Does 5G pose a health risk?

As 5G mobile networks begin to roll out in several UK cities, questions are being raised about whether the new technology poses health risks.

So what are the concerns, and is there evidence to back them up?

Like previous cellular technology, 5G networks rely on signals carried by radio waves (part of the electromagnetic spectrum) that are transmitted between antennas, or masts, and mobile phones.

We are constantly surrounded by electromagnetic radiation, not only from television and radio signals but also from a variety of technologies, including cell phones, and natural sources such as sunlight.

5G uses higher frequency radio waves than previous mobile networks, allowing more devices to access the internet at the same time and at faster speeds.

Because these radio waves travel shorter distances through urban spaces, 5G networks require many more transmission towers to be placed closer to ground level than previous technologies.

Some people are concerned that the electromagnetic radiation used in all cell phone technology poses increased health risks, including the development of certain types of cancer.

However, the WHO, together with the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), has classified all radio frequency radiation (of which mobile signals are a part) as “possibly carcinogenic.”

Eating pickles and using talcum powder fall into the same category.

Alcoholic beverages and processed meats are in the higher category because the evidence is stronger.

Toxicology Report Published by the U.S. Department of Health in 2018A study pointed to by those concerned about safety found that male rats exposed to high doses of radiofrequency radiation developed a type of cancerous tumor in their hearts.

In this study, rats were exposed to whole-body radiation from mobile phones for nine hours a day, every day, for two years, from before they were born.

A senior scientist on the study said: “The exposures used in the study cannot be directly compared to the exposures experienced by humans when using mobile phones, even for heavy users.”

Dr Frank de Vogt, who advises the government on mobile phone safety, said: “Although some studies suggest that heavy users may have a statistically increased risk of cancer, the evidence of causation to date is not compelling enough to suggest the need for precautionary measures.”

However, a group of scientists and doctors has written to the EU calling for the rollout of 5G to be halted.

The radio waves used by cell phone networks are non-ionizing and “don’t have enough energy to break down DNA and cause cell damage,” says physicist and cancer researcher David Robert Grimes.

At the higher ends of the electromagnetic spectrum, well beyond the frequencies used by mobile phones, there are clear health risks from prolonged exposure.

The sun’s ultraviolet rays fall into this harmful category and can cause skin cancer.

There are strict recommended limits for exposure to higher energy levels of radiation that can have harmful effects on the human body, such as medical x-rays and gamma rays.

“People are rightly concerned that this could increase their risk of cancer, but it’s really important to remember that radio waves are much lower energy than the visible light we experience every day,” Dr Grimes says.

“There is no credible evidence that cell phones or wireless networks cause health problems,” he says.

5G technology requires many new base stations, the towers that send and receive mobile phone signals.

But importantly, because there are more transmitters, each one can operate at a lower power level than with previous 4G technologies, resulting in lower levels of radiation exposure from 5G antennas.

Some of the 5G spectrum permitted by international guidelines falls in the microwave band.

Microwaves generate heat in the objects they pass through.

But at the levels used in 5G (and earlier mobile technologies), the heating effects are not harmful, says Professor Rodney Croft, an advisor to the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP).

“The maximum radio frequency levels that anyone in our community could be exposed to from 5G (or any other signal in the general community area) are so small that no temperature increases have been observed to date.”

The UK government has said: “As 5G is added to existing networks, there may be a small increase in overall exposure to radio waves, but overall exposure is expected to remain low.”

The frequency range of 5G signals that will be deployed is within the non-ionizing bands of the electromagnetic spectrum and well below the range that ICNIRP considers harmful.

“Exposures from 5G have been thoroughly reviewed by ICNIRP and the limits are set well below the lowest levels of 5G-related radio frequencies shown to cause harm,” Prof Croft said.

The WHO states that exposure to electromagnetic waves below the limits recommended in the ICNIRP guidelines is unlikely to cause any health effects.