5G And The IOT: Scientific Overview Of Human Health Risks

by Victor Christianto

5G is the term used to describe the next-generation of mobile networks beyond the 4G LTE mobile networks commonly used today. Currently there is no standard for 5G networks in place and it will be a combination of a variety of frequencies and modulations. Industry is developing exactly what 5G will be. It is assumed that 5G networks will not become commercially available until 2020 but several cities are rolling out 5G as test areas now.

Published peer reviewed science already indicates that the current wireless technologies of 2G, 3G and 4G – in use today with our cell phones, computers and wearable tech – creates radiofrequency exposures which poses a serious health risk to humans, animals and the environment. Scientists are cautioning that before rolling out 5G, research on human health effects urgently needs to be done first to ensure the public and environment are protected. However, instead of prudent public health measures to ensure the public’s safety, governments such as the United States are quickly rolling out 5G networks in neighborhoods and are enacting various state and federal regulations to “streamline” and fasttrack the rollout. These regulations will end the ability of communities to halt and be a part of the decision making process in this massive 5G infrastructure buildout.

THOUSANDS OF MINI CELL TOWERS TO BE BUILT IN FRONT OF HOMES
5G will require the buildout of literally hundreds of thousands of new wireless antennas in neighborhoods, cities and towns. A cellular small cell or other transmitter will be placed every two to ten homes according to estimates. The purpose of this massive infrastructure build out of small cells, distributed antennae systems and microcells is to increase range and capacity in populated urban areas and prepare for the future 5G rollout. 5G frequencies will utilize higher frequencies that do not travel as far as the lower frequencies.

US state and federal governments are moving forth regulations which would make the right of way in front of homes as available sites for 5G transmitters – without consent of the property owners. In response, communities are protesting en mass as they do not want these transmitters built in front of their homes and communities want to be able to regulate the placement on right of ways. Some municipalities are taking the case to the courts with litigation.

5G WILL USE HIGHER ELECTROMAGNETIC FREQUENCIES
5G will utilize multiple frequencies from those currently in use for cell phones and wireless to higher millimeter frequencies.

Today’s cellular and Wi-Fi networks rely on microwaves – a type of electromagnetic radiation utilizing frequencies up to 6 gigahertz (GHz) in order to wirelessly transmit voice or data.

However, 5G applications will require unlocking of new spectrum bands in higher frequency ranges above 6 GHz to 100 GHz and beyond, utilizing submillimeter and millimeter waves – to allow ultra-high rates of data to be transmitted in the same amount of time as compared with previous deployments of microwave radiation.

MILLIMETER AND SUBMILLIMETER WAVES ARE BIOLOGICALLY ACTIVE
Current investigations of wireless frequencies in the millimeter and submillimeter range confirm that these waves interact directly with human skin, specifically the sweat glands. Dr. Ben-Ishai of the Department of Physics, Hebrew University, Israel recently detailed how human sweat ducts act like an array of helical antennas when exposed to these wavelengths.

MECHANISM OF ACTION IS PROVEN
Research already indicates serious adverse effects from the wireless modalities in use today. Research studies from the Dielectric Spectroscopy Laboratory of the Department of Applied Physics, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, headed by Dr. Yuri Feldman, indicate that 5Gs millimeter and submillimeter waves will uniquely interact with human skin and lead to preferential layer absorption. The number of sweat ducts within human skin varies from two million to four million. Replicated peer research of these biological effects in laboratory research has been conducted internationally and scientists consider this mechanism of action well proven (See documentation further down on this webpage).

5G FREQUENCIES ARE USED IN WEAPONS
For years, the U.S., Russian and Chinese defense agencies have been developing weapons that rely on the capability of this electromagnetic frequency range to induce unpleasant burning sensations on the skin as a form of crowd control. Millimeter waves are utilized by the U.S. Army in crowd dispersal guns called Active Denial Systems. Dr. Paul Ben-Ishai pointed to research that was commissioned by the U.S. Army to find out why people ran away when the beam touched them. “If you are unlucky enough to be standing there when it hits you, you will feel like your body is on fire.” The U.S. Department of Defense explains how “The sensation dissipates when the target moves out of the beam. The sensation is intense enough to cause a nearly instantaneous reflex action of the target to flee the beam.”

HUMAN SKIN WILL BE CLASSIFIED AS AN EXTREMITY ALLOWING HIGHER EXPOSURES
Our skin is our largest organ. Dariusz Leszczynski, PhD, Chief Editor of Radiation and Health has stated that the international organization – called ICNIRP –who is developing recommendations for public exposure limits of these higher frequencies is planning to classify all the skin in the human body as belonging to the limbs rather than to the head or torso.

Leszczynski cautioned that, “If you classify skin as limbs – no matter where the skin is – you are permitted to expose it more than otherwise.”

5G DEPLOYMENT WITHOUT HEALTH EFFECT EVALUATION
5G is being developed and implemented without adequate evaluation of the effect of this technology on human health after long term exposure to these frequencies. Peer reviewed research studies have found adverse effects from the electromagnetic frequencies currently in use and that will be in use for this new technology.

“There is an urgent need to evaluate 5G health effects now before millions are exposed. We need to know if 5G increases the risk of skin diseases such as melanoma or other skin cancers,” stated Ron Melnick, the National Institutes of Health scientist, now retired, who led the design of the National Toxicology Program study on cell phone radiofrequency radiation.

In Dr. Cindy Russell’s A 5G Wireless Future: Will it give us a smart nation or contribute to an unhealthy one (Text PDF), published in the the Santa Clara Medical Association, Russell states that “3G, 4G, 5G or a combination of zapping frequencies giving us immersive connection and entertainment but at a potentially steep price.” Russell details the scientific documentation on 5G’s frequencies which include arrhythmias, heart rate variability, bacterial affects, antibiotic resistance, immune system affects, chromatin affects, teratogenic effects, altered gene expression and cataracts.

Dr. Cindy Russell lists specific recommendations shared by Environmental Health Trust and scientists worldwide.

RECOMMENDATIONS TO PROTECT PUBLIC HEALTH

Do not proceed to roll out 5G technologies pending pre-market studies on health effects.
Reevaluate safety standards based on long term as well as short term studies on biologicaleffects.

Rescind a portion of Section 704 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 which preempts state and local government regulation for the placement, construction, and modification of personal wireless service facilities on the basis of the environmental effects so that health and environmental issues can be addressed.
Rescind portions of The Spectrum Act which was passed in 2012 as part of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act, which strips the ability city officials and local governments to regulate cellular communications equipment, provides no public notification or opportunity for public input and may potentially result in environmental impacts.
Create an independent multidisciplinary scientific agency tasked with developing appropriate safety regulations, premarket testing and research needs in a transparent environment with public input.
Label pertinent EMF information on devices along with appropriate precautionary warnings.

RESOURCES
This webpage contains lists including recent bioeffects research, videos of expert lectures, and a list of submissions to the FCC on Spectrum Frontiers. Please scroll down for this information. Potential Risks to Human Health Originating from Future Sub-MM Communication Systems Expert Forum Lecture at the Israel Institute for Advanced Study at Hebrew University Medical School, January 24, 2017

Watch a lecture on submillimeter and millimeter frequencies by Paul Ben-Ishai, PhD of the Department of Physics, Ariel University, Israel, Full Bio and Yuri Feldman, PhD, Head of the Dielectric Spectroscopy Laboratory, Department of Applied Physics, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Full Bio. Click here for a PDF of Abstract for this Presentation

NEWS

Is 5G technology dangerous? Early data shows a slight increase of tumors in male rats exposed to cellphone radiation, Jim Puzzanghera, Los Angeles Times, Aug 8, 2016
A 5G Wireless Future: Will it give us a smart nation or contribute to an unhealthy one, Dr. Cindy Russell, Santa Clara Medical Association Bulletin Jan/Feb 2017 (Page 20 to 23) (Text only PDF) The Internet of Things Poses Human Health Risks: Scientists Question the Safety of Untested 5G Technology at International Conference, Environmental Health Trust Press Release 3/9/2017 Everything You Need to Know About 5G IEEE article

RESOURCES FOR THE COMMUNITY

Why We Should Oppose 5G on Health Grounds, by Dr. Ronald Powell

WHAT ARE 5G AND THE INTERNET OF THINGS? Website: http://whatis5g.info/ This website considers all the issues surrounding 5G and the man ways 5G and the IoT will harm humans, the environment, and our Earth from cybersecurity to conflict minerals to health. Citizens’ Cell Tower 5G Information Packet of Montgomery County: This slide presentation contains key details for communities addressing small cells in their neighborhood.

RECENT MILLIMETER WAVE BIOEFFECT STUDIES

This compilation has included several papers compiled from Dr. Joel Moskowitz on his blog SaferEMR and from work presented at the Israel Institute for Advanced Studies at Hebrew University
Scientific Citations from Potential Risks to Human Health Originating from Future Sub-MM Communication Systems by Paul Ben-Ishai, PhD and Yuri Feldman, PhD

Feldman, Yuri and Paul Ben-Ishai. “Potential Risks to Human Health Originating from Future Sub-MM Communication Systems.” Abstract, 2017.
Feldman, Yuri, et al. “Human skin as arrays of helical antennas in the millimeter and submillimeter wave range.” Physical Review Letters, vol. 100, no. 12, 2008.

Hayut, Itai, et al. “Circular polarization induced by the three-dimensional chiral structure of human sweat ducts.” Physical Review, vol. 89, no. 4, 2014.
Hayut, Itai, et al. “The Helical Structure of Sweat Ducts: Their Influence on the Electromagnetic Reflection Spectrum of the Skin.” IEEE Transactions on Terahertz Science and Technology, vol. 3, no. 2, 2013, pp. 207-15.

Professor Yuri Feldman – Research Study Summaries, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Department of Applied Physics, Dielectric Spectroscopy Laboratory

RESEARCH ON MILLIMETER WAVES

Haas AJ, et al. “Effect of acute millimeter wave exposure on dopamine metabolism of NGF-treated PC12 cells.” Journal of Radiation Research, 2017.
Gandhi OP, Riazi A. Absorption of millimeter waves by human beings and its biological implications. IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, vol. 34, no. 2, 1986, pp. 228-235.

Haas AJ, et al. “Effects of 60-GHz millimeter waves on neurite outgrowth in PC12 cells using high-content screening.” Neuroscience Letters, vol. 618, 2016, pp. 58-65.
Le Dréan Y, et al. “State of knowledge on biological effects at 40–60 GHz.” Comptes Rendus Physique, vol. 14, no. 5, 2013, pp. 402-411.

Sivachenko IB, et al. “Effects of Millimeter-Wave Electromagnetic Radiation on the Experimental Model of Migraine.” Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine, vol. 160, no. 4, 2016, pp. 425-8.

Soghomonyan D, K. Trchounian and A. Trchounian. “Millimeter waves or extremely high frequency electromagnetic fields in the environment: what are their effects on bacteria?” Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, vol. 100, no. 11, 2016, pp. 4761-71.
Ramundo-Orlando A. Effects of millimeter waves radiation on cell membrane – A brief review. Journal of Infrared Millimeter Terahertz Waves, vol. 30, no. 12, 2010, pp. 1400-1411.

REFERENCES ON DEFENSE USE OF MILLIMETER WAVES

US Department of Defense Non-Lethal Weapons Program FAQS
A Narrative Summary and Independent Assessment of the Active Denial System The Human Effects Advisory Panel

SUBMISSIONS TO THE FCC ON SPECTRUM FRONTIERS

On July 14, 2016, the FCC voted to approve Spectrum Frontiers, making the U.S. the first country in the world to open up higher-frequency millimeter wave spectrum for the development of 5G fifth-generation wireless cellular technology. The FCC was flooded with comments in opposition to 5G. Read full details at the EHT website on Spectrum Frontiers
The Berkshire-Litchfield Environmental Council Comments to Thomas Wheeler, Chairman, Federal Communications Commission
“Federally-protected wildlife species are in danger”, Briefing Memorandum from Dr. Albert Manville
July 20, 2016 – Dr. Joel Moskowitz Comment to the FCC, “FCC Open Letter Calls for Moratorium on New Commercial Applications of Radiofrequency Radiation”
Dr. Yael Steins Comments to the FCC in Opposition to 5G Spectrum Frontiers Millimeter Wave Technology
Dr. Ronald M. Powell Ph.D. Comment to the FCC
Dr. Devra Davis to FCC, “Long Term Health and Safety Evaluation Needed Before Introduction of 5G”
Comments to FCC by Electrical Pollution, “Parents Write to the FCC: Be on the Right Side of History”
Submission to FCC by Susan Clark, “Stop 5G harm to all living beings: The Science is Conclusive”
Maryland Smartmeter Awareness Comment to the FCC, “FCC Proposed Move to 5G” Comments by Dafna Tachover and “We are the Evidence” to FCC, “Those Injured by Wireless ask Congress: Please Protect us and help protect the public’s health. Say STOP to the FCC and wheeler in 5G vote”
Angela Tsiang to US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation