WHAT IS EMR SYNDROME?

Q: What is EMR Syndrome?

EMR Syndrome (ElectroMagnetic Radiation Syndrome) is a medical condition linked to exposure to man-made, artificial electromagnetic radiation (EMR). Sources of man-made EMR include cell towers, building antennas, cell phones, tablets, computers, smart meters (to record electrical, gas and water usage), Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, LED and smart lighting, smart appliances, wireless baby monitors, wearables, and implanted medical devices.

Q: Where did the name EMR Syndrome come from?

The name EMR Syndrome emerged from The OneName Project, an initiative to unify the fragmented, medical nomenclature of EMR-related illness. Historically, 10 or more names have been in usage worldwide, including Electromagnetic Sensitivity, Electrohypersensitivity, Microwave Syndrome, Radiation Sickness, and Electrosensitivity. By unifying under one name, the OneName Project aims to significantly increase the impact of advocacy efforts to legislators, medical policymakers, and the general public.

EMR Syndrome (ElectroMagnetic Radiation Syndrome¹) is a medical condition,^2-43linked to exposure to man-made, artificial electromagnetic radiation (EMR). Sources of man-made EMR include cell towers,^29,30 building antennas, cell phones, tablets, computers, smart meters (to record electrical, gas and water usage),^31-43 Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, LED and smart lighting,⁴⁵ smart appliances, wireless baby monitors, wearables, and implanted medical devices.^46,47

Man-made EMR is biologically active and interacts with all living organisms. Exposure to this type of EMR can trigger a constellation of reactions from mild to life-threatening, such as heart arrhythmias, tinnitus, vertigo, headaches, fatigue, memory-cognition problems, burning skin, and sleep disturbances. For those with EMR Syndrome, even minimal exposure can produce acute reactions that leave individuals unable to tolerate many modern environments, and in some cases, isolating them from technology and society.^2-44,47-54

The condition, which impacts all ages, is recognized as a disability by the US Access Board,^52,53 the National Council on Disability,⁵⁴ Housing and Urban Development,⁵⁵Department of Defense,⁵⁶ the Social Security Administration,⁵⁷ Job Accommodations Network (JAN) funded by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy,⁵⁸ National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health,⁵⁹ and the Center for Disease Control.⁶⁰ See Disability & Accommodations Section on this website.

The rise of EMR Syndrome in today’s world coincides with the increasing intensity of EMR within homes, schools, workplaces, and recreational areas, and the proliferation of everything wireless. EMR Syndrome is presently estimated to occur in 3-5% of the world’s population,⁹ with millions more reporting mild symptoms.^10-13

The name EMR Syndrome¹ emerged from The OneName Project, an initiative to unify the fragmented, medical nomenclature of EMR-related illness. Historically, 10 or more names have been in usage worldwide, including Electromagnetic Sensitivity, Electrohypersensitivity, Microwave Syndrome, Radiation Sickness, and Electrosensitivity. By unifying under one name, the OneName Project aims to significantly increase the impact of advocacy efforts to legislators, medical policymakers, and the general public.

What EMR Syndrome Means within the General Population

Several thousand independent, peer-reviewed scientific studies have linked exposure to EMR with biological and health effects, including EMR Syndrome. As with any environmental hazard, some individuals may experience immediate and acute symptomology; others may feel nothing, yet show up 5, 10, 20 years later with serious health effects, including cancer. The rising presence of EMR Syndrome is a warning and a demand, for the responsible siting of cell towers and for the broad-based public use of safe technology strategies. The following is a brief listing of the voluminous research on the harms of man-made electromagnetic radiation (EMR):

The 2021 public record of evidence in Environmental Health Trust v. FCC contains over 11,000 pages of research abstracts and medical reports that document the health effects of EMR.⁶¹Click here for report.‍
The Safety of Wireless Technologies: The Scientific View (2025)⁶²links wireless technology with the startling rise in chronic illness observed since the 1990’s when cellphones and other wireless products swept the marketplace. This phenomenon was predicted by the U.S. Navy in the 1970’s^63,64 in their Naval Medical Research Institute Reports containing over 3,200 studies on the harmful effects of EMR. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/388763046_Safety_of_Wireless Technologies_The_Scientific_View‍
Mobile Telecommunications and Health: Review of the Current Scientific Research in View of Precautionary Health Protection (2000),⁶⁵documented the role of radiation in the initiation and progression of cancer and in problems with memory and cognition. https://ehtrust.org/wp-content/uploads/ecolog2000.pdf‍
The WHO-commissioned systematic reviews on health effects of radiofrequency radiation provide no assurance of safety.⁶⁶ Serious methodological flaws and weaknesses of the WHO-commissioned studies are outlined, highlighting why they cannot be used as assurance of safety, especially with respect to cancer and reproductive toxicity. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-025-01220-4

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1. OneName Project. Click here for summary .

2. Industry funded research on electromagnetic radiation was done under the auspices of the EPA and other federal agencies. The research program was run by a Chief Scientist under Wireless Technology Research, LLC (WTR), an independent, non-profit entity, with $28.5 million in funding from the wireless industry (sent into a blind trust) and with scientific oversight by both an independent Peer Review Board at the Harvard School of Public Health and a U.S. Government Interagency Working Group, chaired by the FDA, and including EPA, OSHA, NIOSH, CDC, FCC, and NIH. This remains one of the largest and most comprehensive, multi-disciplinary investigations into wireless technology, health effects, and risk management in the world to date. Research results showed that wireless radiation is biologically active, producing biological effects and potentially hazardous to human health. Source: Wireless Phones and Health II: State of the Science 2002 Edition, edited by George L. Carlo; Wireless Phones and Health: Scientific Progress, edited by George L. Carlo.

3. Belpomme, D., & Irigaray, P. (2020). Electrohypersensitivity as a newly identified and characterized neurologic pathological disorder: How to diagnose, treat, and prevent it. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 21 (6), 1915; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21061915

4. Belpomme, D., & Irigaray, P. (2021). Electrohypersensitivity as a man-made electromagnetic field pathology. In: Panagopoulos, D. ed. (2021). Electromagnetic fields of wireless communications. Biological and Health. CRC Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.1201/9781003201052

5. Cities of Philadelphia and Boston (2013). Reply comments of the Cities of Philadelphia and Boston, Federal Communications Commission, ET Docket No. 13-84, ET Docket No. 03-137. https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/560ca86e-e802-4adb-8733-b30528eacc28/downloads/FCC%2C%20Boston%2C%20Phil%2C%20BBK%20reply%20comments%2C%2011-13%20A.pdf?ver=1760471934505

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14. Irigaray, P., Caccamo, D., & Belpomme, D. (2018). Oxidative stress in electrohypersensitivity self-reporting patients: Results of a prospective in vivo investigation with comprehensive molecular analysis. International Journal of Molecular Medicine, 42 (4):1885-1898. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30015864/

15. De Luca, C., Chung Sheun Thai, J., Raskovic, D., Desanka, R., Cesareo, E., Caccamo, E., Trukhanov, A., & Korkina, A. (2014). Metabolic and genetic screening of electromagnetic hypersensitive subjects as a feasible tool for diagnostics and intervention. Mediators of Inflammation 924184. https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/924184

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