Many people today couldn’t get along without their cell phone. An estimated 95 percent of adult Americans use one. But long-time controversies about potential health impacts from wireless communications, especially for birds, insects and children, are growing now that the industry is starting the rollout of 5G, the fifth generation of wireless technology.
Some residents have been spending a lot of time studying 5G and are alarmed.
“There have never been adequate human studies on 3G, 4G or 5G,” Gordon Wellman, who lives in Eureka West, said. “They just put all this out on the table without doing studies. Now that 5G has come on, they are putting up these antennas about 150 feet apart in dense population areas, meaning people are being exposed to much higher levels of Radiofrequency Radiation [RFR, also known as Electromagnetic Frequency Radiation or EMF]. Also, these are largely put on telephone poles and so are not very noticeable.”
The major wireless companies are touting 5G as a way to get data faster. Verizon predicts users will know it as “one of the fastest, most robust technologies the world has ever seen. That means quicker downloads, a more powerful network and a massive impact on how we live, work and play.”
Currently, major carriers are instituting different forms of 5G in limited markets. It is expected to become more widespread in 2021 or 2022. It has been banned on its rollout in Switzerland, Israel and Belgium, and in some cities in California and Colorado. It has been banned in parts of Australia, as well.
Wellman spoke with officials in Longmont, Colo., that banned 5G.
“The town said they are only allowing fiber optic options, which are not only safer, but more reliable,” Wellman said. “Current wireless networks are dangerous, and 5G is going to be ten times worse. They are electromagnetic signals and humans rely on electromagnetic signals to operate our brain, heart and other systems.
“When we grew up, we were lucky to have two phones in the house. So now people are saying we have to beat the Russians and Chinese to 5G? Like you can’t get things on your computer fast enough now? It is time to slow the train.”
Sharilyn Healing Spirit is another resident very concerned about 5G.
“People will need anti-radiation clothing,” Spirit said. “It will not be safe to walk down the street. No human health safety tests have been done by the cell phone companies and they say they are relying on the good science of the FDA. But the heads of the FDA haven’t had time to read the good science by the National Institute of Health about the detrimental health results.”
The National Institute of Environmental Health Studies has done a study showing high exposure to radiofrequency radiation in rats is associated with “clear evidence” of tumors in the hearts of male rats, “some evidence” of tumors in the brains of male rats and “some evidence” of tumors in the adrenal glands of male rats.
Spirit said thousands of studies link low-level wireless radio frequency radiation exposures to a long list of adverse biological effects, including DNA single and double strand breaks, oxidative damage, disruption of cell metabolism, increased blood brain barrier permeability, melatonin reduction, disruption to brain glucose metabolism, and a generation of stress proteins. What alarms her the most is evidence of harm to children.
“Children are the most vulnerable to 5G radiation because children’s bodies are so small that they are influenced more,” Spirit said. “Global networks of experts are issuing warnings about the risks with some calling it the next great unknown experiment on our children – and the entire human population.”
Parents whose children attend a school in San Joaquin County in California with a 5G cell tower on the premises say the tower has caused cancer in seven people. Parents have threatened to remove their children from school unless the cell tower is removed.
Cancer is not the only concern. Research indicates RFR can interfere with the production of important neurotransmitters including melatonin and serotonin, leading to insomnia at night and brain fog in the daytime. Spirit said there is also evidence that 3.5 to 5 percent of the population is hypersensitive to RFR, which can cause them sleep disorders, memory loss/Alzheimer’s, agitation, confusion, anxiety and depression, and headaches.
Other health conditions associated with RFR include diabetes, heart arrhythmias and inflammatory diseases.
In 2017, 180 scientists and doctors from 35 countries recommended a moratorium on the roll-out of 5G until potential hazards for human health and the environment have been fully investigated by scientists independent from industry.
“5G will substantially increase exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields on top of the 2G,3G, 4G, Wi-fi, etc., for telecommunications already in place,” the joint letter from the scientists and doctors said. “RF-EMF has been proven to be harmful for humans and the environment.
“5G leads to massive increase of mandatory exposure to wireless radiation. 5G technology is effective only over short distance. It is poorly transmitted through solid material. Many new antennas will be required and full-scale implementation will result in antennas every 10 to 12 houses in urban areas, thus massively increasing mandatory exposure.”
In 2015, more than 230 scientists from 41 countries expressed “serious concerns” regarding the ubiquitous and increasing exposure to EMF generated by electric and wireless devices already before the additional 5G roll-out. They referred to the fact that “numerous recent scientific publications have shown that EMF affects living organisms at levels well below most international and national guidelines.”
Spirit said there are also valid concerns about the impacts of EMF to plants and wildlife. And while radiation protection clothing for people is available, she said it is expensive and not practical to protect the entire population.
“The only real solution is to ban 5G,” she said.
Spirit said while preparations are being made for 5G antennas in northwest Arkansas, she doesn’t think 5G has been turned on yet in this area.
This story has a few legitimate points but for the most part there is too much hype in it.