FCC and HHS Seek Comment on RF Emissions Exposure Issues

After a Multi-Year Hiatus, Two Agencies Release Separate Notices on the Same Day with Comments due October 21, 2026 (HHS) and October 22, 2026 (FCC)

While the wireless industry continues to report record demand for wireless data, the siting of wireless facilities to meet that demand can often encounter public opposition. During local hearings on wireless applications, it is not uncommon for members of the public to raise safety concerns about radio frequency (RF) emissions exposure levels, a topic exclusively within the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) authority to regulate since 1996. A recurring view expressed is that the FCC standards are outdated.

The FCC and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have released separate notices which both trace back to an FCC inquiry into updating RF emissions exposure standards launched in 2013 and terminated in 2019 with no changes to RF emissions exposure limits. That inquiry had generated a massive number of comments, and its termination was immediately challenged in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. The suit was initiated by the Environmental Health Trust and several other groups and individuals who had unsuccessfully advocated for rule changes. Among those groups was the Children’s Health Defense, founded by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. In a split decision issued in 2021, the Court sent the matter back to the FCC for a “reasoned explanation” of certain of the FCC’s conclusions.

Until now, the FCC took no steps to address the 2021 remand order. Earlier this year, frustrated by the FCC’s “stubborn refusal” to take action, the Children’s Health Defense and others returned to the Court seeking an order directing the FCC to comply with the remand order. The FCC's release of the public notice would appear to render that case moot.

The FCC’s Public Notice is carefully crafted to focus solely on those “targeted issues to discharge the Commission’s obligations in response to the Court’s remand.” It lays out in some detail the specific rulings that it seeks to revisit. In an apparent attempt to ward off voluminous comments from the general public (“unverifiable or repetitive testimonial submissions that purport to assert the existence or absence of adverse health effects”), the FCC emphasizes its intent to prioritize “quality of submissions over their quantity” and invites comments from “local, state, federal, and international health and safety agencies, science-based standard-setting organizations that are active in this area, and other interested parties.”

HHS, now led by Secretary Kennedy, takes a notably different approach from the FCC. HHS has issued a much broader Request for Information on electromagnetic exposure, wireless radiation and human health. Commenters are asked to address 17 questions seeking information on exposures associated with a wide range of mobile and wireless technologies and devices, including topics like information on health experiences, exposure standards, exposure measurement, potentially sensitive populations, cumulative exposure patterns and federal research priorities. In stark contrast to the FCC, HHS specifically invites “individuals, families, caregivers, healthcare professionals and organizations to share experiences regarding potential adverse health effects they believe may be associated with exposure to RF/EMFs.”

Comments on the HHS Request for Information are due October 21, 2026, while comments on the FCC’s notice addressing RF exposure issues subject to the D.C. Circuit’s remand are due October 22, 2026.

If you have questions about the FCC or HHS notices, RF emissions exposure standards, or related wireless facility siting issues, please contact a member of BBK’s Telecommunications team.