Despite indications that 5G mobile networks, like previous mobile phone standards, are safe for the public, a large community of skeptics fears that they will cause – or are already causing – health problems, including the Coronavirus, without any evidence proving a link .According to the international organization responsible for setting radiation, 5G mobile networks are a safe technology.
The International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP), a German scientific body that assesses health risks from radio and television broadcasting, has called for new guidelines for millimeter waves from 5G technology.
The 5G technology used in the US and about to be made available in Europestill has much lower radiation exposure levels than the maximum permitted limit.
Dr. Eric van Rongen, ICNIRP Chair, said that the organization’s members are aware that a large proportion of the consumer public is concerned about the safety of 5G technology, and they hope that their new and updated guidelines will help the public to be less concerned about this new technology. ICNIRP note that the guidelines for 5G mobile networks have been developed after a thorough review of the relevant scientific literature, scientific laboratories and an extensive public consultation process. They provide protection against all scientifically documented adverse health effects that may arise from exposure to electromagnetic fields ranging from 100 kHz to 300 GHz.
The radio frequencies of 5G technology used in the UK are similar to those that have been used for mobile phones since 1998, when ICNIRP published the first guidelines on exposure to electromagnetic fields.
According to Dr. Jack Rowley, senior director of research and sustainability at the GSMA (the industry body for mobile networkoperators), millimeter wave technology 5G and other connections above 6GHz seemed impossible in 1998. Furthermore, Rowley said that most importantly, the basic health risk assessment remains unchanged, while the limits that were in place in 1998 are still protected and respected today. In practice, both the old and new limits are impossible to breach with conventional mobile.
Finally, according to Rowley, radiation exposure from mobile phone base stations is about 1% of the maximum permitted limit, while tests have shown that when mobile phones are operated at maximum power, they reach about 50% of the maximum permitted limit. In contrast, in normal everyday use they reach about 1% of the maximum permitted limit.
