). Since 2013, the website has had almost 1.9 million page views by visitors from over 200 countries which attests to the worldwide concern about the impact of wireless radiation on our health and the health of our environment. During the past year, half of visitors were from outside the United States with the United Kingdom, Canada, India, Australia, Israel, Germany, Greece, Italy and France represented the most.

This website provides a curated collection of links to articles on cell phones and other wireless devices and infrastructure. The site summarizes the peer-reviewed research on health risks associated with wireless radiation and provides links to news stories that report on the manufacturing of doubt about these health risks by agencies and scientists with conflicts of interest.

The following links were the most popular wireless radiation stories in 2018:

Most popular wireless radiation stories in 2018

5G and proliferation of cell towers (including “small cells”)
Wireless Technology: Millimeter Wave Health Effects
Scientists and Doctors Demand Moratorium on 5G
5G Wireless Technology: Is 5G Harmful to Our Health? 
Cell Tower Health Effects

           5G Wireless Technology: Cutting Through the Hype
Cell Phone Towers are Largest Contributor to Environmental Radiofrequency Radiation

National Toxicology Program and Ramazzini cellphone radiation studies
National Toxicology Program Finds Cell Phone Radiation Causes Cancer

National Toxicology Program: Peer review of cell phone radiation study
Cell Phone Radiation Study: Final Reports 
Ramazzini Institute Cell Phone Radiation Study Replicates NTP Study

Recent wireless radiation research

            Recent Research on Wi-Fi Effects

            Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity

Recent Research on Wireless Radiation and Electromagnetic 

Effects of Exposure to Electromagnetic Fields: 833 Studies

Cellphone health effects research

Brain Tumor Rates Are Rising in the US: The Role of Cell Phone & Cordless Phone Use

Thyroid Cancer & Mobile Phone Use

Scientific Evidence of Harm from Cell Phone Radiation: Two Years of Research

Female Infertility & Cell Phone 

Effect of Mobile Phones on Sperm Quality

Harm reduction policies and actions

Cell Phone Safety Guidance from the California Public Health Department

Berkeley Cell Phone "Right to Know" Ordinance

Cell Phone and Wireless Technology Safety Tips


Most popular wireless product stories in 2018

Hybrid & Electric Cars: Electromagnetic Radiation Risks
New Apple Watch Reignites Concerns over Cell Phone Radiation
AirPods: Are Apple’s New Wireless Earbuds Safe?


Specific Absorption Rates for iPhones
 iPhone 6 SAR: Radiation Levels & Separation Distance
          iPhone XS and XR: Specific Absorption Rates (SAR) or RF 
 iPhone SE SAR: Radiation Levels & Separation Distance
          iPhone 8 Models: Specific Absorption Rates (SAR) or RF Exposure
 iPhones emit more radiation than Samsung Galaxy phones?
          iPhone X SAR: Specific Absorption Rate or RF Exposure

           iPhone 7 Models: Specific Absorption Rates (SAR) or RF Exposure


Specific Absorption Rates for Samsung Galaxy phones
Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus Specific Absorption Rates (SAR)
Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge Specific Absorption Rates (SAR
Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus Specific Absorption Rates (SAR)
Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge Specific Absorption Rates (SAR)