United States: MAHA Commission Report Addresses Chemical Toxins But Falls Short on EMFs

MAHA Commission Report Addresses Chemical Toxins But Falls Short on EMFs
ehtrust.org/, May 29, 2025

The initial report of the president’s MAHA Commission (Make America Healthy Again) was released last week, offering an assessment of the scope of the childhood chronic disease crisis, along with potential contributing factors and strategy recommendations. The MAHA Committee, chaired by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., includes the heads of departments of Education, Housing and Urban Development, Agriculture, and the NIH, among others. The 14-member panel of presidential advisors offered this 70-page report “supporting gold-standard scientific research.”

The commission’s report addresses many important issues, including biochemical toxins and toxicants in the food supply and environment; electromagnetic pollution, however, did not get any significant attention. We at EHT were hoping to see emphasis given to research into the health impact of electropollution from wireless devices and networks on children, but unfortunately this initial report offers only a single bullet point on the topic.

“And in that short bullet, there is a glaring error,” says EHT Vice President of Scientific and Clinical Affairs, Dr. Robert Brown. “Specifically, the statement says that ‘some studies have linked EMR exposure to reduced sperm counts and motility but not quality.’ Certainly, by affecting sperm counts and motility, sperm quality is affected. Indeed, the authors of the paper cited specify in their abstract that sperm quality data includes sperm density, motility, viability, morphology, and DNA fragmentation. I wonder who added this erroneous phrase and find it interesting that it was added in the same document in which a separate section discusses corporate capture and the revolving door.”

This same bullet point on EMR references a study by the NIH citing “clear evidence of DNA damage and increased cancer risk in rats,” but goes on to temper that with a 2022 systematic review on the health effects of EMR exposure on children which excludes studies including time spent on devices such as mobile phones and tablets. “These devices provide the greatest source of exposure to the pediatric population. Eliminating these studies would skew conclusions drawn from the analysis. The authors of this study recommend more high quality studies on the health effects of RF on children, and I agree,” says Dr. Brown.

The only other reference the MAHA report makes to wireless devices is a section addressing the impact of light from screens on sleep quality and melatonin production. “Behavioral modifications can improve sleep and therefore health,” says Dr. Brown. “I am happy to see this was included in the report.”

Although the MAHA report includes a call for “more high-quality research,” it mostly dismisses the impact of electromagnetic radiation on human health. “There are dozens of recent research papers on the impact of EMF on childhood diseases, and if this energetic form of toxicity had been a priority for the commission, they would have read and included this research,” Dr. Brown observes. “’More research is needed’ is a clear strategy to keep the status quo and has been used by various industries over and over again. Creating doubt allows industry to push the proverbial can down the road. We believed one of the MAHA missions was to stop this process, and so it is disappointing to see the same old strategies being used in this document.”

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https://ehtrust.org/maha-commission-report-addresses-chemical-toxins-but-falls-short-on-emfs/