Claim. Public Law 90‑602 (Radiation Control for Health and Safety Act of 1968; 21 U.S.C. 360hh–ss) requires that “the Secretary shall establish and carry out an electronic product radiation control program,” and “shall plan, conduct, coordinate, and support research” and “collect and make available” the results to the public. The National Toxicology Program’s RF bioeffects program was halted in 2024 and remains unrestarted. As of today, that posture is irreconcilable with the statute’s repeated shall.
Relief demanded. Restart NTP’s RF work immediately under an HHS program that meets the statute’s research and public‑information duties; publish a timetable and milestones.
Why act now: the scientific case is coherent and testable
Mechanism. Cells decode electrical timing. In voltage‑gated ion channels, a short positively charged segment (S4) moves within the membrane’s electric field to open or close the pore. Millivolt‑scale potential shifts across the roughly one‑nanometer sensing region are enough to advance or delay opening. That alters three immune control points:
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Kv1.3 and KCa3.1 set membrane potential and sustain calcium entry through ORAI1 with STIM1, which drives NFAT and NF‑kappaB transcription.
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HVCN1 exports protons to keep the phagocyte respiratory burst in range.
When ion timing fidelity is degraded by patterned RF fields, calcium waveforms and proton compensation change—pushing mitochondria toward reactive oxygen species at Complex I and Complex III. With persistence, mitochondrial DNA appears in cytosol and innate sensors (cGAS–STING, TLR9, NLRP3) engage, stabilizing chronic inflammation and lower immune tolerance.
Convergence of evidence.
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Time‑resolved human‑cell experiments show pro‑inflammatory shifts (interleukin‑1 alpha, nitric oxide, superoxide) and reduced phagocytosis after mobile‑phone‑class exposures, without cell death.
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Reviews pooling ~100 studies report oxidative‑stress signatures at non‑thermal levels; a mitochondria‑focused review localizes ROS to Complex I and Complex III and links RF to calcium‑workload coupling.
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A 2025 mouse study using sub‑thermal 5G‑NR 3.5 GHz reported up‑regulation of 10 of 13 mtDNA‑encoded OXPHOS genes in cortex, emphasizing Complex I/III subunits—an exposure‑responsive mitochondrial signature under realistic signals.
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Organ‑level pathology includes inflammatory bladder histology after sustained exposure in rats.
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Large rodent bioassays reported malignant cardiac schwannomas and brain gliomas under RF exposures not designed to heat tissue—exactly the tissues (heart, nerve) that are most dense in voltage‑gated channels and mitochondria.
Bottom line. The chain from S4 timing to mitochondrial ROS to innate activation is biophysically tight, phenotypically documented, and immediately testable with modern assays under real‑world pulsing. The remaining step is programmatic research, not theory.
What HHS and RFK Jr. must do within 90 days
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Restart NTP’s RF program with a public charter, preregistration, and open data. Replicate and extend earlier findings using pulsed/modulated signals that match indoor exposure patterns.
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Publish a research timetable (channels → calcium timing → mitochondrial ROS/mtDNA → innate sensors) and name the principal investigators.
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Create a Pediatric RF Health Task Force (HHS‑FCC‑EPA‑DOE‑ED) to deliver a LiFi‑first advisory for schools/childcare within 6 months.
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Issue an HHS technical annex correcting federal summaries that omit post‑2022 evidence; include NTP 2018, Ramazzini 2018, and WHO‑program 2025 animal findings and the oxidative‑stress literature.
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Begin standards work for performance‑based controls that include duty cycle, pulse structure, and peak‑to‑average ratio, not just time‑averaged power.
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Public information docket. Stand up a live docket for RF bioeffects studies and post quarterly updates, per the statute’s public‑information requirements.
What the public can do today
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Demand enforcement of PL 90‑602; ask Congress for oversight; request GAO and HHS‑OIG reviews of compliance.
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Reduce indoor timing stress now. Move heavy data to light‑based networking (LiFi) and wired backbones; remove transmitters from bedrooms and classrooms; use distance and duration practices while standards update.
Share‑ready call script (30 seconds)
“Hi, I’m asking HHS to enforce Public Law 90‑602. NTP’s RF research remains halted, even after animal studies found clear evidence of heart and brain tumors and many experiments report oxidative and immune effects at non‑thermal levels. Please: (1) restart NTP with open data and a public timetable, (2) correct federal summaries to include post‑2022 evidence, and (3) issue a LiFi‑first advisory for schools to reduce indoor RF while standards update.”
One‑paragraph statement you can quote verbatim
Public Law 90‑602 says the Secretary shall run an electronic‑product radiation control program, shall conduct and support research, and shall make the results public. The National Toxicology Program’s RF work remains halted even as convergent evidence shows mechanistic plausibility for harm at non‑thermal levels: millivolt‑scale shifts at the S4 voltage sensor degrade ion timing in immune and excitable cells, drive mitochondrial reactive oxygen species at Complex I and Complex III, and activate innate sensors that lower immune tolerance. Large animal bioassays report heart and brain tumors, and modern cell and tissue studies show oxidative and inflammatory changes under realistic signals. HHS must restart RF research now, publish a timetable, modernize performance standards to include timing variables, and issue LiFi‑first guidance for schools. Every day without action is another day out of compliance.
