The requests are for key communications and research documents related to studies that were underway and the factors that led the National Institute of Environmental and Health Sciences to discontinue the studies, despite previous research finding evidence of cancer and DNA damage related to cellphone use.<\/p>\n
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Children\u2019s Health Defense<\/a> (CHD) today filed Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for documents and communications related to the agency\u2019s decision to discontinue studies on the potential health effects of cellphone radiofrequency radiation<\/a> (RFR) \u2014 even after a 10-year, $30-million study, completed in 2018, found evidence of cancer and DNA damage.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe think it is important to understand what led to this decision, because we know too often big industry<\/a> interests play a significant role\u201d in shutting down this type of research, said Miriam Eckenfels-Garcia, director of CHD\u2019s Electromagnetic Radiation (EMR) & Wireless<\/a> program.<\/p>\n
Eckenfels-Garcia told The Defender<\/a> it\u2019s \u201ctruly astonishing that the government has decided to stop research into the health effects of wireless radiation<\/a> instead of deepening it, in light of ever-growing evidence of harm<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n![\"RFK](\"https:\/\/childrenshealthdefense.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/rfk-jr-cropped.png\")
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CHD sent two requests to the National Institute of Environmental and Health Sciences (NIEHS), a subagency of NIH, whose scientists had been studying wireless radiation.<\/p>\n
The requests are for key communications and study documents that could shed light on the research government scientists were conducting when before it was shut down, and what factors led to the shut-down.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy working together at the outset,\u201d CHD staff attorney Risa Evans wrote in the FOIA letters, \u201cwe can decrease the likelihood of costly and time-consuming litigation in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
Why stop studying wireless radiation now?<\/strong><\/p>\n
As The Defender reported, the National Toxicology Program<\/a> (NTP) in January announced via an updated fact sheet<\/a> that it has no plans to further study the effects of cellphone RFR on human health.<\/p>\n
This was after the program\u2019s 10-year study, published in 2018, found \u201cclear evidence<\/a>\u201d that RFR exposure was linked to malignant heart tumors, \u201csome evidence\u201d linking it to malignant brain tumors, and \u201csome evidence\u201d linking it to both malignant and benign adrenal gland tumors and DNA damage in rats.<\/p>\n
NTP is an \u201cinteragency partnership<\/a>\u201d of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, and the NIEHS.<\/p>\n
After publishing the study, government scientists conducted follow-up studies on the impact of RFR exposure on behavior and stress \u2014 especially stress on the heart, according to the NTP\u2019s cellphone RFR website<\/a>.<\/p>\n
The follow-up studies also sought to \u201cevaluate further\u201d the 2018 study finding that RFR exposure caused DNA damage.<\/p>\n
The research was \u201ctechnically challenging and more resource intensive than expected\u201d and \u201cno further work\u201d is planned, according to NTP\u2019s RFR website.<\/p>\n
According to the NTP website<\/a>, the program \u201cstrives to remain at the cutting edge of scientific research and the development and application of new technologies for modern toxicology and molecular biology\u201d and \u201cprovides the scientific basis for programs, activities, and policies that promote health or lead to the prevention of disease.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cSo why would its scientists stop studying wireless radiation?\u201d asked Eckenfels-Garcia. \u201cWe want to know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018I thought that was the right next step\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n
Brian Berridge, DVM, Ph.D.<\/a>, NTP\u2019s scientific director until January 2023, confirmed that the follow-up studies were underway during his tenure and that the decision to no longer study RFR happened after he stepped down.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe work was being done while I was there \u2014 with my blessing,\u201d he told The Defender. \u201cI thought that was the right next step.\u201d<\/p>\n
Large studies like the one the NTP did in 2018, Berridge said, raise questions that \u201cultimately take additional studies\u201d to understand better.<\/p>\n
For example, the follow-up studies were looking at whether the negative health outcomes the 2018 study saw in rats \u2014 cancerous tumors and DNA damage \u2014 could rightly be attributed to RFR or to some other aspect of the experimental conditions, such as living 24\/7 in a small metal chamber.<\/p>\n
CHD\u2019s first FOIA request<\/a> seeks more details about what the follow-up studies entailed.<\/p>\n
The request asked agency officials to hand over \u201call protocols, standard operating procedures, and other records describing the methods, procedures, and\/or study goals of every study planned or conducted by DTT [Division of Translational Toxicology] to follow up on the rodent studies previously conducted by the National Toxicology Program.\u201d<\/p>\n
Four government employees named in FOIA request<\/strong><\/p>\n
CHD\u2019s second FOIA request<\/a> asked for all communications between key researchers and officials from Feb. 1, 2023, to Feb. 1, 2024 \u2014 when NTP appeared to be conducting follow-up studies and when it decided to discontinue them.<\/p>\n
The FOIA request names four government employees:<\/p>\n
\n- Robert C. Sills, DVM, Ph.D.<\/a>, who at the time was the acting scientific director<\/a> of NIEHS\u2019 DTT<\/a>. Scientists with DTT \u2014 who commonly work on NTP\u2019s projects \u2014 were the ones conducting the follow-up studies, according to the NTP website.<\/li>\n
- Stephanie Smith-Roe, Ph.D.<\/a>, the DTT scientist supervising the follow-up studies, according to a former government scientist who chose to remain anonymous.<\/li>\n
- Nigel J. Walker, Ph.D.<\/a>, acting chief of DTT\u2019s Systems Toxicology Branch, who was responsible for managing the follow-up studies, according to another former government scientist who chose to remain anonymous.<\/li>\n
- Rick Woychik, Ph.D.<\/a>, director of NIEHS, who sets the budget for NIEHS, including DTT, according to Devra Davis, Ph.D., MPH<\/a>, a toxicologist and epidemiologist who served on the NTP\u2019s board of scientific counselors in the 1980s when it launched.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The request seeks communications related to the funding and termination of the studies.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s unclear whether some of the follow-up studies were prematurely terminated or whether they had simply completed their research goals, with no further studies planned.<\/p>\n
For instance, the NTP cellphone RFR website states that the researchers had completed \u201cfeasibility testing\u201d of a small-scale RFR exposure system for doing the research.<\/p>\n
It appears they planned to use the small-scale RFR exposure system to \u201cdetermine the impact of RFR exposure on behavior and stress, conduct real-time physiological monitoring, including evaluation of heart rate, investigate whether RFR exposure induces heating, and evaluate further whether RFR exposure causes DNA damage.\u201d<\/p>\n
But the NTP website does not say whether researchers had achieved these research goals or, if they hadn\u2019t yet, at what point in the research process the decision was made to no longer study wireless radiation. It only states:<\/p>\n
\u201cThe research using this small-scale RFR exposure system was technically challenging and more resource intensive than expected.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn addition, this exposure system was designed to study the frequencies and modulations used in 2G and 3G devices, but is not representative of newer technologies such as 4G\/4G-LTE, or 5G<\/a> (which is still not fully defined).<\/p>\n
\u201cTaking these factors into consideration, no further work with this RFR exposure system will be conducted and NIEHS has no further plans to conduct additional RFR exposure studies at this time.\u201d<\/p>\n
The FOIA request also targets communications related to the overall execution and management of the follow-up studies, and it seeks emails or other communications containing any follow-up study data for interpretation, evaluation or review.<\/p>\n
NIEHS deflects questions about the studies<\/strong><\/p>\n
Before CHD filed the FOIA requests, The Defender reached out repeatedly to various NIEHS staff for information about the follow-up studies and the decision to end RFR research.<\/p>\n
Some of the questions The Defender asked included:<\/p>\n
\n- Where can the public find the follow-up studies\u2019 standard operating procedures and protocols?<\/li>\n
- What is the status of the data gathered in the follow-up studies? Was it ever reviewed, and if so, by whom? If not, why not?<\/li>\n
- The NTP cellphone RFR website states, \u201cNIEHS has completed the feasibility testing of this small-scale RFR exposure system, and the results will be made publicly available and posted on this webpage when internal reviews<\/a> are finished.\u201d What sort of \u201cinternal reviews\u201d are being conducted? By whom? What is the anticipated completion date of the reviews and when will the results be published?<\/li>\n
- An earlier version<\/a> of NTP\u2019s cellphone RF radiation webpage (updated Nov. 30, 2023) stated that these studies were expected to be published in 2023-2024. Why haven\u2019t the studies been published?<\/li>\n
- Why would U.S. civilian governmental efforts to study the potential impacts of wireless radiation stop as the U.S. Department of Defense continues to study the problem<\/a> and as the European Union<\/a> has provided multi-million dollar grants for multidisciplinary studies?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The NIEHS Office of Communications consistently told The Defender that NTP\u2019s cellphone RFR website<\/a> \u201chas all the information we have to share at this time. We will update the webpage when we have more information.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"Suzanne](\"https:\/\/childrenshealthdefense.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Suzanne-Burdick-150x150.jpg\")
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Suggest a Correction<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Suzanne Burdick, Ph.D. <\/a><\/p>\n
Suzanne Burdick, Ph.D., is a reporter and researcher for The Defender based in Fairfield, Iowa.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
CHD Files FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) Requests: Why Did Government Shut Down Studies on Cellphone Radiation and Cancer? The requests are for key communications and research documents related to studies that were underway and the factors that led the National Institute of Environmental and Health Sciences to discontinue the studies, despite previous research finding … <\/p>\n
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