Is 5G dangerous for health? The question is mounting, and so are concerns, as this new mobile phone technology is deployed. Update on what science says.
Currently in Dijon, there are 61 5G mobile telephony relay antennas:
- Bouygues Telecom: 18 relay antennas
- Free Mobile: 31 relay antennas
- Orange : 0
- SFR: 12 relay antennas
What is 5G?
It’s a small revolution in the telecom industry; this technology offers a much higher speed than 4G, and much faster access to content. The ability to circulate billions of data without congestion is also an unprecedented advantage.
5G should allow a large number of electronic equipment to interconnect with each other, which will allow use for futuristic applications such as autonomous cars, automated factories, remote surgery, “intelligent” robots, etc.
In order to increase the volume of data, 5G uses a higher frequency band than current mobile telephony: from 3.5 GHz first and then, over time, above 26 GHz.
However, the higher the frequency, the shorter the range of the waves. It is for this reason that the deployment of 5G requires an increase in the number of antennas; a prospect that worries some NGOs.
Radiofrequencies and health: what does science say?
The sources of exposure to radiofrequencies are numerous: cell phones, television, radio or wi-fi… which causes “fears”, as recognized by the WHO.
“Despite a lot of research, there is no indication for the moment that exposure to low-intensity electromagnetic fields is dangerous for human health,” underlines the WHO.
For the moment, this lack of proven short-term effect applies “to the different sources of exposure, mobile phones being among the most present in number and intensity”, explained Olivier Merckel, expert from the Agence de ANSES health security, before the start in January 2020 of its expertise on 5G.
However, studies suggest “a possible increase in the risk of brain tumor, over the long term, for intensive mobile phone users,” recalls ANSES, which published in 2013 an assessment of the risks associated with radiofrequencies.
This is why the Circ, the WHO agency specializing in cancer, in 2011 classified radiofrequencies as “possibly carcinogenic to humans”, recommending hands-free kits for cellphones.
In addition, in a 2016 report, ANSES estimated that waves from cellphones, tablets or connected toys could have effects on cognitive functions: memory, attention, coordination in children. She therefore recommended limiting their exposure.
Biological or health effects?
“The main biological effect of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields is thermal in nature”, ie the increase in temperature of exposed areas, according to the WHO.
This is the principle of microwave ovens, and this is why power thresholds are imposed on laptops (expressed in dBm, or decibel-miliwatt).
In addition, “studies have shown the existence of biological effects on certain very specific parameters, such as sleep or blood pressure,” according to Olivier Merckel.
But, and this point is important, biological effect does not necessarily mean health effect, that is to say danger to health. A distinction difficult to grasp for the general public.
Biological effects are a sign that the organism adapts to variations in its environment. For example, physical exertion raises the body’s temperature, which is a normal physiological response that can be reversed.
The whole question is whether the accumulation of biological effects exceeds the adaptive capacity of our body, which can then have consequences on health.
Questions specific to 5G?
This is the subject of the expertise carried out by ANSES. Its first findings should be communicated at the end of April / beginning of May, before the publication of the final report at the start of the school year, with recommendations.
In its roadmap, the agency noted “a significant lack, even an absence of data relating to biological and health effects” in the frequency bands concerned.
Its experts will work separately on the two types of frequencies used by 5G, because they do not raise the same questions.
The frequency bands through which we are starting to deploy 5G, around 3.5 GHz, “are close to those currently used for 4G or wi-fi”, according to Mr. Merckel.
This does not therefore radically change the questions that science is asking, even if, according to ANSES, “the specificity of 5G signals (modulation, power) could influence exposure levels”.
However, the situation is different for the frequencies that will be used later, from 26 GHz (this is called “5G millimeter”).
“From 10 GHz, the electromagnetic energy hardly penetrates any more in the body but is concentrated at the level of the skin: this poses different questions in terms of potential effects on health”, according to Mr. Merckel.
“Research data on the highest frequencies, between 20 and 60 GHz, are still scarce,” ANSES stressed in its roadmap.
In 2012, she assessed the risks of body scanners used at airports, which also work with millimeter waves. Conclusion: “this type of scanner would not present a health risk”. But if the waves are of the same type, the use is different: with 5G, the public’s exposure will be much wider.
A society that is moving too fast?
Beyond the issue of airwaves, NGOs opposed to 5G fear that it will push us into a world out of control: a society where everything will go too fast and where people will always be more connected, their eyes more than ever. glued to the screens.
This question, that of the societal impact of these technologies, is also on the ANSES program, in another study which will take at least two years.
It will not specifically deal with 5G and will not address the issue of radiation, but will deal with the effects of digital exposure on health in the broad sense: well-being, mental health, obesity, etc.
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