As the buzz around 5G continues to grow, some continue to ring the alarm for potential health hazards related to this emerging cellular technology.
If you’re skeptical, you’re not alone.
With any new technology, it’s understandable that consumers, government agencies and industry watchdogs want to vet not only for performance, but also safety. We do, too. And those studies have revealed towering evidence that 5G is perfectly safe.
Let’s dig into the concerns and truth behind these 5G myths.
What are the risks?
Considering the noise and confusion bouncing around the internet and social media feeds, it’s understandable you might have reservations about the safety of 5G.
Worries over radio frequency (RF) waves criss-crossing the landscape have trailed the wireless industry for years. Some groups have expressed concern over wireless-enabled utility meters and the installation of WiFi in schools. The city of Portland, Ore., passed a resolution asking the FCC to update its 5G research, while Louisiana leaders have asked the state’s departments for environmental quality and health to study the effects.
5G technology operates on a wide range of frequencies, including upper frequencies where waves travel shorter distances than with previous mobile networks, so more towers are needed to carry the signals than with 4G or 3G. The assumption is this increased activity farther up the frequency band would increase the risk of cancer.
These concerns about 5G come from long-debunked misinformation that mistakenly links exposure to electromagnetic fields created by RF waves to brain cancer. Radio signals are actually within the “non-ionising” electromagnetic bands, where waves lack the energy to cause damage to the cells that make up the human body.
As Klint Finley writes in WIRED, “If you weren't worried about prior generations of cellular service causing cancer, 5G doesn't produce much new to worry about.”
Still concerned?
Federal agencies such as the Federal Communications Commission, Environmental Protection Agency, Food and Drug Administration, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration have all been monitoring and regulating RF levels in common household appliances such as microwave ovens as well as handheld wireless devices. These devices go through a formal FCC approval process to ensure their safety before hitting the market.
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