The commenter argues that fear of radiation and limited scientific understanding distort risk perceptions…

HHS public comment #4293 · HHS-OASH-2026-0397 · 2026-10-24

#1The commenter argues that fear of radiation and limited scientific understanding distort risk perceptions…by Mark McNulty » 2026-10-24
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The commenter argues that fear of radiation and limited scientific understanding distort risk perceptions and recommends physics education and research on radiophobia.

  • Research & federal duties: A major research gap in public policy regarding RF exposure is the psychological phen
  • Other concerns: insignificant day-to-day RF exposure is. The solution is public education in physics rather than hollow platitudes from a distrusted government in at

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Original comment · unedited text

A major research gap in public policy regarding RF exposure is the psychological phenomenon known as "radiophobia"; that is, the irrational fear of radiation of any type. Radiophobia heavily influences the public's attitude towards RF exposure leading to gross overestimation of risk. Radiophobia is largely due to scientific illiteracy, such as not understanding the inverse square power law of radiative flux and why that's important in realizing how insignificant day-to-day RF exposure is.

The solution is public education in physics rather than hollow platitudes from a distrusted government in attempts to placate public fears (remember "safe and effective"?). Better scientific education can be effective provided radiophobia is not so severe that it's created hoards of incorrigible paranoid masses fretting over 5G. I'm afraid we are past that point, and my hopes of fixing the stupidity are slim.

Good luck.

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