“If this bill passes, many people will suffer greatly, and needlessly, as a direct result.”
“This sounds like hyperbole. It is not.”
So began a letter from Dr. Beatrice Alexandra Golomb, against a bill that would roll out 5G networks across California. The professor at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine is one of hundreds of scientists that sounded alarm over the spectre of 5G. To them, 5G means more than fifth-generation wireless technology. It also means five times greater health risks—if not five thousand.
Many scientists are wary of the radiation that ubiquitous cell phone use already presents people. The International EMF Scientist Appeal was presented to the United Nations in 2015. Its 220 scientists from 40 nations included nine Canadians. It says that “numerous recent scientific publications have shown that EMF [electromagnetic frequency] affects living organisms at levels well below most international and national guidelines” and that genetic damage extends beyond humans to include plants and animals.
Wireless radiation undermines the health of living things health in numerous ways including oxidative stress, damage to cell membranes, damage to mitochondria (the energy-producing parts of cells). In people, this contributes to an impaired blood brain barrier which keeps toxins out of the brain. It also constricts blood vessels and blood flow to the brain and triggers autoimmune reactions.
As Golumb explains, “These mechanisms have known involvement in induction of brain cancer, metabolic diseases like obesity and diabetes, autism, autoimmune disease, and neurodegenerative conditions, conditions that have exploded. In each case these have been linked, or presumptively linked, in some studies to electromagnetic radiation.”
This radiation also has toxic effects in pregnancy and has been tied to developmental problems for the fetus after it is born, including attention deficit and hyperactivity. Such radiation has been known to decrease sperm count and function. Even worse, all the sperm and eggs a human will ever have are produced in the fetal stage. Current exposures affect not just the generation yet to be born, but also grandchildren.
Golomb surveyed those whose health suffered by living close to cell phone towers. Minor symptoms include ringing ears, headaches, chest pain, heart arrhythmia, and insomnia. Worse symptoms include seizures, heart failures, hearing loss, and severe cognitive impairment. And these mechanisms also contribute to neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease.
Half of the EMF victims Golomb surveyed lost their jobs as a result. Such people now have electrohypersensitivity and must take special care to avoid not just airport scanners, but many radiated locations that they, like most people, could once pass through without harm. Those with the condition include Gro Harlem Brundtland, whose former posts include Prime Minister of Norway and head of the World Health Organization; Matti Niemela, former Nokia technology chief; and the wife of Frank Clegg, former head of Microsoft Canada and current head of Canadians for Safe Technology.
Why 5G has so many alarmed is this: the frequency it will operate on functions at a shorter range. This will require many more towers operating at increased power just to function correctly. Expect antennas the size of a pizza box every 250 feet or less to ensure connectivity. “Industry is going to need hundreds of thousands, maybe millions, of new antenna sites in the United States alone,” said Dr. Joel Moskowitz, of the University of California, Berkeley. “So people will be bathed in a smog of radiation 24/7.” A Forbes article suggested that the internet of things will mean 10 to 20 billion connections that include “smart” refrigerators, washing machines, surveillance cameras, and self-driving vehicles.
For policy makers, the answer may lie in a petition given to the European Union on September 11, 2017. Frank Clegg was one of five Canadians amongst the 170 signatories from 37 countries. The petition’s recommendations are useful for every jurisdiction. An abridged and slightly paraphrased version follows.
- Halt 5G expansion until independent scientists can ensure total radiation levels by RF-EMF won’t be harmful.
- Inform citizens about health risks from radio frequency (RF) and EMF radiation, and how and why to avoid wireless communication, especially near schools, homes, workplaces, hospitals, and elderly care.
- Appoint a task force of truly impartial scientists to determine new standards of maximum total exposure standards, study cumulative exposure, and create rules to be enforced to keep people from exceeding such exposure.
- Prevent the wireless/telecom industry from lobbying officials regarding RF-EMF radiation safety.
- To favor and implement wired digital telecommunication instead of wireless.
California SB 649, the legislation Golomb railed against, was vetoed by Governor Jerry Brown in October of 2017. This gives citizens everywhere a little hope that governments and regulators will take the health risks of 5G seriously. They are the only ones who can keep people from a future “bath” of 5G radiation.
