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Tag: EMF

  • International Watchdog Says 5G Is Safe

    International Watchdog Says 5G Is Safe

    The International Commission on Non‐Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) has weighed in on 5G, declaring it safe, while also providing updated guidelines.

    Governments, physicians and advocate groups have expressed concern over 5G, especially the high-frequency, mmWave variety. mmWave is the type of 5G that provides the fastest speeds and stands to disrupt the industry. However, it operates at much higher frequencies than previous generations, and it has limited range, requiring towers and base stations to be placed every couple of hundred meters. As a result, there have been concerns that blanketing people in that much high frequency, electromagnetic fields (EMF) could lead to health problems.

    Ultimately, the ICNIRP found no evidence that 5G EMF caused illnesses, such as cancer, when EMFs were kept below the guidelines the group last established in 1998. In the report’s (PDF) summary it states:

    “The only substantiated adverse health effects caused by exposure to radiofrequency EMFs are nerve stimulation, changes in the permeability of cell membranes, and effects due to temperature elevation. There is no evidence of adverse health effects at exposure levels below the restriction levels in the ICNIRP (1998) guidelines and no evidence of an interaction mechanism that would predict that adverse health effects could occur due to radiofrequency EMF exposure below those restriction levels.”

    Although the 1998 guidelines still provide a measure of protection, the group went further, revising them to account for the newer technology.

    “When we revised the guidelines, we looked at the adequacy of the ones we published in 1998. We found that the previous ones were conservative in most cases, and they’d still provide adequate protection for current technologies,” said (PDF) ICNIRP Chairman, Dr Eric van Rongen. “However, the new guidelines provide better and more detailed exposure guidance in particular for the higher frequency range, above 6 GHz, which is of importance to 5G and future technologies using these higher frequencies. The most important thing for people to remember is that 5G technologies will not be able to cause harm when these new guidelines are adhered to.”

  • UK Regulators Find No 5G Health Risk

    UK Regulators Find No 5G Health Risk

    UK regulators have tested the electromagnetic fields (EMF) created by 5G and have found no cause for concern.

    5G represents a fundamental shift in wireless technology, ushering in speeds never before possible with 4G. The fastest type of 5G, high-band mmWave, offers speeds measured in gigabits rather than megabits. Unfortunately, mmWave has extremely limited range, requiring towers, base stations and boosters to be placed every couple hundred meters to provide proper coverage.

    That blanketing coverage, not to mention the higher frequency, has caused concern among experts and advocates who believe 5G’s EMF emissions pose serious health concerns. In an effort to provide clarity on those concerns, UK regulator Ofcom conducted tests in 16 locations, across 10 different cities, according to Ofcom’s report (PDF).

    “The results so far indicate that:

    • In all cases, the measured EMF levels from 5G-enabled mobile phone base stations are at small fractions of the levels identified in the ICNIRP Guidelines (the highest level being approximately 1.5% of the relevant level); and
    • The contribution of 5G to the total emissions level observed is currently low – the highest level we observed in the band used for 5G was just 0.039% of the reference level.”

    Ofcom acknowledges in the report that 5G adoption is still in the early stages, and says it will continue to monitor EMF measurements as the technology continues to roll out. In the interim, however, the study is good news for wireless carriers and customers alike.

  • Scientists Warn 5G May Pose Serious Health Risks

    Scientists Warn 5G May Pose Serious Health Risks

    There have been several attempts to reassure the public that 5G is safe, with Australian telcos and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) weighing in most recently. With the 5G market starting to take off, not to mention the revolutionary potential the technology promises, it’s understandable why everyone wants to believe it is safe.

    In spite of that, Joel M. Moskowitz, PhD, director of the Center for Family and Community Health in the School of Public Health at the University of California, Berkeley, has written an op-ed in Scientific American to make the case that there is no reason to believe 5G is safe.

    Moskowitz begins by saying, “we believe it is our ethical responsibility to inform the public about what the peer-reviewed scientific literature tells us about the health risks from wireless radiation.”

    After highlighting the FCC’s recent decision not to change the cellular safety standards that were established back in the 1990s, Moskowitz continues:

    “Yet, since the FCC adopted these limits based largely on research from the 1980s, the preponderance of peer-reviewed research, more than 500 studies, have found harmful biologic or health effects from exposure to RFR at intensities too low to cause significant heating.

    “Citing this large body of research, more than 240 scientists who have published peer-reviewed research on the biologic and health effects of nonionizing electromagnetic fields (EMF) signed the International EMF Scientist Appeal, which calls for stronger exposure limits. The appeal makes the following assertions:

    “‘Numerous recent scientific publications have shown that EMF affects living organisms at levels well below most international and national guidelines. Effects include increased cancer risk, cellular stress, increase in harmful free radicals, genetic damages, structural and functional changes of the reproductive system, learning and memory deficits, neurological disorders, and negative impacts on general well-being in humans. Damage goes well beyond the human race, as there is growing evidence of harmful effects to both plant and animal life.’”

    Moskowitz then goes on to discuss the specific dangers of 5G, especially the millimeter wave (mmWave) variety that provides the revolutionary speed 5G promises. Because of its extremely short range, mmWave requires base stations, repeaters and cell antennas to be placed every couple of hundred meters apart, at the farthest. This results in a much greater saturation of electromagnetic fields (EMF) and radiation as previous generations of wireless technology.

    Moskowitz ends his op-ed by suggesting that the only safe way to proceed is to “support the recommendations of the 250 scientists and medical doctors who signed the 5G Appeal that calls for an immediate moratorium on the deployment of 5G and demand that our government fund the research needed to adopt biologically based exposure limits that protect our health and safety.”

    This is similar to the stand a number of Swiss cantons have taken, calling for a halt on 5G deployments until further research can be done.