Is 5g Harmful for Humans and the Environment?
Is 5g Harmful for Humans and the Environment?
The 5G network is being deployed rapidly in various regions of the world. However, as the implementation progresses, so does the number of academics who have expressed worry that 5G might be detrimental to individuals and the environment. There are also petitions and moratoriums signed by certified scientists and doctors against the use of 5G technology.
But, are any of the accusations that 5G is hazardous true? Let’s take a brief look at 5G to understand how it varies from the current standard, 4G. This will help us understand why 5G is fraught with issues. But first, let’s look at some of the assertions made regarding its possible negative consequences.
Is 5g Harmful to Humans and Our Environment?
Since firms began rolling out 5G, the public response has been tepid, to say the least. Many charges have been leveled against 5G supporters over its safety, including a 2018 article alleging that a 5G network test in the Netherlands killed hundreds of birds. That information was eventually shown to be a fraud. However, putting erroneous stories aside, are there any health dangers related with the use of 5G to discuss?
Many people oppose 5G because it employs extremely high frequency (millimeter-scale) waves with frequencies ranging from several hundred megahertz to tens of gigahertz (depending on whether it is low, mid, or high-band 5G).
These waves, unlike 4G, do not travel great distances because to their high frequency characteristics. As a result, antennae must be placed closer together in order to enable clear 5G reception. We’re not talking about a few extra antennae, but many, many more! One antenna every 330 to 660 feet is possible (100 to 200 meters).
We’re not talking about full-fledged cell towers here, but rather low-profile antennas that take up a fraction of the space of a conventional cell tower. But the fundamental concern is whether this technology poses any health or environmental dangers.
Of course, there are two opposing viewpoints on this issue. Wireless businesses, as well as government bodies like the CDC and EPA, have attempted to reassure the public that the radiation emitted by 5G networks is perfectly safe. The Federal Communication Commission has maintained that radio frequency radiation (RFR) exposure limitations established in the late 1990s remain valid.
One issue with any debate of this nature is the usage of the term “radiation.” Most people associate radiation with nuclear fallout, which is unfortunate because radiation simply describes the release of energy as electromagnetic waves from a source. Your own body heat, for example, is a type of radiation.
Another issue is that 5G has a very small range and a very short wavelength (high frequency). The radiation released by 5G, on the other hand, is non-ionizing. This means it lacks the energy to take electrons from atoms (forming ions) and hence break apart chemical connections, such as the ones in your DNA.
Ionizing radiation, such as x-rays or gamma rays, released by radioactive sources with frequencies in the exahertz range (EHz) (some ionizing radiation, such as some UV light, lies in a lower range). Exahertz frequencies are those that are at or above 1018 Hz.
This is several orders of magnitude more than radiation at frequencies of 109 per second in the gigahertz (GHz) range (or, a billion cycles a second). Cell phones of the second, third, and fourth generations (2G, 3G, 4G) produce radiowaves with frequencies ranging from 0.7–2.7 GHz (0.7 109 to 2.7 109).
In reality, visible light has a greater frequency than the range needed for applications such as 5G. The wavelength of visible light is normally between 400 and 700 nm, or 4.3 1014 to 7.5 1014 Hz. Having said that, some studies has shown that exposure to non-ionizing electromagnetic waves might have negative biological or physiological impacts (EMF).
