{"id":1007,"date":"2019-10-07T10:08:40","date_gmt":"2019-10-07T10:08:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/horizon.peachpuff-wolverine-566518.hostingersite.com\/?p=1007"},"modified":"2019-10-07T10:08:40","modified_gmt":"2019-10-07T10:08:40","slug":"is-5g-bad-for-your-health-its-complicated-say-researchers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1007\/is-5g-bad-for-your-health-its-complicated-say-researchers\/","title":{"rendered":"Is 5G bad for your health? It\u2019s complicated, say researchers"},"content":{"rendered":"
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by Tom Cassauwers<\/div>\n

The fifth generation of mobile internet is fast approaching.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Countries such as Switzerland, the UK and Germany are already rolling out next generation networks. 5G is projected to be 100 times faster than 4G and would allow new technologies such as connected cars and augmented reality to flourish. But despite the big promises, concerns about its potential health effects are also growing.<\/p>\n

In September 2017, doctors and scientists launched the\u00a05G Appeal<\/a>, a petition which calls for the EU to impose a moratorium on 5G rollout, citing imminent health dangers like increased cancer risks, cellular stress and genetic damage. The petition now has more than 250 signatories. In March this year, then Brussels minister of environment\u00a0C\u00e9line Fremault<\/a>\u00a0blocked a 5G rollout saying she wouldn\u2019t turn the city\u2019s inhabitants into \u2018laboratory mice\u2019. In\u00a0Bern, Switzerland<\/a>, a protest in May led some administrative areas to block the construction of 5G antennas.<\/p>\n

So how different is 5G and could it impact our health? The reality, experts say, is complex.<\/p>\n

\u2018We have been involved in hundreds of studies about electromagnetic radiation and human health,\u2019 said Professor Niels Kuster, founder and director of the Swiss IT\u2019IS Foundation. He was project coordinator for\u00a0ARIMMORA<\/a>, a study into the relation between the electromagnetic radiation emitted by power lines and childhood leukaemia.<\/p>\n

Both mobile phones and telecom antennas emit electromagnetic radiation, regardless of what network generation they are used for. They send out non-ionising radiation, which is located at the lower end of the frequency spectrum. Most electrical gear emits this type of radiation, from microwave ovens to\u00a0power lines.<\/p>\n

Non-ionising radiation has completely different health effects from ionising radiation, which is higher up the spectrum and includes X-Rays or nuclear radiation, which have proven\u00a0harmful effects for human health.<\/p>\n

Radiation<\/strong><\/p>\n

Non-ionising radiation can affect us in two ways, according to Prof. Kuster. Just like a microwave oven heats food using non-ionising radiation, telecom gear can do the same to the human body if it emits too much.<\/p>\n

\u2018That’s well understood scientifically and there are clear safety guidelines for this,\u2019 he said. The International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP), a global scientific body, for example, has determined a norm for this and continually monitors thermal effects.<\/p>\n

We have less of an understanding of the second way in which non-ionising radiation can affect us – how it\u00a0interferes with us biologically, says Prof. Kuster.<\/p>\n

There have been claims that telecom equipment causes cancer and electrohypersensitivity where people experience headaches, nausea or even rashes they believe to be the result of exposure\u00a0to electromagnetic radiation.<\/p>\n

Prof. Kuster says that there is very little clear scientific evidence showing that radiation causes the exhibited symptoms associated with electrohypersensitivity. The\u00a0World Health Organization<\/a>\u00a0noted that double-blind studies have been unable to establish a correlation.<\/p>\n

The evidence around cancer is, however, more difficult to interpret. Several large-scale epidemiological studies showed mixed results. The most well-known is probably the 13-country\u00a0Interphone study<\/a>\u00a0from 2000 to 2006 with around 5,000 patients. This tried to find a correlation between mobile phone use and cancer.<\/p>\n

It\u00a0concluded<\/a>\u00a0that \u2018no increase in risk of glioma or meningioma was observed with use of mobile phones\u2019. For people who used mobile phones more intensively at that time, however, there were \u2018suggestions\u2019 of higher glioma rates, but errors and biases could not be ruled out, so no causal relationship could be established.<\/p>\n

Some animal or\u00a0lab-based cell studies have shown certain negative health effects from radiation. This eventually led the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) to classify electromagnetic radiation as \u2018possibly carcinogenic to humans.\u2019<\/p>\n

This may sound scary but refers largely to uncertainty in the results. Aloe vera leaves, for example, are in the same category. Working at a barber shop is in a higher category, classified as \u2018probably carcinogenic to humans\u2019 because of the chemicals hairdressers interact with.<\/p>\n

Tracking<\/strong><\/p>\n

Other\u00a0studies are happening right now, such as\u00a0COSMOS<\/a>, which is being carried out in the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, the UK, Denmark and France.<\/p>\n

\u2018In total we\u2019re tracking 290,000 people across Europe, who we consult every five years,\u2019 said Professor Hans Kromhout, an epidemiologist at Utrecht University in the Netherlands who works on the Dutch chapter of COSMOS.<\/p>\n

They use information from mobile phone operators to track consenting participants\u2019 actual phone use, and then relate that to health outcomes. This was necessary as from\u00a0previous studies<\/a>, it became clear that participants have difficulties accurately reporting their own phone usage.<\/p>\n

\u2018The data for cancer we don\u2019t have yet,\u2019 said Prof. Kromhout. \u2018But we recently released a study for Sweden and Finland, which found an association between frequent phone use and headaches.\u2019 But it unlikely due to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields, he adds.<\/p>\n

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‘It would be good if public institutions invested more in research into these fields.’<\/p>\n

Prof. Hans Kromhout, Utrecht University, the Netherlands<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

This study looked at 21,049 Swedes and 3,120 Finns, and tried correlating phone use with headaches, sinusitis and hearing problems. Participants who called more than 276 minutes per week reported a slightly higher degree of weekly headaches. But it turned out that participants who had 2G-phones (which emit more radiation) did not have a higher degree of headaches than those with 3G-phones (which emit less radiation).<\/p>\n

And if a clear association between this kind of radiation and cancer was found, an underlying cause would still be missing since we don\u2019t understand the potential biological effects, according to Prof. Kromhout.<\/p>\n

\u2018We still don\u2019t have a mechanism to explain why the human body would have this reaction,\u2019 said Prof. Kromhout. \u2018And without a biological mechanism you cannot have a clear, causal relation, because it could just as well be that something else is causing the cancer.\u2019<\/p>\n

Millimetre waves<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ever since we\u2019ve had mobile phones, there have been concerns about their negative health effects. In most areas, the 5G debate is a continuation of all of this, which is logical. The radiation 5G emits will largely be the same as it was for 4G, 3G and 2G before, except for one area: millimetre waves.<\/p>\n

These waves are higher up the spectrum than the frequencies we have so far used for mobile telecommunications, although they are still non-ionising radiation.<\/p>\n

Milimetre waves are a sub-technology of 5G, which can transfer more information, although for shorter distances. For now, these frequencies aren\u2019t being implemented or even auctioned in Europe, although in the US operators have been using them to build their 5G networks. There has been little research about their health effects.<\/p>\n

We know, for example, that they don\u2019t penetrate our skin as much as lower frequency waves, yet that could also mean a different risk assessment, with more attention placed on the skin.<\/p>\n

\u2018I don’t claim we need to be concerned about millimetre wave exposure,\u2019 said Prof. Kuster. \u2018But it’s irresponsible to not have much data and expose large groups of people to these fields. So, there should be more investment into tests about this.\u2019<\/p>\n

An argument often used against this sort of research though, is that it\u2019s influenced by the private sector. Telecom companies, according to activists, often fund this research to influence it in their direction. Prof. Kuster accepts private sector funds, and in Sweden, COSMOS is partly funded by a number of mobile phone operators, with a scientific institute acting as a \u2018firewall\u2019 between the researchers and the companies.<\/p>\n

He says that the results of a study don\u2019t depend on where the money came from but on the quality of the research.<\/p>\n

\u2018It would be good if public institutions invested more in research into these fields,\u2019 said Prof. Kromhout, whose COSMOS study is funded by the Dutch government. \u2018That way we can also put to rest doubts about the objectivity of researchers.\u2019<\/p>\n

Until now the EU has funded some research on electromagnetic radiation, but currently there is no EU project focusing on the health effects of 5G.<\/p>\n

So if we aren\u2019t certain about 5G\u2019s health effects, shouldn\u2019t we just ban it until we are and apply the precautionary principle? Not according to both experts.<\/p>\n

\u2018That would be too much,\u2019 said Prof. Kromhout. \u2018We should keep studying and observing this question and be vigilant. But a complete ban would be too much and stop technological innovation. We also haven\u2019t seen a large rise of brain cancer in the last 20 years, even though cell phone use has exploded.\u2019<\/p>\n

Prof. Kuster also argues for more scientific research. \u2018As long as there is no consensus in the scientific world, there won’t be one in politics,\u2019 he said. \u2018As long as the effects are unclear, the debate will continue.\u2019<\/p>\n

If you liked this article, please consider sharing it on social media.<\/em><\/p>\n

Originally published on Horizon<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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