For years, fears about cellphone radiation have lived mostly on the fringes of the internet. This week, they moved straight into the federal government. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has publicly raised alarms about 5G towers and cellphone radiation, saying he believes electromagnetic radiation poses serious health risks, including cancer and DNA damage.
His comments came just as his department launched a new study into cellphone radiation, reigniting a debate scientists say has already been studied extensively.
‘I’m very concerned about it’
In an exclusive interview with USA TODAY, Kennedy said concerns over 5G and cellphone radiation are not hypothetical to him.
“Generally speaking, electromagnetic radiation is a major health concern,” Kennedy said when asked specifically about 5G towers. “I’m very concerned about it.”
Speaking for USA TODAY’s “Extremely Normal” series, Kennedy went further, claiming there is extensive scientific backing for his position.
He said there are “more than 10,000 studies” documenting harmful effects from electromagnetic radiation, including cancer, tumor growth and DNA damage.
“EMFs are bad depending on the pulse rates and the wave lengths,” Kennedy said. “Some of them are very bad.”
Earlier the Department of Health and Human Services has highlighted cellphone restrictions in schools as part of the administration’s “Make America Healthy Again” movement. According to the department, 22 states have limited cellphone use in schools to protect children’s health.
But those policies are largely aimed at reducing the mental health impacts of social media, curbing cyberbullying, and limiting constant online engagement, not exposure to electromagnetic radiation. Since 2022, K–12 schools across the US have increasingly moved to ban phones in classrooms for behavioral and psychological reasons, not radiation concerns.
FDA quietly removes older guidance
The interview comes at a time when the federal agencies are also signaling a shift in tone. The Food and Drug Administration, which operates under Kennedy’s leadership, has removed older webpages that stated cellphones are not dangerous.
Andrew Nixon, a spokesperson for HHS, explained the move in a statement: “The FDA removed webpages with old conclusions about cell phone radiation while HHS undertakes a study on electromagnetic radiation and health research to identify gaps in knowledge, including on new technologies, to ensure safety and efficacy,” Nixon said.
According to The Wall Street Journal, HHS now plans to research the possible health effects of radiation emitted by cell phones. The administration has not released new scientific evidence prompting the change.
That raises a key question: what does existing science actually say?
Can cellphone radiations cause cancer?
arge-scale international research has repeatedly found no clear link between cellphone use and cancer.
In September 2024, the
World Health Organization published a comprehensive review in the journal Environmental International. Experts from nine countries analyzed 63 studies on cellphone use and cancer conducted between 1994 and 2022.
“The researchers found no connection between cellphone use and brain cancer,” the WHO said.
That conclusion aligns with earlier global assessments. In 2011, the
International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), which is part of the WHO, classified radiofrequency waves as “possibly carcinogenic to humans.” However, the agency did not identify a causal link, placing cellphone radiation in the same broad category as items like pickled vegetables and coffee at the time.
Some laboratory
studiesin rats have suggested a possible association between radiofrequency radiation and cancer. But scientists have consistently cautioned that those findings do not easily translate to humans. Human studies remain limited, inconsistent, and difficult to replicate at meaningful exposure levels.
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